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Shell says -
Last summer I counted around 15 Gold Finches in our garden and I’m pleased to say we still have around the same amount in the warmer weather.
I am very pleased they survived the harsh weather and they certainly love sunflower hearts. I have also noticed a few will eat crushed nuts but the majority stick to the SH.
During warmer weather ours will eat Niger Seed too.
With regard to all the other species we have in the garden, we’ve noticed the average amount. So I agree feeding them has kept them strong.
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I’m sure that if Shell hadn’t put bird food out there would have been many less goldfinches and other birds in her garden. Bird feeding does help birds survive. The same birds will be building nests now!
Shell has been watching this video and it takes us back to winter!
If you click on the link below it will take you to a winter video!
http://birdtablenews.com/2010/01/a-short-video-journey-round-some-of-my-snow-covered-feeders/
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As it was such a bad winter I think we’ll appreciate the good weather more. I know I will
There is such a lot of activity among the rooks. I hate them taking all the bird food but I can see them picking up sticks other bits to make their nests with. They walk among the shelterbelt near our house and then take to the skies. They fly overhead in flocks and the noise they make on a morning and on an evening when they are coming in to roost is part of the every day noises we hear.
Rooks seem to feed in flocks. I’ve been watching them on the ground in the grass field in front of the house, .They are searching for invertebrates such as earthworms and leatherjackets. Once one or two rooks find a good spot in the field they are joined by the rest of the flock. Which is why, at the moment, I get so many at my bird feeders and at the ground feeders. They have spotted a good place to feed and are being joined by the others.
Have got to get the covers and canes sorted so they cannot reach the food.
Crows on the other hand feed alone.
It’s not just the rooks that are building nests. When you think about it every other bird in the country is preparing to or is already getting ready to build nests and bring new bird life into the countryside.
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We have had to clear away some really large plants that have overtaken the garden pond.
There was more mud in the pond than water!
But in among it all we’ve seen frogs, newts and toads + the fish.
Note: I’ve been told that if you break the ice on a pond in winter it is bad for the fish. When a pond is frozen the water is warmer at the bottom of the pond where life survives. If the ice is broken then the freezing weather seeps down and destroys the warmer water – thereby destroying the life that has been surviving there. Is this so?
Trying to make a safe feeding area for blackbirds, thrushes and smaller garden birds
There are many enclosed feeders that keep squirrels, pigeons and larger birds away from bird food
What I have found is that a lot of these feeders keep blackbirds and thrushes away from the food as well, which is a pity.
Last year I put some canes round a birdtable and that let blackbirds and thrushes inside as well as the smaller garden birds.
Am trying different ways. Haven’t got it right yet, but am working on it this weekend. The circle needs to be bigger, but the canes still as close together.
Have already had loads of sparrows squashed inside feeding,plus one or two blackbirds putting their beaks in. This is too small for blackbirds and thrushes, so will work on it.
Trying to make a garden bird sanctuary
Any tips welcome
Handykam have spent a long time developing a good kit and the nest boxes are made to resist the bad weather that we get – especially from the Atlantic.
The nest boxes themselves are made from either cedar or pine
Nest Boxes are also used a roosts in winter. There have been reports of 20 birds sharing one nest box to shelter from the freezing winter nights. So as well as providing nesting sites they provide roosts and also a viewing of wildlife from our homes.
If you would like to read more about Handykam click the link below and go straight to their information page.
If you do buy a nest box I’d like to know how you get on.
If you buy one through birdtablenews part of the purchase money will be used towards my garden birds.
In early March I wrote about Sparrowhawks and their prey. I’ve had some interesting ideas, discussions from readers and have put all their comments below
Where there is a practical idea and problem solving note I’ve marked it with a tab.
Here they are. Hope you enjoy reading. I find it interesting and helpful to learn about other peoples problems and ideas. It’s also great to know other people are interested and together we are helping (I hope!) garden birds.
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TopVeg said, on March 10th 2010
I suppose Mehr has a point – but we so enjoy watching the small birds on the birdtable & miss them terribly when the sparrowhawk has visited & cleared them all up.
Perhaps we should do more to help protect the small birds – so that they have more of a chance to escape the hawk. They are just a sitting target when the bird table is in open ground.
- We planted a willow next to the bird table & it has grown so that it covers one side of the table. So the hawk cannot just swoop down to get them. That has made a big difference. I wonder what else we can do.
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Garth said on March 15th, 2010
Feeding garden birds definitely gives these birds an advantage so I feel we should shorten the odds.
If there are too many attacks try moving the feeders around, regularly if possible, don’t concentrate the feeders, note the general line of attack and break up the line of flight.
- I have put in vertical bamboo canes a few inches apart and also have individual feeding spots so that an early warning can be given by a solitary feeding bird.
The worst time of the year is when all the young tits are feeding and the hawks have young too, so this is when tactics are important to reduce carnage before your eyes. I love to see a hawk and it is also a good sign things are right in the bird world as a lack of them means there are problems.
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Trish said. on March 17th, 2010
Hi Garth, Thanks for joining in. Trying to shorten the odds is a good idea. In some ways I suppose seeing hawks may mean that all is well in nature – but if sparrowhawk numbers keep increasing maybe it could be likened to putting a shark in a garden pond. Or am I exagerrating?
Yes, lets shorten the odds.
Moving feeders around regularly
Dont concentrate the feeders,
note the general line of attack and break up the line of flight.what a good idea to put vertical bamboo canes a few inches apart
But how do you have individual feeding spots so that an early warning can be given by a solitary feeding bird.
These ideas and conversations are too interesting to be hidden away in a comments area. I will change them into an article and use it a a post
Thank you. Trisha
If anyone would like to write a guest post then be my guest! I will help in any way I can
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Shell said, on March 18th, 2010
We stopped using our bird table because of this. We placed some feeders in thick bushes but the birds prefer to eat from the ground now.
- There are no cats around so we place the food on ground feeders surrounded by large plants. This has helped a lot.
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Trish said, on March 19th, 2010
You’ve stopped using your bird table! I knew two people who were so fed up of blood on their birdtables from sparrowhawks swooping down that they stopped feeding birds. One said itwas horrible trying to scrub off a bird table.
I never thought of the fact that sparrowhawks catch birds in flight. I wonder if they catch any on the ground.
Maybe that is why my garden bush that I put food near is so popular. I get a lot of birds hopping about in and out of this bush and getting the food I put near it. There is a lot of good information here. Trisha
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Shell said, on March 19th, 2010
I had not option because the hawk kept lingering around ready to swoop. I was going to use it again but I thought it may attract the hawk again.
I think they can snatch birds off the ground and that’s why
- I’ve camouflaged the area with various plants and shrubbery so that it would have a hard job getting to the birds. The hawk seems to have gone now that I have done that, I am still wary though.
- I’ve fed birds under the bushes too, especially when it’s really windy which they seem to appreciate.
I would love to put the table back up but the hawk used to wait in the trees and if it happens to fly over it will see them hanging around the table.
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Arlene said on April 1st, 2010
I have large bird table and lots of feeders and have a large number of Goldfinches,Siskins,Bullfinches,Robins Bluetits CoalTits Blackbirds Nuthatch etc that have been feeding in my garden as safely as I can make it given the prevalance of killer cats in the neighbourhood and a sparrowhawk is definitely an unwanted guest in my garden and I chase it when I see it.It only turned up recently and I am hoping it will move on.
- My bird table has a roof and has been enclosed by my husband on three sides by the largest plastic mesh I could find~ the open side nearest the lounge window. It took awhile for them to get used to it but they hop through as though it wasn’t there now.
- All the little birds hop through the mesh or through the side bits under the roof and the bigger birds such as Blackbirds come round the back.
I would buy and put food out for the hawk.mice chicks etc but I think that would not be useful as we started with one squirrel and now I have two of those!I was torn when it first turned up but I have given it a lot of thought and there is no way I am providing a larder for a predator~ my visitors give myself and husband a lot of pleasure and we go to a lot of trouble and expense to get them through the winter.
This is my decision and I am sticking to it!-0-0-0-0-
Shell said, on April 2nd, 2010, Hi Arlene,
I understand. If you started feeding the Hawk it would very likely partner with another one and then nest close by and then the family will grow and your garden birds would gradually disappear. Even if they weren’t all caught I expect many would fly knowing there were predators in the area.
I watched on TV about a person who fed bird of preys and would go out on his tractor with a load of raw meat. It attracted many birds, could’ve been around 50 or something like that. One got to know about it, then another and before he knew it there was a large group of them there.
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Arlene on April 3rd, 2010
Hi Shell ~
you have hit the nail on the head~ the guy in question feeds Red Kites baby chicks I think?and has been doing so for years~ whilst I applaud his dedication it has obviously skewed the local bird population as perhaps I am doing.
- I have had to make a decision to try to keep a whole raft of small birds going in my small garden who are having a hard time because of the loss of habitat,food sources and an explosion in the feline population.
- The enclosing of the bird table works quitewell as it also limits the number of rooks who visit as there is an extremely large population on the fringe of the wood about 100 yards away, and is worth trying if your bird table is suitable.
I do belong to the RSPB~ Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust etc and hope that thay can promote the welfare of birds of prey in more suitable surroundings!
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Trish said,on April 4th, 2010
Thanks for getting in touch. Goldfinches,Siskins,Bullfinches,Robins Bluetits CoalTits Blackbirds Nuthatch – you do get a lot of birds. And the money we spend feeding them is well spent I think.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you say you made the garden as safe as you can can make it given the prevalance of killer cats in the neighbourhood and a sparrowhawk
What another brilliant idea about keeping large birds off bird table – mesh on 3 sides and an open side near a window.
When I talk of large birds as well as sparrowhawks I suppose we could include rooks, crows and pigeons, but definitely sparrowhawks.
- I have put canes round my bird table – they are stuck in the ground and are higher than the bird table so they make a ‘prison’ of the bird table. Only small birds and blackbirds and thrushes can get through.
If you click on the link below and scroll halfway down the writing you will see a photo of my birdtable. At the moment the canes have blown down – that is a job we have to do today – put them back up again.
http://birdtablenews.com/2009/02/how-to-keep-pigeons-off-a-bird-table/
I agree with you as well . I have also gone to a lot of trouble and expense to feed garden birds this frozen, cold winter. They were frantic at the feeders sometimes. Heaven knows how much I have spent on bird food. I’d like to buy a camera nest box but always spend any money I have saved on bird food!
Apologies for not replying sooner, but I’ve had a bit of internet connection trouble.
I started a forum but had to stop for a while because of unexpected problems. If anyone would like to go my birtablenews forum and then to the link WAYS TO STOP LARGE BIRDS EATING ALL THE BIRD FOOD’ you are welcome – as is anyone to add your point of view. Or start a new topic
Trisha
PS – Your bird table idea to keep large birds off – I have added it to this article. Hopefully it may help someone in the future
http://birdtablenews.com/2010/03/ways-to-stop-sparrowhawk-attacks-in-gardens/
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Trish said, on April 4th, 2010
Hi Shell, I do agree. I’m pleased there are other people who agree with me.
Your understanding of the garden /wildlife situation is brill. Of course if a sparrowhawk saw a lot of birds about it would stay and build a nest and breed – and feed on the birds. I had never thought of how a sparrowhawk decides to nest – but of course food will be important.
It is interesting how birds get to know food is about.
Trisha.
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Hope you’ve found this interesting and maybe some of the problem solving ideas have helped you.
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It is said that tourism is a bigger part of the economy than agriculture – but agriculture is the rock on which tourism survives.
Without farming fields would disappear under thistles. Moorlandwould be taken over by bracken.
This sight of thistles and bracken would not attract holiday makers
And you know what farmers actually do produce food you eat.
Farming and food employ 3.6 million people and contribute £80 billion to the economy
The countryside provides food. One of it’s purposes – to feed us all. We are one of the most crowded countries in the world. We are ten times more populated than France and America
The countryside you see is shaped and looked after by farmers. The stone walls and hedges which mark the boundaries of fields.
The fields are filled with corn, sheep, cattle, planted with grass to feed stock or corn – food
The land must be protected
There is a rising world poopulation. We are losing land because of house building, desertification, salination and biofuel production, It has been predicted that climate change will mean less food being produced. The cost of fertiliser and pesticides are rising – if they were not used then there would be less food than there is now.
We do have a food crisis here in Britain even though it does not seem so. We are not self sufficient in food. China is self sufficient in food. Nearly half of the food we eat is brought in from overseas
We rely so much on food from beyond these shores. I think we should have reserves of grain. Whatever it cost to store this grain would be cheap compared to what could happen if the grain harvest ever failed.
In all this we should never forget that it is Mother Earth that has the final say
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Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons and daughters of the Earth
If people spit upon the ground they spit upon themselves. This we know.
The Earth does not belong to man; man belongs tothe Earth. This we know.
All things are conneted like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons and daughters of the Earth
Human beings did not weave the web of life; they are merely a strand in it. Whatever they do so the web they do to themselves
Chief Seathl, Tribal Confederation1854
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Would it be a good idea to move away from the idea of cheap food. Let me know what you think