Bird Table News

A few weeks ago I had to set off early morning so I had to put the birdfood out in the dark .  For some reason I decided to video it.  I was surprised to see a blackbird come to the food

It must have been watching me put the bird food out.  Thought I would show you it.

You will see I use a few different feeders.  The one at the back is the top of a broken bird table.  It means I don’t have to put bird food on the grass. 

The bird feeder at the front on the grass is a hanging feeder, but it had been so windy that the seed was being blown away so I put it on the grass for a day or two.

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Please read this and plant a native plant -

NATIVE PLANTS HELP NATIVE BIRDS

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If you do not have a garden it does not matter

You can still help save the swift from extinction!

Edward Mayer and his friends are finding ways of putting up swift nest boxes in eaves and other places

CLICK HERE TO SEE  HOW TO PUT UP IDEAL HOMES FOR SWIFTS 

CLICK HERE TO READ AN ARTICLE I WROTE ABOUT THE SWIFT. 

Please get back to me and tell me what you think.

Isn’t it great that people are doing so much just for a bird!

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Swift numbers are dropping alarmingly and there is a chance swifts could be extinct within 20 years.

There has been a 40% drop in the numbers of migatory birds over the last 15 years.

Swifts  used to be able to nest -

• In open eaves
• under loose roof tiles
• in holes in walls

Because of repairs and modern building techniquest these nesting sites are no longer there.

Eaves are

• sealed
• or fitted with slatted grilles

Tiles are now

• fitted without gaps.

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All swifts need is

• a tiny edge of a gable or under an eave

• for new buildings you can buy nesting boxes very cheaply.

Swifts make a 14,000 mile return journey to winter in South Africa. It is sad that there is nowhere for them to nest when they get here.

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There are many ways we can help the swift. 

You do not have to have a garden to help the Swift.  It is nesting sites they need and they can be provided without a garden.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT ABOUT WAYS TO HELP THE SWIFT

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A lot of birds are declining in numbers the sparrow and the swift are but two of them.  I hope this is a good year for our feathered friends. 

Last year I thought we had fewer swallows stay the summer than normal.

I get a lot of birds in my garden every day and sometimes forget how their numbers are dropping.

It’s good to think we can help.  I have a sparrow nesting in a bird box I put up.  I put a variety of bird food out every day.

Hedges, shrubs and trees that were planted before I was born give food and shelter to a lot of birds near to where I live.

It would be great if everyone in Britain just took a little time to help out native birds.  Here’s hoping.

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In our garden the Blackbirds have been collecting nesting material for a couple of weeks now while the

Blue Tits have been showing an interest in our nest box again but not yet taking it any further.

The pair of Coal Tits which have been visiting throughout winter appear to have moved on in the last week or so, as they do every spring.

Lots of birds singing, including all the common species. Loudest at the moment are the Song Thrushes.

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I was lucky enough to get this interesting info from David who lives just a mile or two away from me.  He could have been describing my garden.

It’s good to know that it’s that time of year where birds are busy in the garden.  I just hope the weather and conditions mean they all have a good breeding season.

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I left my small video recorder going.  I think the birds are getting used to seeing this strange object near the feeder.

Here is a very short video of a robin, thinking about hopping onto the feeder.

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An interesting and worrying fact about the house sparrows has again been brought to my notice.

Kate Vincent who was a student at Leicester De Montford University made a detailed survey of house sparrows as part of her Univeristy Degree. 

After further study Kate found  shrubs which are not native to Britain are one of the reasons why house sparrows are declining.

HERE IS THE LINK TO MY BIRD FRIENDLY PLANT LIST -  it has a list of some of the plants, trees and shrubs that are good for birds.  If it is not clear I can email you a copy.

In 2007 Kate realised there are not enough insects for the parent birds to bring to the chicks and fledglings so the young starve in the nests.

A pair of house sparrows need to raise at least 5 chicks to keep the house sparrow population on an even keel. 

Many chicks die in the first week of their life.  When fledgelings fly the nest, they are sometimes undernourished and die soon after leaving the nest.  Isn’t that sad? 

In hedgerows and nest boxes all over England are parent birds unable to feed their young.

While we are sat in the sun enjoying our gardens or our local parks young birds could be starving nearby.

We are planting foreign plants in our garden which our native insects cannot survive in.  So there are less insects for the sparrows to feed their young.

A lot of people are also concreting over their gardens.  Maybe they do it because they do not like gardening.  If only people  realised an untidy garden is a haven for wildlife they may stop concreting their gardens.

We can help by planting native plants, shrubs in the garden so insects can survive and sparrows can survive too.

I cannot imagine Britain without the House Sparrow.  They have always been here.  I think I have seen a sparrow nearly every day.

When I was young, many years ago, sparrows were so common, but then again when I was young there were not so many cars and all the shrubs, trees, plants in the garden were good, solid British plants.

This morning I was wondering what would it be like for us if we had to go out and forage for our breakfast and could not just pour some milk over our cornflakes when ever we were hungry.

I have done a Bird Friendly Plant List which you could print off or, if you sent me your email address, I can email it to you.  HERE IS THE LINK TO MY BIRD FRIENDLY PLANT LIST

If you do print it off and take it to a garden centre, could you ask if you could leave a copy for other customers?  We should try and spread the word.  Kate did her survey in 2007 and sparrows are still in decline.

I am trying to make the list reader friendly and turn it into a leaflet,  so I hope you will be patient and use the list as it is for now. 

Or else buy Bird Friendly Plants there are plenty of them.

I will always put bird food out, but plants can help such a lot.

Have just put out cheese, birdfood and bread coated in lard before I wrote this.  Have a good day. Trisha

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Below is a video of a nest box!

It is just a nest box on a tree.  We put two nest boxes up a few months ago and they are both being used, which is great.  They are near the house so we can just see birds flitting in and out.

Just wanted to show you it is worth it putting up a bird box.

It’s amazing that soon there will be a family of young birds in these two nest boxes and they will, hopefully survive and hop about the garden in summer.

So from a boring nest box comes a family of birdlife!

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I received this bird information from someone who lives nearby and thought I’d share it with you - 

These are some of the birds of prey we get nearby. 

Just to let you know that at 7am yesterday (Thursday 12 March) there were three Barn Owls at Tyre Eye. One was in the field above the sewage works, one was in the dale beside the big quarry and one crossed the road in front of me. Although it was at windscreen height it got across safely. During the winter we have had the odd sighting from home mainly at dawn and dusk. At one point we were beginning to think one was roosting in the incomplete garages on the building site opposite. Three is the best count of barn owls I have ever had in the village.

A few weeks ago, the weekend after the big snow fall when the village was supposedly cut off, there were three Common Buzzards over the plantation in Sowersby’s Dale almost opposite your farm. Again this is a village record although I did have a single along Kilham Road a week later.

Friends have reported seeing a Red Kite in that area while driving in January but not since. That would be a personal first for the village if we got one of those.

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Thank you, David for sending me this.  If you have any more bird notes or birdy info  please let us know. 

It’s good we have so many barn owls, but annoying that they don’t seem to be using the Barn Owl nest  box we put up.

I have never seen a red kite, but it’s interesting to know there has been one nearby.

Buzzards -  I have heard of other people seeing buzzards, so they must be surviving round here.

If birds of prey arrive naturally in an area that seems to me to be OK.  It is when they are re-introduced unnaturally that the problems must appear.

Birds of prey do eat other birds.  I have seen a sparrowhawk with a blackbird in its claws.

There is a report by the British Trust for Ornithology that last year was a very poor breeding season for our garden birds.  Numbers of our gardens birds are dropping  (more of that later in the week on this blog ).    I don’t think we want to lose any more to birds of prey that have artificially been reintroduced.

But it is interesting to know what is in the sky in the area where I live.

PS  :  Tyre Eye is the top of a steep hill.  Over the years the name has been changed, but originally it was called Tired Ewe.  This is because the hill was so steep for ewes to climb they were tired when they got to the top!  I say Top of Tie Ow.  I suppose as it’s never written down it can be spelt any way.  End of Yorkshire Dialect notes. 

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