Bird Table News

Hi, Very interesting posts. I live in Devon.

I would like to tell you that last year I noticed a House sparrow chasing a Jackdaw for over 40 metres including 4 change of directions – quite a coincidence as the sparrow was less than a metre away from the Jackdaw.

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Isn’t it amazing the things that happen in our countryside.  I wonder what Bill Oddie would say to that. 

House sparrow chasing a jackdaw goes against all the normal bird behaviour that you can think of.

Through people getting in touch with me I have heard of a lot of ‘bullish’ sparrow behaviour.  Maybe I should write a book!

Thanks for telling us about this.  I wish I’d seen it.   

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Here are some photographs I have taken with my Panasonic Digital Camera.

I am not the most technical of people, but I do like using this camera.  I know the photos below are not professional – but they are for me.  I enjoy taking photographs and my Panasonic Lumix Camera helps me.  They are ordinary every day photos that tell a story of the Yorkshire Wolds.

I can carry this camera with me and know I can take photos any time.  It’s great.

I took the photo below because it shows two different berries in the same hedgerow.  Two lots of meals for birds! 

I know that my panasonic camera has the ability to take a much better photograph than I have done here. That, to me, is what makes things interesting.  I will be learning more about this camera and improving my photographing skills at the same time. This camera has a lot to teach me.

The Yorkshire Wolds  

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We have had a fox taking some chickens.  The chickens that were taken by the fox never stayed near the cockerill.  This cockerill makes such a noise sometimes and we know a fox is about.  We only have 4  hens left now (we used to have 11).  These 4 hens stay close to the cockerill

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A while ago I was lucky enough to get a Panasonic Digital Camera.  Mine is a Lumix FS3 with 8.1 mexapixels, but this seems to have been superceded by other updated Panasonic  Lumix Digital Cameras

I have had such enjoyment out of my panasonic digital camera. I haven’t put as many photographs on my webpage that I should have, but will start now.

Last week I took three of my own photographs to a shop to be printed off in 12 x 10 size and I’m going to have these three photographs framed and put somewhere in the house! They are only photographs I took of the countryside, but I’m really pleased that the quality of the photograph is good enough for me to do that. My own photos hanging on the walls taken by my panasonic digital camera!

[ad#125x125square]I found my panasonic digital camera really easy to use – with a bit of help from my daughter! But I must say that when I first got a digital camera I went on an Digital Camera Editing Course which really helped me and which I found interesting.

The nearest Panasonic Digital Camera to the one I bought seems to be the Panasonic Lumix DMC FS7 and I have been finding some information out about it.  The Panasonic DMC FS7 has -

•  A strong all metal body
• measures 97 x 54.4 x 21.7
• 10 megapixels (mine is 8.1)
• 4 x zoom lense
• a metal tripod bush (space)
• the memory card / battery space has an easy open/lock  slide switch

This panasonic digital camera  is simple to use and takes really good photographs.

The picture quality on my panasonic digital camera is excellent so I have every reason to believe the  DMC FS7 picture quality will be excellent as well.

I’m really pleased that I got a Panasonic digital camera as a present.  I have been using it all year and it has never failed me.

I like the fact that the battery can be recharged – this is an added bonus for me.

If you are wanting a new camera or are thinking of buying one as a present  take a look at the Panasonic Digital Camera  DMC FS7 – get shooting and have fun.

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This seems like a really good book.  I haven’t bought it and was thinking of adding it to my Christmas List.  Had anyone any reviews about it.

If you click on the image it gives you more information and also gives information about price and availability

Look forward to hearing from you about this book – or  about anything else birdy.

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The new day is dawning.  The moon is high in the  smokey coloured grey / blue sky.  There is a gloomy feel to the day and the daylight still hasn’t fully arrived here in  the countryside

The garden birds are chirping, screaching and hopping about.  In the stillness I can hear the leaves move (we have an evergreen laurel hedge) when a bird lights upon it.  In the gloom I can see shapes of birds in the garden, but don’t have time to stay and watch.

Have put most of the bird food out, only the bird feeders to fill up. That is my first job of the day done!  Trisha

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Hi Trisha,  Thought you might be interested in a couple of bird incidents that have happened in my back garden earlier in the year.

We live in the suburbs of Newcastle and have a tree in the garden which is regularly nested by blackbirds, pigeons, finches and wrens.

One morning about 4am in May there was such a commotion in the tree – the blackbirds were screaming – that I got up and went outside to find three dead blackbird chicks and a pigeon chick.  Thinking the nest had been predated by a cat I sat watching the corpses for about 10 minutes when to my surprise a fox came into the garden and picked up all the chicks.  Either the fox was exceptionally lucky to have found them or it can climb trees! – see Video below of a fox climbing a tree

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmGxacavuvw

R –  Thanks again for sharing your story / memories with me.

I’ve seen a crow eating a blackbird and the other year I came across some dead chicks (gollies)  strewn all over the lawn.  I still don’t know what killed them.  something must have dropped them so far from their nest, buy why they were not eaten I do not know.

Our cultivated gardens are home to wildlife and we can’t control what wildlife does.  This maybe is part of the attraction of gardens.

I’ve lived in the countryside all my life and I have never heard of foxes climbing trees.  I’m amazed.  Because I’ve seen the video with my own eyes I now believe foxes can climb.  Foxes are very clever animals.  they can make home underground and also climb trees.

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I would never have thought of this.  John has contacted me with this surprising way to stop cats killing birds -

We have three cats, and have found a paradoxical way of stopping them from catching birds..

We have about a dozen bird feeders with different foods in. As a result we have a huge population of birds, particularly house sparrows.

At the first sighting of a cat the alarm goes up and every species is alerted. More food is more pairs of eyes to watch out for danger.

The moggies have next to no chance. They still bring home the occasional bird, but it used to be several a week rather than a handful over the whole summer

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I thought I was bad enough with my variety of feeders, but I don’t think I have twelve!

John, you must keep the feeders close together do you, that will be why you have a large group of birds in one place.

I spread my feeders around the garden. Some are hanging from branches, some are bird tables, some are ground feeders, but they are not all together in the same place.

Thanks for getting in touch and it is an amazing thing to hear about.  They say there is safety in numbers don’t they and what you have told us proves that is the case.

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For the first time since I’ve  been bird feeding there are bird droppings under the bush where I put the bird food.  The garden birds must be staying longer on this bush and not flitting away into the larger hedge like they used to do.  This means I have got to move the bird food a little way away from all this mess.

A lot of the diseases are spread by droppings.  If any contaminated droppings are in among the food the healthy birds will run a risk of getting the infection.

I realise that when birds congregate in an area to feed there is an increase risk of disease, but the area has up until now been clean and clear all the time.

 Have just been cleaning the bird tables again and thought I’d make some notes.

Here are some things I’ve learnt -

• Don’t bring any bird feeders into the house.
• Wear gloves when cleaning the  bird feeders and birds tables.  I keep a separate brush and other items just for this job.
• Keep bird tables and the area surrounding them clean and free from droppings and mouldy food.  Both droppings and mouldy food can be a breeding ground for parasites and bacteria.  Occasionally moving bird tables and bird feeders (even if only a short distance) will help prevent droppings building up near the feeders.
• If the bird food you put out takes more than two days to clear then reduce the amount you put out.
• If you put food on the ground make sure it’s eaten before night.  Rats are attracted to leftover food.  Using a birdtable or hanging feeders or a ground feeding tray is a good way  to put bird food out instead of putting it on the ground.
• Water – Bird Bath – check there aren’t any droppings in the water.  Water containers – clean water containers regularly.
• Clean birdtables and hanging feeders.  I think this is one of the most important things. 
  For the birdtables I use very hot water, a scrubbing bruch and a cloth.  It gets rid of any old food and cleans the bird tale.
• Hanging feeders can get clogged up in this wet weather and need cleaning out.  I keep a spare hanging feeder so if one feeder is drying I have a clean one to use.

Looking at this list it seems a long list – but it does not take long to do.  Keeping an eye on how much bird food is being eaten, checking if any droppings are near the feeders.  A  bird table only has a small area so it does not take long to clean it.

Wet weather can clog the feeders and make extra work. It is when the weather is bad that birds benefit from the food we put out so it is worthwhile keeping the feeders clean and free flowing.  Lets keep feeding these garden birds.

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Have you any bird hygiene tips?

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Hello,
To  you all ,  Good to see that people do see the Swallows,

Is it OK if i tell you all ,I have been looking at this Sean , as to see when Swallows ,migrate,

So this is From N,Ireland, Sunday 04 10 2009, time 10 30 AM 

MY PLACE OF WORK

SUNDAY NIGHT 4 October 2009  SWALLOWS STILL AT MY PLACE OF WORK.    THERE WAS NO WIND ON THE SUNDAY NIGHT ,BUT THERE IS AND WAS A GOOD FULL MOON,

MONDAY NIGHT – NOW TO DAY MONDAY 05 10 2009 ,I HAVE BEEN AT MY PLACE OF WORK ALL DAY, AND NOT A SWALLOW IN SIGHT,

MY HOME
THE SWALLOWS WENT AWAY AT MY HOME PLACE ABOUT 3 WEEKS A GO,  IT WOULD TAKE ABOUT 10 MINUTES TO GET FROM MY HOME PLACE TO MY WORK PLACE, AND THAT IS AROUND 10 MILES APART,

SO 10 MILES DOWN THE ROAD NO SWALLOWS, BUT GO 10 MILES UP THE ROAD AND,THERE YOU HAD SOME SWALLOWS, AT THE LATE DATE,ON SUNDAY 04 10 2009,

 3 WEEKS BACK FROM  4. 10. 2009  I HAD THE SWALLOWS ,GONE FROM MY HOME PLACE,

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Number of Nests at my home around twenty five. Work place around Five, hope this is of some Good News for you all,  thank you all for now.   Jim

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Thanks for this information.  Isn’t it strange how ten miles can make such a difference in swallows migrating.  There is such a lot we don’t understand about swallows isn’t there?

Has anyone any ideas about why ten miles has made such a difference?

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