Bird Table News

Bird watching from a kitchen window

 I usually spend some time every day bird watching anonymously from my kitchen window as the different varieties of birds gather to eat food I’ve put out for them all.

A happy blackie has found a piece of apple I’ve put at the base of a small bush.  Then I get a surprise as

a sparrow flies out from the depths of the small bush .

A large pigeon arrives,then tries to get inside the mesh of the ground feeder, gives up and flies away.

A starling sits nearby then accurately zooms in between the bars of the cage feeder, gets a morsel or two of food in its beak and zooms out again.

A great tit arrives.

Some birds hop from fence to grass, from bush to fence, from fence to feeder. Never still, often noisy.

At last, when nearly all the food has gone, a thrush has appeared. It managed to get the last small piece of apple/ bread I could not see which.

Now the view is bereft of birds for a second, then a blackie reappears.

Now two thrushes walk around the caged bird feeder. I have opened the door of this feeder slightly especially for the thrushes but, annoyingly, they are oblivious to this open door. They give up and look for food on the grass.  I slip outside and put a bit more bird food out.

A few busy chaffinches flit on and off the bird table.  Now a sparrow has joined them.

I remember, a while ago a bright coloured woodpecker sat relaxing on the fence for a magical few moment. It was wonderful to see this woodpecker at such close quarters (the fence is only a few feet away from my window). I stood stock still hoping it would stay or hop to the wired peanut feeder, but it flew away.  It’s left me with a memory I’ll treasure. 

The area round our house must be healthy and attractive to birds.

What a variety of birds we have in this country. Perhaps we take them all for granted.

When my credit card bill comes for the bird food I’ve just purchased I’ll remember these moments.

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In case you want to try to make your own nest box for  National Nest Box Week – here is the British Trust for Ornothology link on how to make your own nest box

Click here to find out – HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN NEST BOX 

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I took this video a while ago.  I was having a problem with rooks and crows taking all the bird food.  This rook was just waiting near the bird table.

I had to change the way I put food out and the rooks don’t come so close now.

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This was sent to me in November, but am putting it on now.

I noticed that the number of squabbling starlings has increased here over the past couple of days.

This early evening I watched as a coal tit kept trying to grab a sunflower seed from the bird table.

The bird table was occuped by a robin which kept chasing the tit away, but it did not stop the coal tit from trying  until it had got its sunflower seed.  It just kept trying from different directions.

You think a robin is a small bird until you see a tiny coal tit next to one,  but this coal tit was not going to be bullied out of its supper.  I could have cheered out loud when it succeeded.  John.

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John, thanks for sending this lovely description and bird feeding

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Bird cake  / fatballs are very good all year round for birds, but especially in the winter.

It’s  easy to buy fatballs but they are easy to make as well.  It just takes a little bit of time.

ONE WAY TO MAKE A FATBALL

With this receipe it needs to be -

• one third fat and

• two thirds should be the food mixture

Melt some lard.  Then add any or all of the following

• Oatmeal

• cheese

• seeds

• nuts

• dried fruit

It very simple you just -

• Mix fat and food mixture together

• Put it in a container to set

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A bird meal in minutes

When using fat to bind bird food it’s no good using vegetable oil.  It needs to be lard / fat.

I know there are a lot of ways to make fat balls / bird cake.  If you have a recipe let me know

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It is National Nest Box Week  from 14th to 21st  February so why not put up a nest box and help our feathered friends  – it also means you’ll be able to  enjoy seeing wild birds nest in your garden.

I’ve been reading about two types of nest box. 

Click on the headings and you’ll find more information about these two bird boxes.

CEDAR WOOD NEST BOXES  

Needs little maintenance and has good insulation properties.  This is the 26mm hole nestbox.

SCHWEGLER NEST BOXES - -

a Schwegler  woodcrets, 2-hole nest box.  The shape of the box make it possible for birds to nest out of the reach of predators.  The woodcrete keeps nesting birds warm as it has good insulation.

Why not click  on the links and decide which nest box is best.

Trisha

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A few minutes ago I was just going to walk through the gate when I heard a ’squealing’, a rush of wings and also branches moving

Then, actually at my feet, landed a sparrowhawk with its talons round a blackbird.   I was so shocked to see the death throes of a blackbird just where I was standing.

I had never been so close to a sparrowhawk.  I was looking down on it and at the blackbird that was caught up in the Sparrowhawk’s  talons.

The blackbird was ’squealing, struggling’ and trying to get away but there was no chance. 

The sparrowhawk  did not have it’s  it’s wings outstretched and had the blackbird  ‘pinned’ to the ground with it’s talons round the blackbird. 

Sparrowhawk - a bird of prey

I did not take the photograph of the sparrowhawk 

Blackbird – a garden bird

I moved slightly and  the sparrowhawk suddenly let go of the blackbird.  It flew upwards and into the hedge - it must just have seen me.  

I think up until then the sparrowhawk was oblivious to me.

The blackbird, leaving behind a lot of feathers, ran and hopped into the base of the hedge and disappeared.

I shouted and shook the hedge, trying to frighten the sparrowhawk away. Then I realised I might frighten the blackbird out into the open, making it easy prey for the sparrowhawk.

The hedge was a laurel hedge.  A laurel hedge will not keep out  sparrowhawks because it does not have thorns to keep the sparrowhawk out.  Sparrowhawks cannot take the chance of damaging their feathers on thorns so they never go into bramble bushes etc .

There was nothing I could do.  For a moment I became involved with  nature and wildlife which we don’t seem to have any control over. 

What else goes on in my garden that I’m not aware of.  Who does the garden belong to – me or the birds.

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I’m putting together a Bird Friendly Plant list – with help from other people.

I’ve found some  plants that can be planted now if the ground is not frozen solid.  Here is some information about two of the plants.

A Blackberry or bramble bush
If you plant a bramble bush some of the bird that will eat the fruit are

• Starlings,
• bullfinches,
• great tits and
• blue tits. 

Some of the birds that will nest safely in the prickly branches are

• Blackbirds
• warblers
• thrushes
• long tailed tits
• finches
• dunnocks

FIRETHORN – evergreen shrub

If you plant a Firethorn shrub some of the birds that will eat the fruit are -

• blackcap
• waxwing

Some of the birds that will nest in the fire thorn are

• blackbird
• song thrush

Also, the flowers of the Firethorn attract insects, which in turn attract birds.

So this is the start of my Bird Friendly Plant list!

I’m sure a lot of us will be planting something in 2009.  Whatever we plant be it  flowers, grasses, bushes, trees, plants, shrubs we could buy those that can provide food or shelter for our garden birds.

Any offers of knowledge or help welcome

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In December I was lucky enough to get this comment from the USA about a  black bird that had some white tail feathers.  

We have a blackbird with several white tail feathers visiting our feeder here in NJ today.  Regards Nelson

I emailed Nelson back to make sure NJ stood for New Jersey.  The reply was

NJ does stand for New Jersey. Today’s sighting is ther first time we’ve seen this particular bird with the the white tail feathers.

I think it’s interesting that white feathered blackbirds span the globe.

I’m interested in the blackbird I see so I decided  to have a category for my white tailed blackbird so I can keep tabs on when I see him.

I have not seen either of our blackbirds that have some white tail feathers for a few weeks.

I get about ten blackbirds a day now!  I think it’s because I put cheese out.  They are sometimes like a small flock flitting round.

The thrushes are always in the background as well.

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