Birds

[Potent Gust]

I must extend my list now!

This morning I saw some coal tits and chaffinches in the garden for the first time in years!

[picog]

For the first time ever, yesterday we had a kingfisher in the garden. We have a pond (no fish in it), but no close stream or river. It was a very fleeting visit, but the brilliant blue and orange were unmistakable.

The regular visitors include blue tits, great tits, greenfinches, chaffinches, dunnocks, goldfinches, house sparrows, robins, blackbirds, song thrushes, mistle thrushes (we have mistletoe in the apple trees), yellow hammers, spotted woodpecker, jackdaws (who live in a hole in one of the bramley apple trees), crows, magpies, jays, and ring neck doves.

We also get flocks of starlings and redstarts. On the owl front, we have a barn owl that regularly hunts for voles in the garden, tawny owls, and little owls. Buzzards are also common — in fact, one killed a rabbit in the garden this week (excellent, as the rabbits eat the vegetables).

More rarely we get a sparrow hawk trying to catch a bird feeding, bull finches, long-tailed tits and a marsh warbler.

Last winter we had 5 robins all feeding in the same area. I'm hoping to see 6 this year!

Picog

[James M]

It's been a good week for finches here. As well as the usual Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Siskins and Goldfinches, I recorded 4 Bullfinches at the feeders at the same time on Monday and yesterday we had a first when two Linnets dropped by.

[Beverley Lass]

It's been a good week for finches here. As well as the usual Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Siskins and Goldfinches, I recorded 4 Bullfinches at the feeders at the same time on Monday and yesterday we had a first when two Linnets dropped by.

That sounds smashing. Some attractive birds there B)

I used to see Bullfinches when I lived in the Midlands, but never a

one here in nearly 20 yrs.

I'd willingly sacrifice some of my apple buds for a few, lol.

PS. My robins are nesting today .. but not in the box provided *tut.

Cheers,

BL x

[PersianPaladin]

I wish I could identify and name birds.

Particularly the name of that one that keeps singing at some ungodly hour in the morning. I have an airgun bullet with his name on it....if only I could identify him.

[James M]

I wish I could identify and name birds.

Particularly the name of that one that keeps singing at some ungodly hour in the morning. I have an airgun bullet with his name on it....if only I could identify him.

That'll probably be a Blackbird or Robin, I have to admit I rather like hearing them first thing in the morning, around here it can get almost loud at the time of the dawn chorus.

[Crepuscular Ray]

That'll probably be a Blackbird or Robin, I have to admit I rather like hearing them first thing in the morning, around here it can get almost loud at the time of the dawn chorus.

Round here there's a poor robin who sings from about 2am onwards because he's confused by the streetlights. Him I can ignore. It's a different matter with the ring-necked parakeets. They're now up and about by about 6.15: I dread to think how early they (and I) will be awake come June.

[I can't believe it's not better]

I regularly see a Woodpecker feeding on my nuts. It's quite shy though.

Also quite a few Red Kites soaring about.

[190607]

We get all the usual suspects:

Blackbird

Robin (Currently starting a local turf war)

Blue and Coal tits (one or the other generally nests in the garden)

House Sparrow

Wood pidgeon

Wagtails

Magpies

Starlings (Upwards of 30 at a time, you want noise try this)

We also generally get a dusk overflight by the local heron when the frogs are in the pond.

There is a pair of buzzards that visit the local area (even the local birders don't know where they originate). I'm determined to get some pics of these but they can move out of shot effortlessly and can be incredibly elusive for such large birds.

As for other wildlife, we often get bats over the pond in late spring and field mice generally find their way into the woodpile during cold spells and the local fox drives my dog up the wall on a routine basis.

[wysiwyg]

Don't get much variety in my semi-urban shared garden - pied wagtails (very common here), sparrows, chaffinches, magpies, crows, seagulls, swallows and house martins in summer and starlings. There are some owls over the road nesting in a small copse (can hear them but have never seen one) oh we get a lot of bats too (not birds I know B) ).

In my parents' garden (semi-rural) there is a much larger selection. All the usual common suspects plus a large and noisy group of owls, stock doves, greenfinches (quite rare around here), woodpeckers, lapwings, a pair of kestrels that attack the doves in mid air, ducks, wild geese and even a semi-tame pheasent . Other wildlife includes foxes, grey squirrels (lots), rabbits, an escaped ferret, rats, fieldmice and moles.

[Sharkbait]

I forgot about this thread, I had a pheasant come through my garden for the first time the other day, definitely lost as this is a housng estate and I'm somewhere near middle, the picture's actually on the other side of my neighbours garden where he continued on his exploration mission...

[Anti-Mild]

We have a lot of blue tits around, but in the last 2/3 weeks we have had great tits, blackbirds, pigeons, magpies, chaffinches, starlings, a lone robin, pied wagtails, and maybe a house sparrow but I'm not entirely sure.

Last summer we had a jay that must have been lost, and coal tits.

[0000]

We've got a Heron lurking.It's hillarious watching the folk who have ornamental fishponds.

[AGOH]

Get a pretty good variety of birds in my garden which over the past few months includes: blue tits, great tits, coal tits, chaffinches, greenfinches, goldfinches, the very occasional bullfinch, siskins (up to 6 at a time!), robins, house sparrows, blackbirds, song thrushes, collard doves, woodpigeons, magpies, wrens, the odd rook and hooded crow, starlings and blackcaps (only male).

Last winter a brambling made a brief visit and the winter before that, a snow bunting also visited.

Also see occasional sparrowhawks overhead and in summer hear (but never see) willow warblers and chifchaffs. Once a housemartin took an interest in the house but in the end decided against it!

I'm sure I've missed out one or two species but nice to see such variety.

[Andy Bown]

We occasionally see Long Tailed Tits in the hedgerow and trees that line our garden and the field that it backs onto, but this morning, to my delight and surprise, 2 of them came down to the patio right by the lounge window and then flitted around the lawn.small bushes before disappearing into the trees!

If I had to pick a favourite small bird it would be the Long Tailed Tit.

Yesterday evening there were 5 pairs of Woodpigeons getting somewhat 'frisky' in the large Sycamore tree behind our neighbour's garden .

[Beverley Lass]

Hi all, along with about 400,000 other folks I took part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

thingie again this year (Jan. 26th/27th) where everyone counts and logs their bird numbers /

sightings over 1 hour.

The RSPB have just e-mailed me the 2008 results ..

http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/results/index.asp

1. House Sparrow

2. Starling

3. Blackbird

4. Blue Tit

5. Chaffinch

6. Woodpigeon

7.Collard Dove

8. Robin

9. Great Tit

10. Goldfinch

Finches Flock To Gardens

With an average of 3.60 seen per garden, the house sparrow retained its top spot with starlings coming in second and blackbirds completing the top three.

Overall, the average number of birds seen in each garden has declined by a fifth since 2004, and house sparrows have decreased by almost two thirds since 1979, and starlings by three quarters over the same period.

Despite this, however, four species of finch, which spend the winter in the UK, were seen in increased numbers.

Good winter for finches

Numbers of colourful finches visiting UK gardens over winter are at their highest levels for five years.

For the first time in the survey's 29-year history, the striking siskin made it into the top 20, and the scarcer brambling moved from 57 to 36 in the rankings.

This increase in bramblings and siskins (up by two thirds in the last five years), suggest that tree seed supplies have been poor this year and they've been forced into gardens to find food.

Along with siskin and brambling increases, redpoll numbers skyrocketed, being seen in twice as many gardens this year as last. Again this is probably due to poor supply of food.

Goldfinches on the up

With a third more birds recorded than in 2004, the colourful goldfinch made it in to the top 10 for the first time.

Goldfinch numbers swell because our milder winters encourage them to stay here instead of going to southern Europe.

Our gardens can be very welcoming to finches, especially those with nyjer seed provided and thistles and teasels left to grow which also provide food.

A big thanks to all who took part

Over the weekend of 26 and 27 January 2008, almost 400,000 people counted more than six million birds across 228,000 gardens.

And One letter of particular note ...

The cruellest cut

Every spring I despair because all around me I can hear the hedge cutters. I have tried a gentle hint that this is not a good time to cut hedges, but it all falls on deaf ears. I wouldn't mind if some effort to check the hedge for nesting birds was made, but no!

I only cut my hedge once a year in autumn, but some folk do not have the sense to see that by cutting in the spring they will have to do it again in the autumn. Ho hum! Barbara Hunt.

Editor's note: Barbara's quite right. It's an offence to intentionally (and in Scotland, intentionally or recklessly) damage or destroy an active birds' nest. Hedge-trimming is best left until after the breeding season. Find out more in our Advice pages.

Cheers, BL.

[Rustynailer]

This flew by last night about 1000 yards from our house, very fast or rather It went fast as soon as I went for the camera , is it a falcon?

The first picture I have had a go at refining, to try to bring any detail out. The next two are cropped originals.

Kind regards,

Russ

[Hiya]

Definatly a falcon, I wouldn't like to venture to which type. Could you see any colour?

[Rustynailer]

Definatly a falcon, I wouldn't like to venture to which type. Could you see any colour?

Gray, so it would most probably have been a Peregrine then? I have seen it a few times now at the same sort of time.

Next time I walk over there Ill have a big lens on and be ready

Thanks for letting me know Hiya.

Russ

[Greyowl]

This is quite a good site for bird recognition Russ.

http://www.garden-birds.co.uk/

[Hiya]

Funny you should say grey, my first thought was a Merlin. Do you live near reed beds or moorland? It doesn't look bulky enough for a perigrine. How big is it?

Edited March 29, 2008 by Hiya

[Greyowl]

Funny you should say grey, my first thought was a Merlin. Do you live near reed beds or moorland? It doesn't look bulky enough for a perigrine. How big is it?

I live out on the Fens Hiya. It looks a bit small for a Peregrine to me but it could be I guess.

[NL]

Saw a kingfisher from my office window today.

Beat that.

Last year around here i noted :-

Sparrows, Blackbirds, song thrush, blue & great tits, Starlings,Wrens, Dunnocks, Greenfinches,Goldfinches,Magpies,Carrion crows,Rooks,Jackdaws,Grey&Yellow Wagtails,swifts, House martins,swallows,RockDoves, Wood Pigeons, collared Doves,Kestrals,Sparrowhawk(s), Common Gull, comorants, shags, kittywakes,Oystercatchers, sandpipers &(other shoreline birds which names escape me)

I see Gyrfalcons everyday as my neighbour has 2 (male & Female) .. absolutely stunning Falcons.

[BARRY]

This flew by last night about 1000 yards from our house, very fast or rather It went fast as soon as I went for the camera :unsure: , is it a falcon?

The first picture I have had a go at refining, to try to bring any detail out. The next two are cropped originals.

Kind regards,

Russ

Could be a sparrow hawk or a gos hawk

Also we have all the commen birds ,but their is also a pair of jays nesting near by

Edited March 29, 2008 by BARRY

[Rustynailer]

This is quite a good site for bird recognition Russ.

http://www.garden-birds.co.uk/

Cheers Grayowl, looks even more like a Peregrine now :unsure:

Funny you should say grey, my first thought was a Merlin. Do you live near reed beds or moorland? It doesn't look bulky enough for a peregrine. How big is it?

Bigger than a Merlin or a Woodpigeon. A pigeon flew away rapid just before I saw it, A large Gull took no avoiding action though. I was watching the bird for a few minutes at a distance, it was only when I set off home and was half way there, that it happened to fly right by, at one point just 30 feet or so away.

Regards,

Russ