Shimsteriom said:
Just back from a 12km walk.
It's a lurvely day out there :D
Click to expand...

We're walking on a Sunday too. Just down the beach and back but there's three parks in between so fuzzybutt gets to play on the way, has a swim, and can run aroun an dry of anna way back. She ate a whole lambs heart, raw, when we got back and is now snoring onna sofa.

BTW, Fuzzybutt is a doggy, not swmbo :D
 
Turktowner said:
The one thing we don't get in the garding is blackbirds. I can hear em singin, but they don't come in. Thoughts anyone? :confused:
Click to expand...
I don't know what you can do to encourage them to visit I am afraid, but they are truly most glorious to listen to. We have them in our garden (lots of trees) and neighbouring gardens also.
Nothing more "British" than the Sunday afternoon singing of a Blackbird to the accompaniment of an old-fashioned back & forth Push-mower. Takes you right back to being a kid again. :D
 
derwendolly said:
The blackbird does not eat the type of food that is put in the garden feeders but if you want to have fun watching them in your garden plant a black currant bush and watch them! Just don't expect to share the crop! We planted ours just for the birds.
Click to expand...
maybe not but they do, theres a pair ,scavenge under the feeder, along with a robin ,dunnock sparrows and a pheasant family,we do have black currant and others for the birds,but not usefull year round
 
Last edited:
jamesmartin said:
maybe not but they do, theres a pair ,scavenge under the feeder, along with a robin ,dunnock sparrows and a pheasant family,we do have black currant and others for the birds,but not use year round
Click to expand...
We too, have a load of ground scavengers of all varieties, too, but the blackbird feeds BY CHOICE on more succulent things - worms, berries etc. In our garden, after they have finished the blackcurrants they move on to the various types of cotoneaster berries, and another few shrubs which I just do not know the name of. Holly berries seem to be another favourite. The one shrub that does seem to escape their attention is the Bottle Brush, those seeds are very, very hard even before they ripen off though.
The nut hatch is another comic to have on the feeder, as is the tree creeper - but he prefers to keep running up, down and around the Oak tree trunks!
BUT, everyone turns into a spectator when the woodpeckers arrive!!!
I did post a funny photo on another fred recently, showing the 'pecking order' on our front feeders! It's amazing how much time one can spend watching the birds!!!
 
derwendolly said:
We too, have a load of ground scavengers of all varieties, too, but the blackbird feeds BY CHOICE on more succulent things - worms, berries etc. In our garden, after they have finished the blackcurrants they move on to the various types of cotoneaster berries, and another few shrubs which I just do not know the name of. Holly berries seem to be another favourite. The one shrub that does seem to escape their attention is the Bottle Brush, those seeds are very, very hard even before they ripen off though.
The nut hatch is another comic to have on the feeder, as is the tree creeper - but he prefers to keep running up, down and around the Oak tree trunks!
BUT, everyone turns into a spectator when the woodpeckers arrive!!!
I did post a funny photo on another fred recently, showing the 'pecking order' on our front feeders! It's amazing how much time one can spend watching the birds!!!
Click to expand...
they arent available in winter which is why i guess theyve got used to rooting about under the bird table,they still visit daily,this is the first year the woodpecker has been to the feeders, suet block or fat balls, i keep it well stocked so it seems to attract more species each year
 
jamesmartin said:
they arent available in winter which is why i guess theyve got used to rooting about under the bird table,they still visit daily,this is the first year the woodpecker has been to the feeders, suet block or fat balls, i keep it well stocked so it seems to attract more species each year
Click to expand...

Woodpecker alert! Woodpecker alert! They adore peanuts and will clear a whole feeder in a day - or even part of a day!! We do have a lot of them but they sure can eat! A few years ago, we had to stop feeding the birds as we found the baby woodpeckers were feeding on the peanuts (that's the only food they had ever been given), then climbing up to the top of the bird house and perch up there to have a rest and recouperation before going back for another fill! It got to the point that we had five on there permanently and we became very concerned that, come the winter, they would not be able to search for their own food.
IMG_0311.JPG

Have a look at this, it was on the window one morning - a gite in Brittany.
Can you guess what it is?
Clue - look at the building in the background.

We didn't find it on the ground so it must have recovered and flown away! Ouch!
 
derwendolly said:
Woodpecker alert! Woodpecker alert! They adore peanuts and will clear a whole feeder in a day - or even part of a day!! We do have a lot of them but they sure can eat! A few years ago, we had to stop feeding the birds as we found the baby woodpeckers were feeding on the peanuts (that's the only food they had ever been given), then climbing up to the top of the bird house and perch up there to have a rest and recouperation before going back for another fill! It got to the point that we had five on there permanently and we became very concerned that, come the winter, they would not be able to search for their own food.
View attachment 207961
Have a look at this, it was on the window one morning - a gite in Brittany.
Can you guess what it is?
Clue - look at the building in the background.

We didn't find it on the ground so it must have recovered and flown away! Ouch!
Click to expand...
you can see its an owl, we find barn owls quite common around here,im not sure if their numbers have increased or didnt notice them before, we only see the one woodpecker but its the first year its come to the feeders
 
jamesmartin said:
you can see its an owl, we find barn owls quite common around here,im not sure if their numbers have increased or didnt notice them before, we only see the one woodpecker but its the first year its come to the feeders
Click to expand...

There is very little habitat round here for the Barn Owl so it is not regularly seen but this outline was in France. I think it is an amazingly good imprint - but I bet the bird didn't! Here, woodpeckers, except for the Green one, are very, very common. They are all fun to watch though.
 
derwendolly said:
There is very little habitat round here for the Barn Owl so it is not regularly seen but this outline was in France. I think it is an amazingly good imprint - but I bet the bird didn't! Here, woodpeckers, except for the Green one, are very, very common. They are all fun to watch though.
Click to expand...
i didnt know we had woodpeckers nearby till this year, the owls you commonly see gliding above the dykes morning and evening, its something that started when the boys built their mum a bird table 4-5 years back,its become a bit of an obsession for me
 
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