ED Nature Watch

[dazeykat]

Saw a starling in our living room yesterday - it fell down the chimney! Flew off unharmed when we opened the window. Luckily the cat was asleep in another room.

[SteveT]

The garden is like a battleground with three blackbirds hopping after each other trying to claim the best part. The robins are chasing the sparrows away from their food, and the great tits are defending the nut feeder from the sparrows.

12 inches of snow predicted or 30cm that should change the landscape, and it will be sooooooo quiet.

[TheePope]

I echo that SteveT, I worked from home today and got to see loads of birds chasing each other around, including Great Tits, Blue Tits, Goldfinches, Sparrows, Blackbirds and Wood Pigeons. Robins and Great Tits definetly the bosses!

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Saw a beautiful, nude silver birch this afternoon, glowing white in the late afternoon sun. Quite enchanting.

[SteveT]

Received a Christmas cake with nuts and apricots on the top a Sainsbugs production and it was foul, so I broke it up and threw it out for the birds, and amongst all the snow covering one would think they would be hungry enough to eat the festive food.

Not a chance, they left it alone until our local reynard scoffed some and took the remainder to cache it near by.

I guess Sainsbugs should improve their seasonal fayre if it's unable to tempt the starving bird population................

[Sue]

Haven't seen a single bird in my garden today, maybe they're just all sheltering somewhere till the snow goes, so maybe it wasn't your cake! There's normally loads of them on the peanuts and fat balls, and eating stuff off the ground if they can't get at those.

[Peckham native]

There's been a flock (20+) of fieldfare in the crab apple tree in my garden (Ondine Road) since sunrise. Think the tree will be stripped bare by the end of the day.

[SteveT]

I have a dozen or so redwings pecking at everything that looks like food in the garden, they are similar to a thrush but with an orangey red flash along the side.

[dazeykat]

Peckham Native - they were in my garden every day last week, Redwings too. They looked lovely sitting in the bare tree. I think they must have eaten everything available in my garden because haven't seen them for several days.

[ruffers]

SteveT Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I have a dozen or so redwings pecking at

> everything that looks like food in the garden,

> they are similar to a thrush but with an orangey

> red flash along the side.

Thanks for the ID - they just passed through at the back of our house.

[TheePope]

Have just seen a couple of Fielfare and Red Wing too round about the Abbotsbury Rd area. Five or six goldfinch too.

[LadyTaTa]

My mother (who lives in Winchester) always feeds the birds, and it seems blackbirds are big fans of sultanas. My flat has a roomy balcony (I'm on the 4th floor) and so I put sultanas, but only a little robin is brave enough to come and get them.

I've put out a peanut feeder as well but there's no interest at all. Does anyone know if birds will eat from feeders on balconies (as opposed to gardens)?

[SteveT]

They generally find where the best pickings are, and lay seige to it.

[SteveT]

Fieldfares today and blue tits, great tits robins and blackbirds.

The starlings and the sparrows were eating some ciabatta that went wrong in the baking or proving, its been out there a week.

[SteveT]

It's above freezing today and Sunday feels not exactly tropical, but a marked improvement on recent temperatures.

Hooray!

[lilolil]

Using bird identifier , I have found out that the beautiful birds that were in my garden on Friday were Jays

[PeckhamRose]

Woodpecker, having a bash at my birdfeeder, 3 floors up, this morning.

Soo beautiful, and made my morning.

[SteveT]

Jays look rather like chaffinches on steroids.

[SteveT]

The robins are still pecking away at some discarded xmas pudding I threw out a week ago, they seem to prefer it to the bag of crumb and mealy worm recommended by the dull boring ex-goody and generally irritating oaf Bill Oddy.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Saw a huge flock of fieldfare feeding on the Rye this afternoon - 50+ strong. Wonderful sight, interspersed with a flock of seagulls. Very gay* sight.

* In the strictest Enid Blyton sense.

[American Robin]

Lovely to read that so many people have seen redwings and fieldfares. Last Saturday a flock of redwings with a few fieldfares with them, arrived in Peckham and stripped the pyracanthus and cotoneaster bushes. They were a fantastic sight. Never seen them in London before. They stayed all week, stripping the berries from the bushes and then flying into the high trees with the berry tresses still in their beaks. They seem to have gone today though. I read in my book that they leave in February and March for their migration back to Scandinavia. And it is very unusual to get them in the middle of cities. They only make the journey from the countryside when they need more food. And the snow certainly drove them here.

But today my first sight for 2010 of the greater spotted woodpecker, tapping away at a eucalyptus tree. That and six goldfinches feeding on the nylar feeder. A gorgeous sight.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Must be spring - saw my first snowdrops today. And some sort of anemone.

[Sue]

Sea anemone?

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

I saw no ships.

[CupsCushions]

Two thrushes In my garden today :)