Bird Table News

It’s bad weather here today and I have been putting bird food out on and off all day!

Just wondered if the Coal Tits  are using any food store they have.

Coal Tits take the food, hide their food away, sometimes in the ground, sometimes in a tree.  They carry off nuts and store them in hiding places.  Nuts are nutritious and store well. 

They collect and store for a time when there is no food.  The bird remembers the exact location.

Isn’t that clever!  It must give them an advantage over other birds.

Has anyone seen anything like this or have other information about Coal Tits storing food.

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All finches have short bills as they are seed eating birds. 

There are variations between bills as there are different types of finches

FINCHES BEAKS

•   The hawfinch is the largest of the 12 British finches and has the most powerful bill.
• The Hawfinch has a large head and bill.  It is not easy to see as it perches high in the branches of deciduous trees and keeps very still.
• The Hawfinch breeds in forests, orchards, large gardens, bushy places and deciduous forests.
• The stones of sloes, damsons and cherries are its basic food.  It also east haws, hips and holly berries.  With their powerful bills hawfinches can smash cherry stones.

I realise the photos are a little small, so here are the names of the birds

Hawfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch and Crossbill

Serin, Bullfinch, Greenfinch, Brambling

Linnet, siskin,  Twite , redpoll

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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!

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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We have been looking after an injured young swallow that we found on the 23rd August – we have had it for a week now.

We found it on the ground with an apparently broken wing. Amazingly, it made no attempt to get away and allowed us to pick it up.

We decided to look after it, rather than allow it to end up the meal of a cat or fox or such like. We now have it in a canary cage and are feeding it live and dried mealworms, flies etc.

We are trying to teach it to help itself to food and water! We are are considering ways of maintaining a live food supply throughout the winter.

We will also have to make sure it is kept warm but we do not know what an appropriate temperature range would be.

It is really cute but we are saddened by the fact it is on its own. Is it possible to get hold of another (injured?) swallow from somewhere to keep it company.

How can we find out if ours is a make or female?

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I received the above comment.  Does anyone have a detailed knowledge of swallows?

Temperature – I have found out that Swallows follow a 48 degree isotherm (an isotherm is a line on a map connecting same monthly temperature).  I don’t know if that helps.  Will see if I can find out more.

The temperature will be important, but in Summer in England you do get cold, wet weather as well as warm weather.  Swallows migrate when  the food supply here becomes non existant.  Your little swallow has food, warmth, water and care. 

I will try and see if anyone else is looking after an injured swallow.   Perhaps you could put it near a window where it could see other birds.  Or put a recording on of birds singing. 

Maybe it doesn’t matter if you know if it is male or female

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I have only just received this comment ten minutes ago.  I’m sorry you have had difficulty posting this question on Bird Table News.  I’ll look into the reason why.

I have put your questions on a birding group that I belong to on Twitter.  I have also put it on a Bird Forum I belong to. 

I would like to thank you  for taking the time to care for it.  I hope you succeed.   I’m sure you’ll connect with the swallow and be prepared to look after it all winter.  I will research and see what else I can find.

Please keep me in touch with how you are getting on. 

I know I haven’t answered all your questions but wanted to get this problem onto Bird Table News so that other people can help.

Trisha

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WHY DO BIRDS MOULT?

The feathers of birds do get  worn, damaged and discoloured.  Birds need to be in pristine condition to see them through the long winter which, to birds, is just round the corner.

It takes -

• A certain amount of time to grow new feathers
• A certain amount of protein to grow new feathers

Which is why a lot of birds grow new feathers in one go.

Birds are moulting now.  It is amazing how they fit in with nature.

August is the best time for birds to moult because -

• The weather is warm.
• Birds need warm weather when they moult because fewer feathers means they cannot keep as warm – and also means they do not have much energy.
• If they moulted earlier it may be colder for birds
• If they moulted earlier   they would not have enough energy to  feed their young and  moult at the same time
• Birds are vulnerable when they are moulting so they shelter during the day.  This is a good time of year for them to shelter – when the young have fledged and they only have themselves to feed.

So birds moult when the weather is warm and when breeding has ended.

So the gardens may seem quiet – but it will still help many birds if we put bird food out.

So the seasons progress and birds (along with other wildlife) have learnt the only way to survive is to fit in with the seasons.

We are removed from the seasons in a lot of ways.  I wonder if we lose something by not being connected to nature.

It is really amazing how they know that August is a good time to moult and how the different seasons give them  different challenges in their  lives!

So don’t forget to put bird food out – it will help.

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Cockney House Sparrow

The Cockney Sparrow  (The House Sparrow ) is declining in many parts of Britain. 

London is one of the places where numbers are reducing – BUT

At the Tower of London there are a happy band of sparrows that are fit, well and thriving.

There is going to be a viewing area set up near the Tower Shop at the Tower of London so that visitors and Londoners can see  these little sparrows – and hopefully find out what they can do to help the House Sparrow.

These Tower of London House Sparrows are happy chappies who spend a lot of their time hopping onto the cafe tables, chirping as loud as they can and generally enjoying themselves unafraid of anyone or anything around them. 

In other places in London city the numbers of sparrows are reducing – it would be really good if something could be done to increase sparrow numbers.

The RSPB are running a Nature event over four weekends

From July 31st to Sunday 23rd August the events will be each Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Tower of London

I won’t be able to go, but if anyone can get I’d love to know about it.

 SPARROW BIRD FOOD -  CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO BUY  NOW

HOUSE SPARROW  IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

Female House Sparrow

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These are the most read articles in July 2009

 Two of these articles tell a story .  Number 1 was written in Feb 2009 – it was talking about a bird feeding problem.  The 3rd article is about the same problem.  I wrote it because I had received a very good solution about how to keep large birds off bird tables.  So the story has  unfolded and a bird feeding problem has been solved.

1. HOW TO KEEP PIGEONS OFF BIRD TABLES

 2.     BLACKBIRD IN USA WITH WHITE TAIL FEATHERS
This has been an interesting, ongoing source of discovery.  some reasons why blackbirds have white tail feathers  – CLICK HERE TO READ SOME OF THE REASONS 

3.  HOW TO KEEP PIGEONS AWAY FROM BIRD TABLES. 
This carries on from No. 1.  - another way to keep large birds off birdtables.

4.  BIRD TABLE FOR SALE

 5.  COVERED GROUND BIRD FEEDER – PRODUCT REVIEW 

 6. HOUSE SPARROW FACT SHEET

 7.  WOODPIGEONS STAGE A COO

 8. WHITE TAIL FEATHERED BLACKBIRD - How I became interested in blackbirds with some white feathers.

 9. HAWTHORN HEDGES FOR BIRDS - How hawthorn hedges can be used for roosting, food and protection

Strangely enough Article Number 10 shows how useful Hawthorn could be.

10. SPARROWHAWK WITH ITS TALONS ROUND A BLACKBIRD

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Hope you’ve enjoyed seeing the most Popular Posts for July 2009.

If you have any ideas for articles, or would like to write a guest article please let me know.

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It is fascinating how starlings got their name.

In summer starlings do not have many spots.

In winter starlings have the pale spots all over their dark bodies.

The white spots on black plumage were thought to look like the night sky

So the bird was named the Starling

Starling in England

 Is this a UFO or is it a formation of starlings

Starlings or UFO

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