Bird Table News

Name the bird singing.  I should know but I don’t.

Name this Bird

I must feed the little creature every day because it’s so close to the bird feeders, I can see a shadow and hear this song.  But can’t put the two together.

I learnt from the two RSPB Volunteers that Tawny Owls will push a Barn Owl out of a nest box and take the nest box over to breed their own young.

I always thought that Tawny and Barn Owls were similar.  Never thought that one breed of Owl was agressive and the other was not. 

It’s bird against bird again.  Survival of the fittest.

What is ‘RSS’ and ‘Subscribe.’

At the top right of my blog you will see -

SUBSCRIBE TO BIRD TABLE NEWS Posts Comments

There is a little orange box after the words ‘Posts’ and ‘Comments’

On most blogs it says ‘RSS’ and ‘Subscribe’

It took me ages to find out myself what it is. RSS Stands for Really Simple Sindicatation. But that doesn’t help us much does it - so read on.

The articles that I put onto Bird Table News also go onto the Bird Table News FEED.

This “FEEDS” you my articles. Which means Bird Table News comes to you. So it is the opposite of the usual way of using blogs and websites where you go the the site.

Next question - How does it know that you want my articles.

Answer - You subscribe for free to my Bird Table News FEED. This means you get my articles ‘fed’ (delivered) to your computer through this RSS Reader

RSS saves you time as you don’t have to visit the website or blog . For me I think of it as a compliment. Someone likes Bird Table News enough to want a little more.

Would you like Bird Table News Delivered?

HOW TO USE RSS

RSS can be very complicated. There are so many options it can be difficult to understand. So I will only give you one choice. I use a service called Feedburner which makes it quiet simple.

If you look at - SUBSCRIBE TO BIRD TABLE NEWS. Then at the small orange tab.

If you click the word POSTS after the small orange tab you are taken to another page.

You will be given a lot of options. Look for the small toolbar that says +GOOGLE

Click on this small toolbar that says +GOOGLE (only because it’s the one I use).

You will then be shown two choices. Choose the option - ADD TO GOOGLE READER

You will have to have make yourself an account at Google Reader. Choose a USERNAME and PASSWORD. Write these down somewhere to remember them.

Then it takes you to a page this where you have to copy my blog name and press SUBSCRIBE.

On the left hand side of the page you will see my blog title. In time each article I have written will automatically be ‘fed’ to your computer from my computer.

It’s a bit like having a filing cabinet where all the files automatically get transferred from filing cabinet to another.

Now, all you have to do is log into GOOGLE READER with your USERENAME and PASSWORD and you will see my posts without going to Bird Table News. You can Subscribe for free to any blog or webpage that you want to.

Hope that Helps.

If not then please send me a comment and I’ll try and help

Here is some more information about having articles ‘fed’ to your computer

Trisha

The other year we put up a Barn Owl Box.  It was used by Jackdaws.  We don’t know what type of bird used this box this year.   It was over a year ago when we found out what was in the Barn Owl Box

Luckily  two RSPB Volunteers wanted to and walk round the wood and see the Barn Owl Box. They came yesterday (Sunday)

There has been so much rain and it’s so muddy that their first plan to climb a ladder and see if anything was inside the box was cancelled.  This is for two reasons - the weather was too bad to climb a ladder it would have been dangerous for them. Also there may have been owls using the owl box as shelter from this torrential rain.  It would have been silly to disturb any owls in the Box.

It’s really good of volunteers to give their time.  We walked round to see if they could see any evidence of Barn Owls nesting anywhere, but they couldn’t.  They are going to come back on a better day.

Away to the West of us is a large dale which, it seems, is good Barn Owl Countryside. 

We know we have a Tawny Owl nearby.  We can hear it on a night and one has been seen in a Crow or a Rooks nest!

The other year we had a Tawny Owl that took refuge in our garden as it was ill.  We ended up calling it Tawny.  Here is Tawny’s Story

Tawny and Barn Owls have been around here for years.  They seem to be part of the countryside.

I showed the two RSPB Volunteers my bird feeders.  Maybe it was my imagination but they seemed a little surprised that I fed birds. 

We walked through the cow shed and I told them England may soon be getting most of it’s milk from France. (So many people are stopping milking cows as they cannot make a living).

Now I’m going to fill up the hanging bird feeders.  As the leaves are coming off the trees I can see them better from my kitchen window so will be able to see  if we have any squirrels visiting.  Hope not.

Swans are staying put in Siberia instead of migrating to England

Do they know something we don’t?

If they stay in Siberia this year will the young hatched next year know how to make the long migration from Siberia to England.  Will the ‘migration’ memory be passed on?

Climate change has made Siberia warmer than it used to be!  Heaven help us all.

Bewick Swans usually arrive at Slimbridge Wildflow and Wetlands Centre just after the middle of October  but the weather in the Artic is so warm they are staying put in Siberia.

The Swans are over a week late in arriving in England and this is unheard of!

What is the weather suddenly turns cold in Siberia will they set off then.

Or do they have an inbuilt knowledge that our winter is going to be colder than the winter in Siberia.  I do so hope not.

Thanks for sending this lovely description of bird watching and bird feeding. 

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 table was occupied by a robin which kept chasing the tit away but it did not stop 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 tit was not going to be bullied out of its supper. I could have cheered out loud when it succeeded!

John