WEEKLY TWEET

Weekly Tweet has Moved!

2010-07-04T09:37:00.000+01:00

After encountering problems with Blogger for a while now (mainly with photos), I've decided to move to WordPress.

Unfortunately I've had to change the blogs name to Shazzas Backyard Blog

Please click on the link to have a look.

I hope you will all still visit me :-) Thanks

Good News

2010-07-03T12:34:00.001+01:00

Where do I begin? After weeks of neglecting Weekly Tweet & all the blogs I follow, I can now get back on track - my business is now full time which means I get my evenings & weekends back to enjoy the birds again! Happy Days! Of course, that means you have to read more of my waffle ;-)

First things first updates on our garden activity:- we still have plenty of juveniles visiting - Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Starlings, Sparrows, even a couple of young Linnets (no photos though, I'm afraid).

Another piece of good news is the Housemartins won their nest back & are busy flitting back and forth feeding - I'd love to see them fledge (especially as I now work from home) but don't think I can sit glued to the window all day (unfortunately)!

We have been inundated with Starlings every day and I've noticed about 3 that have varying discolouration to their heads / beaks. Does anyone know what this is? Have they picked up some kind of illness or is it just different colouring?

Another piece of good news - guess what we rescued this morning? This fella was found down our drain (we must get a cover for it), a bit wet & probably tired but was a good size and seemed okay.

We placed it at the back of the garden, next to the shed where its all overgrown and covered in leaves / ivy.

After watching it for half an hour (just to make sure it's okay), it started to move and has now buried itself underneath all the leaf litter.

This is my first encounter with a Hedgehog over here in Ireland and I'm pleased to say it was a happy one!

Where's the reliable bird gone?

2010-06-06T08:13:00.000+01:00

From the very first day we moved in we thought it odd that we hadn't seen a Robin in our garden. We assumed it would eventually find us but after 3 months of living here, we've still not seen or heard one around the neighbourhood! Is that normal? I've never lived anywhere before where there's not been the faithful old Robin visiting.

We even left a spade upright in the soil for it to land on :-)

We do have lots of Sparrows and Starlings though, could it be that there's too much competition for food? Maybe we should've waited before buying the Robins nest box - needless to say that's empty but it is well covered now by all the ivy and clematis that's growing around it!

The garden is still full of fledglings which is always nice to see even though they do make a racket at 5.30am!

I think there's bad news regarding the Housemartins nest - yesterday a male Sparrow decided it liked the look of the nest and moved in! I've never seen that before and the Housemartins certainly didn't like it. I'm not sure if there's eggs / chicks inside but I'd say the family has been evicted!

Surely the Sparrows would be settled in their own nests by now? I'm hoping the Housemartins win it back - there were quite a few mobbing the intruder whenever he flew out and he appeared to be by himself.

The next couple of photos are of flowers in our garden - I'm not really a flower person so I'm not even going to try to name them but I just like the colours!

And finally, one of the first flower on our Mangetout plants!

Family Meeting

2010-05-27T21:10:00.000+01:00

Don't you just love Spring?! Our garden has all of a sudden become a focal point for families of Starlings & Sparrows. I love the way the fledglings open their beaks & flap their wings whenever an adult bird is near - they don't care if it's their parent or not - it has food!!

We have this small family of Greenfinches down most evenings now, the young are so adorable, often sitting there for half an hour or more with the one sunflower seed trying to get to the middle! I suppose I should really start buying the sunflower hearts for them instead to make it a bit easier!

Also saw something really positive at the weekend - the Housemartins are back rebuilding their old nests at the side of our neighbour's house! It seems to be taking them a while but fingers crossed we'll have young in a couple of months! I've never seen so many Housemartins before swirling above the roofs and they're so vicious to each other! One could be clinging on to the wall and another will literally fly up and pull it off! I'm going to try and video them this weekend if the weather is okay (i.e. dry!)

Will also keep an eye out for other fledglings in our garden in between shooing next doors cats away!

Does anyone have any tips for keeping cats out? So far we've come up with barbed wire and a gun! Don't think the neighbours would approve though!

Warning - Long Post!

2010-05-16T22:08:00.000+01:00

I can't believe how long it's been since my last post! I must apologise for not updating Weekly Tweet & also for not checking the other blogs I follow! Work / business commitments have taken over in the last few weeks & I'm ashamed to say I've not really been observing the garden as much as I'd like to!

However, a quick update is long overdue... in the last month activity has picked up and we've had Siskins, Chaffinches, Feral Pigeons and plenty of Sparrows.

The evenings are now filled with the chattering of House Martins and Swifts flying over the roofs and the chirping of baby Starlings in the eaves of the neighbours houses. I love this time of year and can't wait until we start getting the baby Sparrows & Starlings in the garden.

Another reason for the delay in posting is that we were on holiday last week in gorgeous County Kerry. I love the South West of Ireland and certainly recommend the place we stayed (Inch Strand - where Ryans Daughter was filmed!).

The brilliant news is that we saw 4 new species that we've never seen before!

We took a trip to the Skelligs which was supposed to have Puffins running around your feet - we saw none! Until just before we left when one flew onto the island and landed rather clumsily under a rock! I managed to take a shaky photo of 4 floating on the sea - I actually didn't know what I was photographing as I was quite high up but am REALLY pleased they turned out to be Puffins!

Whilst on the Skelligs there was the unmistakable sound of a Wren singing it's little heart out - I eventually found it perched on the edge of the cliff!

On leaving the island, the boat took us around Little Skellig - a huge Gannet colony - these are my favourite sea birds, I think they're so graceful and beautiful with their golden caps! The photos aren't brilliant as they were taken from the boat on an extremely choppy day (I'm not very good on boats!), but I think you can get the idea of how many Gannets are on there!

We had a regular visitor at our cottage of a Mistle Thrush every day (species No.2) which seemed to like the small lawn outside the front door!

Species number 3 was a Peregrine Falcon! Unfortunately I didn't get any shots of this as it took us by surprise - we'd stopped at the side of a cliff to take some scenery photos (and also some of the chap below!), climbed down the grassy bank a bit and something took off from below the ledge - it circled above the sea then disappeared - it was definitely a Peregrine though, no mistaking the shape / colour!

Lastly species No. 4 were a pair of Choughs! These were above us on a deserted beach digging around the grass / sand of the cliffs - they were gorgeous, so glossy. Photos aren't the best I'm afraid!

So, May definitely started off well - unfortunately I didn't see any new species for April but the 4 in May certainly made up for it!

I'll try not to leave it so long before my next post and I'll sort out some more photos of Kerry.

Simply Stoned!

2010-04-23T20:43:00.000+01:00

We went for a walk yesterday evening after work and came across this obliging poser!

I love where we live!!

New Feeder.......New Bird

2010-04-18T19:42:00.000+01:00

Okay so the new bird wasn't on the new feeder but they are both new!

The bird is our very first Greenfinch in the new garden! I couldn't see any more so I'm not sure if this one is single or just went for a wander by itself!

Apologies for the quality of the photos - they were taken through the kitchen blinds!

The new feeder is a peanut one that I just couldn't resist! It's hooked on the corner of our bungalow and in perfect view from the bedroom window!

A solitary Blue Tit has already visited it this afternoon - it's perfect for the "clinger on" birds and it's out of the way of the main feeders so the Starlings won't monopolise it!

So the view from our patio chairs is this....

What more could we want!?

Our "Other" Back Garden!

2010-04-17T15:19:00.000+01:00

We discovered our "other" back garden last weekend - a stretch of beach / fields / scrubland and gorse literally 3 minutes walk away. Below are a selection of photos I took from this new haven!

My first Stonechat of the year!

Kestrel - seen quite a few times so hope to get better close-ups soon!

Gorgeous blue skies in Ireland all last week which is set to continue throughout next week into next weekend - I could get used to the blue backdrop on my photos!

Of course, I've probably jinxed it now ;-)

Home Sweet Home

2010-04-13T22:00:00.000+01:00

We've been here now for a few weeks and settling in quite nicely! After looking around the neighboring hedgerows/fences/gardens etc I've spotted a couple of nest sites.

One is definitely being used by House Sparrows, its in a hole in the eaves of the house opposite our back garden and there is constant activity going on - good job there is now a new food source for them ready for the chicks!

Picture quality is a bit poor due to the fact they were taken through slatted blinds, trying not to appear too suspicious pointing a camera at what could be mistaken for the bedroom window!

The next site is the house next door to the one above that looks like it had a Swallows or House martins nest under the eaves. You never know they may return to build a new nest!

The 3rd site is our house that we put up at the side of our ivy covered shed. We know it's a Robin nest box but in fairness we weren't to know there are no Robins in the neighbourhood! I'm hoping that maybe a Wren or Dunnock may use it, I know I'm being overly optimistic but again you just never know!

We're also thinking of securing the empty coconut shell deep in the hedge for the Wren, not sure if it is a bit too open for it but something may use it.

Watch this space!

Lucky Day

2010-04-10T20:06:00.000+01:00

Today was a good day! Firstly we were greeted with this when we awoke....

Yes, we do actually have blue skies in Ireland! And it forecasts it to be like this all next week! It is true that sunny days automatically puts you in a good mood.

So, with the sun above us and the birds chirping away, we put up our new feeders....

and within 15 minutes we had our first Goldfinch visit us (in fact we had 3!)

It didn't take the Starlings too long to sample the menu either!

We spent the morning in the garden planting flowers and veg (beans & salad) and there was one Starling that wasn't at all bothered by us and carried on munching away as if we weren't there!

The more time I spend in the garden the more I love it!

Then I got really lucky and won on the Grand National!

I must thank AP McCoy for my €200!! I wouldn't normally encourage gambling but I think I may have to bet on the US Masters just to see!

Wicklow Head

2010-04-06T22:01:00.001+01:00

Given that the forecasters got the weather wrong on Easter Sunday and it turned out to be gloriously sunny (sorry Warren!), I joined FB (Forest the Bear) on one of his walks to Wicklow Head via Seal Beach.

His last visit there showed at least 30 seals sunning themselves on the beach, this time there weren't as many but still enough to make me smile! There were 5 on the beach....

....and another 2 playing at the waters edge.

After sitting watching them for about 45 minutes, we decided to make our way to Wicklow Head - seals don't really do much do they?!

This juvenile Shag/Cormorant (not sure which) was making the most of the sunshine & drying his wings.

We perched ourselves halfway down the cliff at Wicklow Head opposite the colony of Kittiwakes and Fulmars. I've never actually seen a colony of seabirds before so this was a real treat for me. I must say the noise was unbelievable & this was a small colony! It was quite awesome being at eye level with some of the birds as they circled before landing next to their mate. The photos aren't the best due to the sun being in front of us and quite strong (again sorry Warren!)

Razorbills were doing their thing on the water!

After spending a couple of hours sat on damp grass, my backside decided enough was enough and we started to make our way back to the car park.

The views were gorgeous on the way back and reminded me of an Alpine village. We had gorgeous blue sea, bright yellow gorse, blue skies, green fields and snow capped mountains in the background!

I do actually have a gorgeous photo of the stunning scenery but for some reason Blogger doesn't want to upload it (having stupid problems with Blogger at the mo!). It's taken me about an hour to do this post which is ridiculous! Rant over now. I'll try to post the last photo later!

New Old Visitors

2010-04-04T14:38:00.000+01:00

Have been in the new house for a couple of weeks now & I'm still trying to get used to the back garden. It's quite strange that I get excited when a Coal Tit visits the feeder when they were the most common bird at the last house!

We had 2 Blue Tits flitting in and out of the shrubs yesterday & I couldn't stop smiling! Its as though I'm rediscovering all the birds I took for granted at the last place.

I suppose at the moment the feeder is quite hidden. I can hear Goldfinches in the vicinity and Greenfinches keep passing overhead but none have landed yet!

I have ordered a load of new feeders online which should be with us next week, so hopefully any birds flying over will see all the culinary delights we have on offer!

We get the House Sparrows every day and the Starlings always come down for a bit of a nosy.

You looking at me?

However there's one bird that I'm missing!

The Robin! I thought every garden had one - so where's ours? I've only heard him sing once and that's it. It's quite strange not to have one wake you up at 5.30am claiming his territory!

And I would've thought the gardens around here are ideal for the little scamp but I've still yet to see one!

We're planning on doing a little digging this weekend though so if there is one around then I'm sure he'll appear as soon as the spade hits the soil ;-)

New Home!

2010-03-28T16:38:00.004+01:00

We have finally moved into our new house, after just over a week of packing, cleaning, working, unpacking, more cleaning - I've come to the conclusion I hate moving!

The new home is lovely and the back garden is fantastic! Its quite a mature garden with lots of shrubs & bushes.

It has a narrow path leading you all the way around the grass to the back of the garden through more bushes and ends up at a shed which is covered in ivy!
I would like to say it's a haven for birds but we've had 2 different cats hiding in the garden so far :-(

We have got our priorities right though, and after an hour of being in the house on the first day, we decided unpacking can wait - the feeders must go up in the garden first!

So far, we've put up the coconut, seed feeder and the house.

These are all just in temporary positions until we get sorted.

After just 4 days, the House Sparrows have found the house!

The Starlings have discovered the coconut!

A couple of Coal Tits have been helping themselves to the Sunflower Seeds, Blackbirds have been rummaging around in the tree bark under the shrubs and a Dunnock has been underneath the seed house picking up any bits that the Sparrows throw off.

We've also put up a nest box at the side of the shed in the hope that a Robin might take an interest (especially with all the cover there is!)

I'd forgotten how noisy Starlings & Sparrows can be having not had them in the garden for a year - I have actually missed them! Hopefully, once more feeders and a bath have been put in the garden, there'll be plenty of photos to be taken!

Thanks for my 'Firsts'

2010-03-19T22:12:00.004Z

Well, tonight is our last night in this house - we move tomorrow to a new property with a new garden & I must admit I'm quite excited!

I've decided to dedicate this post to the 'firsts' of things I've seen since living here.

Even though the back garden is small, I love it! I love the fact it backs onto a wooded area where I saw my first fox cub "Peanut" - I'll never forget how chuffed I was when I first saw him and his 2 siblings eat the chopped apple I'd thrown out for the birds!

I'll also never forget the thrill of seeing my first Jay eat peanuts in our garden! This is a bird I'd only heard calling in a wood back home, I'd never actually seen how beautiful it was, so I was thrilled when we had a family of 5 visit our garden every day (this all seems like so long ago now!)

Then there's Cyril, the Badger, again something I'd never seen (alive!) who visited us every night for peanuts and whatever leftovers we threw out there - he absolutely adored peanut butter!

(apologies photos aren't the best!)

I saw my first (wild) Rat too - okay so I know some of you won't class that as necessarily a good thing but I think it's brilliant! I've even discovered the hole which it climbs into with food - I'm sure there's probably babies in there somewhere!

Again, birdwise I've seen my first Redwing in the garden (okay it was hiding behind ferns but it was still there!) and my first Lesser Redpoll - I'm not going to bother posting photos of these again as neither were very good!

So, all in all, I will miss this garden or more to the point the wildlife within it! I actually do feel sad when I think that the birds won't have anybody feeding them until new tenants move in & I've no idea how long that will be.

I know I shouldn't but tomorrow I'm going to throw anything I can find out for the birds & rat as a goodbye present - the only good thing is that the weather seems to be warming up slightly so they should be okay, after all they managed before we moved in......... and I can't really leave them a forwarding address!

My next post should be from the new house & new garden which looks like a little haven for garden birds..... ivy covered shed... lots of bushes... hedges... trees... I can't wait!

Murphy's Law

2010-03-15T21:39:00.000Z

Typical!

The week we're supposed to be moving out & I get a pair of gorgeous Greenfinches visiting the feeder!

I suppose that's what they call Murphy's Law over here!

Memories

2010-03-14T23:00:00.014Z

Tonight I was looking through photos of the last house we lived in & ended up missing it quite badly (even though I wasn't that fussed when we left!).
Reason for missing it? The back garden - I know we have a kind of wooded area at the moment but I miss the 'normal' suburban back garden, with the Starlings and the Sparrows etc etc (okay I may have had a couple of glasses of red wine at this point)!
So anyway, this post is dedicated to our old back garden (apologies but all of these photos were taken with my old camera and through windows!) ......

We planted a 'wild flower meadow' in our back garden, neighbours may have thought it was 'messy' but nature loved it! I really miss the colours now - I can't wait for Spring/Summer to arrive properly!

We put up a wooden bird feeder on the side of the shed which the Sparrows loved - only thing was the Starlings also loved it when it rained to shelter in!

The summer before we moved we started getting a Goldfinch with a deformed claw (who I named Gripper to go with Stumpy the Starling!)

Unfortunately we moved house before I could really monitor 'Gripper', so I've no idea what happened to him (or her).
I'm actually looking forward to moving house again just to see what other birds I can get back in the garden!

Whale Update

2010-03-14T19:48:00.005Z

Okay, I know this is supposed to be a garden bird blog but I thought I'd post an update regarding the dead whale we found down in Wexford.
I reported the finding to the Irish Whale & Dolphin Group (www.iwdg.ie) when I got home.
They replied advising that there was a Pilot Whale stranded at that spot on 31 October last year which was buried and it's possible that it's the same one coming up again through the sand! How bizarre is that?!
Anyway, I thought I'd better update just in case anybody wanted to know.

Dilemma

2010-03-11T21:43:00.004Z

At the risk of repeating myself, I need advice on what to do!

I know I've mentioned this before but I'm still not sure... we're hoping to move house in the next couple of weeks and the plan was to gradually decrease the amount of food I put out for the birds.

I've now completely run out of peanuts, there's only half a feeder of sunflower seeds and just 1 fatball left in the ring.
The problem is I wasn't expecting it to be this bloody cold every day and I'm finding it hard every morning not to refill all the feeders! Especially when there are 2 Long Tailed Tits huddled around the remaining fat ball - its quite a pathetic sight!

Some mornings its like a scene from Snow White in our back garden.. the pair of Robins sat watching you (glaring would be the correct term!), Chaffinches and Blackbirds throwing things around on the ground looking for something to eat and then there are the 2 Squirrels literally sat on the back doorstep waiting for you to throw nuts out!

So, what do I do? Do I give in and replenish all feeders to give them a chance or carry on and hope it warms up soon? If its the latter then I would have to leave all blinds closed as I don't think I could stand to see them all starving & shivering outside!

Please help!

Tacumshin

2010-03-07T20:38:00.015Z

I always go on to a website called www.irishbirding.com every day just to see what's been reported in our locality whilst I've been at work.

Almost every day there are sightings of species I've never seen in a place called Tacumshin in County Wexford, so this weekend we decided to pay a visit to this lake.
So, what did we see.......?
Hmmmmm........ a dead whale (pilot whale we think) on the beach, not a very good start (quite sad really).
If you don't like gruesome pics then look away now!

So, continuing our walk we cut across the dunes to reach Tacumshin Lake, passing more remains of what looked like a wader along the way!

Thankfully when we reached the waters, there were live birds out there! Was beginning to think I was the grim reaper :-(

The place was full of waders, of which I'm no good at ID'ing (surprise surprise!), below is a picture of a Redshank (I think), although there have been sightings of a Spotted Redshank at the lake.

And I have no idea what these are....

In fact, I think the only waders I know are Turnstones.

We sat watching a flock of them not far from where we were sitting when a small bird dived at them before landing on a concrete post to the side of us.
The flash of bright turquoise and orange confirmed it was a Kingfisher! My new species for this month, as hard as it is to believe I have never ever seen this gorgeous bird! And I only saw it this time for about 15 seconds before it flew off (so no photo)!
We waited for about an hour in the biting sea breeze for it to return, hoping that it would land on the post that was conveniently positioned in front of us

but it didn't! I never even thought of seeing a Kingfisher at the beach, I still find it bizarre! Another first for me today was a Hen Harrier which came up from behind the dunes on the left of the picture above and flew over the water. Again, no photo as we were busy looking for the Kingfisher so missed the close up view of the bird of prey!
Just got a poor distance shot.

All in all it was a very good day, I've missed out the section about how bad the roads are and the fact there are no signs telling you how to get to the lake, or about how bad the parking is and the fact that ideally you need a 4x4 to navigate through the sand/mud/water!!

Just out of interest, yesterday sightings recorded at Tacumshin were:-
2 Buzzard
1 Hen Harrier
1 Spotted Redshank
1 Green Winged Teal
1 Glossy Ibis

And whilst we were there today, we missed 2 Red Kites and a Fan Tailed Warbler back at home in Wicklow!
We just can't win!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOREST :-)

2010-02-27T10:37:00.002Z

http://forestthebeargoeswild.blogspot.com/

Hard Hat Required!

2010-02-21T14:33:00.012Z

Awoke this morning to a sprinkling of snow (thought Spring was supposed to be here now?), so I thought I'd go back to Knocksink Woods to see what was around.
Along the main walkway leading up to the woods, the gorse was in flower, which looked a bit odd as it was also covered in snow!

Upon entering the woods it was all very picturesque, the sun was shining through the trees which was lovely....... until your head got battered by the clumps of melting ice/snow falling from the trees :-(
As the title says, hard hats were needed!

I sat by the river for a fair while hoping to see something, maybe a Dipper but the only thing that made an appearance was a Wren (not that there's anything wrong with Wrens of course!)

There were plenty of Coal Tits & Great Tits flitting about in the tree tops but none stayed still enough for me to focus on them.

I also realise that I have new found respect to anybody that photographs Treecreepers! How do you do it? The photo below shows my attempt..... if you look behind the branch that's in focus, at the small blob on the trunk, that's the Treecreeper (okay stop laughing now!)

I may have to add that challenge to my wishlist, to try & get a decent shot of one this year!

All in all it was quite a nice walk through the woods, apart from the ice attacks from above! And on the way back along the pathway, something small was flitting around the gorse, which I think was a Goldcrest, it was certainly small enough to be one!
Again, the photo isn't the best but it was moving around quite a bit!

Came home and put out yet more food for the birds, also spotted this fella casing the joint!

That's the first Collared Dove I've seen around this area, maybe he'll (or she) venture down into the garden later.

Don't you just love Dads!

2010-02-20T18:13:00.012Z

The first text I got off my Mum this morning told me that my Dad had seen his first ever Woodpecker! It was the local Green Woodpecker feeding on the fat square in their garden first thing.

This made me smile as my dad is in his 70's and never really been into the whole nature / wildlife thing.
What made me laugh out loud was the fact he thought it was a Parrot! :-)
Bless him!
Have to say I'm jealous though, as we never got them (Woodpeckers or Parrots) whilst I was living at home!

Anyway, back to my garden and I'm pleased to say we now have a pair of Siskins regularly feeding on the nuts.

Male Siskin

Pair of Siskins (you can just make out the female at the bottom)

They seem to arrive later on in the afternoon, as though they're dropping in on their way home.
The large flock of Long Tailed Tits seem to have diminished slightly and we now only have 2 that come every day, obviously they've started to pair up now.

Hello!

The Chaffinches have now noticed the Sunflower Seeds, which is bad news for the Coal Tits as they're chasing everything off that ventures near the feeder! I was thinking I might alternate layers of normal seed in with the sunflowers just to see what else it will attract.

Chaffinches hogging the Sunflower Seeds

Coal Tit before being chased off by the Chaffinches!

The Lesser Redpoll hasn't returned yet but I'm still watching out for it every day, it may return with the Siskins again, you never know!

I also noticed the Rat has a partner so I'm assuming somewhere in the wood out the back may be a whole load of baby rats running around! As long as they stay out there & not inside then they're okay.

Ring Ouzel?

2010-02-19T21:36:00.004Z

Had an interesting telephone conversation with my mum tonight back in Leicestershire, she told me she saw a bird yesterday that she'd never seen before in her garden.
It was eating the fruity pellets on the bird table and appeared to be a Blackbird.
Then it flew up onto the fence and she said it had a white chest. Unfortunately she didn't get a photo but she's going to keep a look out for it.

She was thinking of a Blackbird that has "gone a bit albino" (as she put it!).
I was thinking Ring Ouzel!

I'm not sure whether Ring Ouzels are found in Leicestershire or at what time of year or anything about them........ so I'm throwing it out to the bird experts - could it have been one or not?

Thanks in advance for your answers/input! :-)

There's a Brown Bird in the Ring......

2010-02-13T12:54:00.008Z

Tra la la la la......

Not much of the suet ring left now and most of the birds that come into our garden have made the most of it!

It's only taken a week for all the suet to just about disappear & I don't think the squirrel is to blame this time - I think the birds actually got chance to eat it all for themselves!

It wasn't me!

I also bought another new feeder for the Sunflower Seeds, hopefully this one is a bit more squirrel proof than the last one.
It didn't take long for the birds to get accustomed to it!

New Bird, New Camera, New Treat!

2010-02-07T18:02:00.012Z

I'll start with the new treat - I ordered a suet ring which I thought would go down a treat with the garden birds, especially given the cold weather.

The description of it says "Formulated from fats, bound with peanut flour and seeds and finished with a generous coating of dried fruits and mixed seeds - approximate weight 1.4kg"
Hmmm, sounds tasty, doesn't it?!

I didn't realise how big it was going to be!
I've hung it from one end of the bird pole we have and it's slowly bending the metal thread!
To give you an idea of the size, below is a photo of it next to my mobile phone, the mobile is one of the bog standard Nokia, not titchy or anything, just normal size!

So far, the Coal Tits, Blue Tits and Robins have all sampled it, there is a slight bare patch to the top where the sunflower seeds have been pecked off.
The Grey Squirrels sniffed at it then decided it wasn't for them! (we now have 2 Greys that come down every day!)
After putting the new treat up, I literally came straight back inside & grabbed my camera as the birds were all waiting in the wings for me to disappear!

The Siskin is coming down most days now which I'm really happy about - we have 2 females visit us, I haven't seen a male with them.
However, this morning another bird came down with one of the females.

Which brings me on to the new camera.....I now have a Nikon P90 which "apparently" is better than my old Fuji, so I've been trying it out. I know I need to get used to the camera and all the different settings (there's so many!) but at the moment its just not "doing it for me"!

Below are some shots taken with the new camera including the new bird which I think is a Linnet (or a Redpoll?), please feel free to advise me which it is!

Either one is fine by me as I've never seen either so that's my new species for this month!

I did manage to take a couple of okay shots with the Nikon - I suppose I just need to get used to it a bit more.

I actually sat watching the rat on Saturday for a full hour - it came out straight after I put food down and munched its way through suet pellets, seed, nuts, apple & cheese.

It also had company for a while! This photo was taken on my old camera (through dirty windows, I'm afraid!)

Stop Illegal Hunting!

2010-02-04T19:03:00.004Z

Birdwatch Ireland sent me an email today asking for me to sign this petition to stop illegal hunting of birds in Malta.
I won't go into all the morbid details, I think the pictures on the site speak for themselves!

Please follow the link and sign the petition.

http://birdlifemalta.org/petition/

Thanks for your support.

Sorry Mum!

2010-01-31T19:20:00.007Z

Okay - I owe my mum an apology!

I didn't think she would get many birds in her garden for the RSPB survey but she proved me wrong!

Her list is as follows:-

6 Blackbirds
5 Blue Tits
3 Chaffinches
2 Collared Doves
2 Dunnocks
2 Great Tits
3 House Sparrows
1 Long Tailed Tit
3 Robins
2 Starlings
2 Woodpigeons

A total of 11 species - 1 less than me, aah never mind (I won!)

I think she did very well to say she's always complaining that nothing eats her food anymore now that the new neighbours have moved in (they removed the ivy that the Blue tits nested in every year and they have 2 cats!)

Thanks for doing that mum!

I still say the cold weather helped ;-)

Love is in the air........

2010-01-31T12:16:00.011Z

...... everywhere I look around!

Okay, maybe not love but, by the way the birds are pairing up, breeding season is definitely around the corner!

I think the "cutest" couple has to be the Robins - he sits guarding the feeding station whilst she feeds on the fat balls, he even chases off the little Coal Tits who are only after a few sunflower seeds! When she's finished, he then flies to a high branch & sings his little heart out.

It's not surprising he's paired off already, when his territory includes the best bird restaurant in town!

We also have 2 pairs of Great Tits, 2 pairs of Blue Tits, 2 pairs of Coal Tits, 1 pair of Dunnocks (who don't stand a chance when the Robin is around!), and we now have a pair of Thrushes which I'm pleased about!

The Long Tailed Tits just arrive in a flock of between 7 and 11, you can tell they are very social birds and love company, and I've given up trying to work out the Blackbirds and who's with who!

So when Spring arrives and the first little ones are being fed by their parents, I like to think I played matchmaker a little & helped them get together!

Big Garden Birdwatch

2010-01-30T15:05:00.005Z

This weekend is the RSPB's Garden Birdwatch survey - unfortunately I can't do it as I now live in Ireland, even though I have TOLD my mum to do it in the UK!!

Over here, Birdwatch Ireland carry out a similar thing which lasts 13 weeks running from early December through to the end of February, which I've been participating in.

So far today, the following have all landed and/or fed in our garden:-

2 Robins
4 Great Tits
4 Coal Tits
4 Blue Tits
7 Blackbirds (I've never had so many in the garden!)
2 Song Thrushes
2 Dunnocks
6 Chaffinches
6 Long Tailed Tits
2 Magpies
1 Jackdaw
1 Rook
1 Grey Squirrel & 1 Rat
(okay I know the last 2 don't count!)

There's still a couple of hours daylight left so I'm still hoping for the Siskin or the Greenfinches to come back.

I'll post the list that my mum does over the weekend so I can see the differences between her garden (which has no grass, is landscaped with a few ferns & has lots of cats in the neighbourhood) and mine (which backs onto a small wooded area, plenty of cover & trees etc).

Hmmmm wonder which one will have the most birds?
Not that I'm competitive or anything!

Fox Update

2010-01-26T21:57:00.007Z

We now have an adult fox visiting every night for the peanuts & apple but I'm not sure if its the vixen or not.

I know its definitely not Peanut, it sounds stupid but its not the same face!
I know Peanut would be a young adult now & would have different features but I'm sure I would know if it was him!
I don't think he visits us anymore - probably been outed by his parents :-(

Does anybody know how to tell the difference between male & female foxes?
Is it the obvious thing that males are bigger / heavier than females?
If that's the case then I would need to see both together!

Oh well....... guess I'll just have to keep feeding them!

Diseased Chaffinch?

2010-01-24T15:43:00.009Z

We have a flock of around 7 Chaffinches who come into our garden every day, the other week I noticed one of the females had something wrong with her foot. I thought it was a clump of mud & seed stuck around her claws but after trying to focus on it (unsuccessfully), I realised there were lots of what appear to be little cysts.
Does anybody know what has caused this?

She wouldn't stand still long enough for a clear shot!

She seems to be well & has no difficulty keeping with the flock & feeding, I'm just curious to know what this is & whether it would be contagious to the other birds?

On a brighter note we finally had our first Siskin in the garden today - a female all by herself. I did scan the surrounding trees/scrub but couldn't see any more of them.

The rat was also very active today and kept scurrying across to the crumbs of stale cake!

And of course, the Robin not wanting to be left out of the photos!

Best of a bad lot!

2010-01-23T20:15:00.003Z

This really was the best of the bunch - I really need to stop taking photos through the window!

Apologies

2010-01-21T21:41:00.004Z

I'd like to apologise for the lack of response on my part for the comments I've recently received but for some strange reason I'm unable to post comments on my own blog!

This is nothing I've done (or at least I don't think it's me!) but my blog has suddenly got a mind of its own and has decided not to allow me to do certain things!

I hope it doesn't deter anyone from posting comments & I'd like to assure you all that I do appreciate you looking in & as soon as its fixed I'll be replying like mad!

Oh, and another thing...... my list of Followers are not showing either for some reason :-(

Back to Normal?

2010-01-16T18:43:00.008Z

Well...finally the snow has melted!

For the first few days of the wintry weather, it was a novelty, fun, a bit of excitement........ after the 4th day of walking to work & back, it was annoying & boring and "will it just stop please?!"

Still, most of it has now gone & our County (Wicklow) has now been hit by flooding!
What is going on with the weather? We're just waiting for a swarm of locusts to invade us now!

Anyway, the good news is that we managed to restock on the bird food supplies today and we bought a cool donut shaped fat ball feeder!

The Tits just loved it and, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, my fave garden bird visited it this afternoon again and again!

Happy Days :-)

Layer Cake

2010-01-10T14:41:00.009Z

Hmmmm, what can be tastier than fat, raisins and chestnuts placed in layers in a peanut feeder?!

The Great Tit seemed to like it!

And so did my favourite garden bird.........

Long Tailed Tits

We had about 9 Blackbirds all down at once today munching on the apple and raisins then chasing each other off, I love the way they launch themselves across the garden looking like a torpedo!

Other visitors included Chaffinches, Dunnock, Coal Tits, Blue Tits, and the ever present Robin.

Apologies the photos aren't the best but they were taken through the upstairs window (I really should get round to cleaning the windows!)

But my favourite photo of the day has to go to my favourite bird (have I mentioned that they are my favourite garden bird?!).......

Adorable :-)

DIY (bird food style)!

2010-01-09T17:43:00.013Z

Woke up this morning to about another inch of snow, so much for our plans to go the nearest store to stock up on bird seed! The roads would be a no go!
Don't get me wrong, I'm not lazy and I don't mind walking but the thought of lugging back kilogram bags of peanuts & seed for about 3 miles in freezing cold just doesn't appeal to me so what do we do?

Well, we do what the Brits are best at........ we have to make the best of a bad job (and moan whilst doing it!)

So, after about an hour spent raiding the cupboards, chopping ingredients, melting fat...the kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it!
At least our efforts weren't in vain though and:-

The peanut feeder was promptly filled with chopped chestnuts left over from Christmas which the Great Tits enjoyed.
The stale bread was soaked in water and mixed with raisins, peanut butter and a bit of seed.
The fat was melted down into a bowl and mixed with the last of the seed, raisins & chopped apple and put in the fridge to set.
Mince pies were chopped up along with more apple.
Another apple was peeled and cored and stuck on top of the feeder pole just to see if anything would try it!

Hmmmm, tasty!

I'm not sure if all of the food put out was good for them but it was better than nothing and birds aren't stupid, if something is bad then they just won't eat it!

We threw everything outside and didn't have to wait long... the Robin was straight down to investigate and promptly chased any Chaffinches & Dunnocks that appeared!
We seem to be inundated with Blackbirds at the moment who of course love the raisins and apple.

Blue Tit looking curiously at the apple!

Great Tit munching on chestnuts

My other half had the brilliant idea of moving the big plant containers further along the garden, this not only left a clear patch of gravel for food to be laid on but also exposed loads of woodlice and grubs for the Robin to feast on. And, true to form, he appeared less than 10 seconds later!

We also put out a few whole chestnuts after we spotted the grey squirrel lurking in the background.

So, all in all I think the birds actually ate better than we did today, wonder what else we can chop up tomorrow........

What happens when we leave?

2010-01-08T20:08:00.005Z

It's coming to that time again when the lease on our rented house is due to expire (well in a couple of months anyway!).
I always feel a bit sad at this time, not because of moving but because I start thinking what's going to happen to my birds?!

What happens if the next tenants don't have an interest in feeding them? How does it affect them when they've been coming here for food since April last year?

When we move out it will be the start of the breeding season so how will the poor blighters fare?
Can I make it easier for them to adapt? Do I decrease the amount of food I put out for a few weeks before we leave? Or do I just stop altogether?

Then there's the foxes.....Peanut still comes down every night (although its getting later each week), and there might be cubs round about the time we leave.

Then I start thinking maybe I should leave them a note (the new tenants not the birds!) begging them to continue putting out food.

It happened last year too. We left a house that had a medium sized back garden and we were visited by loads of birds (a lot more than now).
We started looking after a Starling who had 1 foot missing - we named her Stumpy! She used to come down every day and wait on the bench outside the door for food. She even brought down her chicks in the spring/summer - we did this for about 2 years then we left.
I doubt she survived to this winter.

I know there probably isn't a solution.....if only I could leave the birds a forwarding address!

Giant Alien Snail Seen Hovering over Wicklow, Ireland!

2010-01-06T18:37:00.005Z

Redwings Galore!

2010-01-03T16:24:00.011Z

I saw a new bird for the first time today!
And not just one, there was a huge flock of them mingling with the Redwings.
They were Fieldfares.

Most of you have probably seen these birds for years but this is the first time I've ever caught a glimpse of one so I'm very happy!
I only saw a Redwing for the first time last month and now I'm seeing them everywhere!

We were at a place called Blackditch which is a small nature reserve on the east coast and as soon as we got out of the car, all you heard were the calls of Redwings and Fieldfares in the trees/bushes lining the road.
Once inside the reserve we were amazed at how many there were in the marshy field, the photo below doesn't really do them justice.

They were very wary of people though, making them quite difficult to get close to in order to take decent photos.
There was also a mixed flock of 30+ finches (Goldfinch, Greenfinch & Chaffinch) feeding on the seed heads in the adjacent field - the sound of them 'chattering' non stop was quite something!

I've decided to make it my New Years Resolution to try to see a new species every month (which is actually harder than it sounds in Ireland!). I'm hoping my next one will be Brambling in with the flock of Chaffinches that visit our garden, fingers crossed!

Winter Wonderland

2010-01-02T13:05:00.031Z

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

(Sorry it's a bit belated!)

We awoke yesterday morning to a winter wonderland and a menagerie of feathered friends!

What a nice way to start 2010!

We took a walk to our local woods (Knocksink Woods) which was covered in snow - there is something quite magical about snow, it makes you more aware of the landscape, especially when there's nobody else around.

The small pond was nicely frozen ...

We saw quite a lot of deer tracks going down to the rivers edge, unfortunately we didn't see any deer though.

We also saw some other tracks which we have no idea who they belong to. Again these were going down to the waters edge and we only saw one set of them.

If anyone has an idea of what they are, I would be grateful.

Back home and the garden was still just as busy with Blackbirds, Magpies, the usual array of Tits (including Long Tailed I'm happy to say!),

Dunnocks, Chaffinches, Robins ...... even the Bullfinch edged a bit closer ... though still not close enough for a decent photo!

And we had another new visitor who was taking an interest in the chopped apple.......

A Blackcap!

We even had 3 Greenfinch land on the nut feeder briefly, before being chased off by the Robin.

All in all it was a very good day for garden birds, I'm hoping this is a sign of things to come!

Ratty

2009-12-30T15:27:00.013Z

Discovered another visitor to our garden today...... a small rat!

I know I shouldn't really encourage him (or her?) but I throw food out all the time in the back whether its cheese, seed or nuts and I don't mind who eats it... rat, mouse, birds, badger or fox!

The way I see it is the woodland out the back of our house was there before our house was built, so in theory we're trespassing on the rat's property!

And as long as there's plenty of food outside, it means it won't want to come inside! The photos aren't the best but the light was really gloomy (raining again!) so it was the best I could do!

....... and I'm a sucker for a cute face! :-)

Holidays

2009-12-29T14:36:00.014Z

I hope everyone has had a nice Christmas - we certainly did. We had my in-laws over to stay with us so I haven't really had the chance to observe the garden birds as much as usual - I had an extra pair of eyes watching.......

.....in the shape of our German Shepherd, Kira!

We haven't seen Kira (or the in-laws) for about 2 1/2 years so it was really nice to catch up.

Anyway, back to the garden birds....... judging by how often I'm refilling the feeders, I assume the usual suspects are still visiting!
I did see a solitary Goldfinch loitering in the background yesterday, so I'm hoping it will return soon to feed!

I've also spotted this little fella helping himself (or herself) to the peanuts.

I'm throwing down a few handfuls every day to deter it from climbing onto the nut feeder (hopefully!)
I'm not really a huge fan of grey squirrels but I have to admit they have got a cuteness about them! I would still prefer to see our native red squirrels though.

It makes a change to see the garden again in daylight as usually its dark when I leave for work & dark when I get home..... I can't wait for lighter evenings to return!

Happy Christmas

2009-12-22T22:05:00.001Z

I'm going to be offline for a few days now as family commitments take over for the Christmas period!

I'd like to wish all of you who visit my blog a Very Happy Christmas!

Observations

2009-12-20T17:00:00.013Z

Snow hasn't reached our neck of the woods yet but it has been bitterly cold today. The sunflower seeds have been going down at an alarming rate with birds taking a seed out literally every other second.

This made us wonder.......just how many seeds are eaten every day?

And how much is it costing us to replenish the stock?

So, we decided to carry out a little experiment, the following is an approximation and figures are generally rounded up where applicable:-

Coal Tits observed in two 1-hour periods during the day, both AM and PM visiting the sunflower seed feeder giving the average as follows:-

Approx 225 seeds (weighing 15g - yep we weighed them!) were taken per hour x 8 hours = 1800 seeds per day.

Average 8 hour day x 15g = 120g of seed taken per day

120g per day x 365 days = 44kg of seed taken per year (approx)

A 3kg bag of seed costs €10 x 15 bags per year = €150 yearly cost
------------------------------------------------------------------------
225 seeds = 15g

1kg contains approx 67 x 15g servings

225 seeds x 67 = 15,075 seeds per 1kg

15,075 x 44kg yearly consumption = 663,300 seeds per year

Only 10 birds (4 Coal Tits, 4 Blue Tits & 2 Great Tits) are currently visiting out sunflower seed feeder which equates to 66,330 seeds per bird per year!

Like I mentioned before these are approximations and obviously during winter the birds visit the feeder a lot more than summer months but then they would also have chicks to feed in the summer so I think it would probably average itself out.

Approx €150 spent per year just on sunflower seeds, not taking into account the peanuts, fat balls, fat squares, normal bird seed, meal worms, apples, raisins...........etc etc.

No wonder I'm always skint!

Mystery

2009-12-08T14:37:00.004Z

Can anyone tell me where all the garden birds go at lunchtime?

I generally try to come home for lunch anytime between 12.30pm - 2pm and my feeders are completely empty! Its as though the birds know I'm on my way home and disappear!
The same has happened today - this morning was a frenzy of Coal, Blue and Great Tits, Chaffinches, Dunnocks and the Robin until lunchtime and then silence!
Do they know something I don't? Does the neighbourhood cat have it's daily prowl around lunch? Does it happen everywhere else? Can anyone enlighten me?

Brrrrrrrr!

2009-12-06T14:30:00.007Z

There is a definite wintry chill in the air now! Judging by how busy the feeders are I would say the birds are feeling it too! Its been non-stop activity all weekend. I'm thinking of buying extra feeders to cope with them all!

The Chaffinches have now taken to clinging onto the peanut feeder which isn't pleasing the various Coal/Blue/Great Tits at all.

So far over the weekend the sunflower seed feeder (which slots on top of the pole) has been found on the ground twice! I found out why this morning when I watched a Rook trying to eat the seeds from the small portholes then fly off with such vigour that the thing dropped to the floor - I didn't even know Rooks ate sunflower seeds!

Also had 2 Jackdaws clinging clumsily on to the fat ball feeder & the peanut holder this morning, whilst the smaller birds watched from the sidelines, almost as though they were willing the Jackdaws to fall off!

The Long Tailed Tits are becoming regular visitors now (which I'm very happy about!), and there were 2 Greenfinches in the ferns earlier today. I even spotted the Bullfinch picking the last of the berries - this one was definitely a male judging by the bright red front!

No photos today, unfortunately, but hopefully will post a short video later in the week showing all of this activity (if I can work out how to use the thing!)

Corvids are Cool!

2009-11-29T12:06:00.006Z

Today is a definite duvet day, given the terrible weather outside!

So I thought I would use this as an excuse to post about my favourite family of birds - the Corvids. Although I love all birds, there is something extra appealing about corvids, they have a character about them that makes me smile every time I watch them!

When it's blowing a gale outside, the Rooks & Jackdaws near our house all seem to 'play' in the sky & have way too much fun! I love the way the Rooks in town strut their stuff and don't move out of the way - they even look at you as though to say "go on then, I dare you!"

Whilst I go on about their cheeky character, I also admire their cleverness - scientists have run series of tests which demonstrate sequential tool-use, and then there's the Crows in Japan that drop nuts from a height onto the road and wait for the traffic to break open the shells, they've even learnt to do this on pedestrian crossings so when the lights change it's safe for them to retrieve the food!

I always have to go back to their cheeky side though, and the link below from You Tube shows an advert which has their character down to a tee........ something to make you smile on a dull, wet day ;-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqKS-hkhhh4

Dry Spell

2009-11-21T17:08:00.015Z

We actually had a bit of a dry spell this afternoon and the birds certainly made the most of it! At one time I counted 4 Blue Tits, 4 Coal Tits, 2 Great Tits, 1 Robin, 1 Long Tailed Tit, 7 Chaffinches and 1 Greenfinch all darting to the seed tray and feeders. The Great Tits were chasing the Blue Tits off the nuts, the Blue Tits were chasing the Coal Tits off the fat square and the Coal Tits were chasing anything that moved!

Great Tit

Long Tailed Tit

Robin

I spotted this fungi growing out of a branch high up the old Oak tree, I've no idea what it is but I thought it looked cute (if fungi can ever be described as cute?!)

Washout!

2009-11-21T12:17:00.003Z

This is Ireland.

Can't see it?
That's because we're under the wet blue stuff that dominates the map!
I think the poor garden birds might get a bit wet today!
Need I say more?

Thanks

2009-11-17T20:32:00.008Z

I have to say thank you to those who commented on my last post advising me to wear my camera around my neck at all times!
This afternoon I managed to capture (not literally, of course!) my favourite garden bird - the Long Tailed Tit.
There were 3 of them that landed on the nut feeder only to be immediately bullied off by the Blue Tit!

Only got the 1 photo and it's quite dark but I don't care - at least they know where my garden is now!
Also managed to get a rather poor shot of the Redwing - it was hiding behind some ferns for a while but I just spotted the "red wing" and waited with my camera poised....

....it emerged about 20 minutes later and the only shot I could get has a branch in front of it!!

Never mind...will keep trying. Things are definitely looking up though!

Conspiracy Theory

2009-11-16T19:43:00.006Z

I've come to the conclusion that my garden visitors (aka birds) are conspiring against me!

Example 1 Whilst washing the breakfast pots this morning, 2 (not 1 but 2) Goldcrests decided to chase each other up and down the branch of the tree right outside the kitchen window in front of where I was standing. Where was my camera? In the living room!

Example 2 After just refilling the feeders, I happened to look over to my right and what did I see watching me? A Redwing! My first ever Redwing - I was so pleased, I have never seen one before! Where was my camera? Inside the house!

Example 3 Whilst watching TV this afternoon, something caught my attention......approx 7 Long Tailed Tits were flitting and hanging upside down in the tree outside the living room window! Where was my camera? In the kitchen (in case the Goldcrests came back)!

Conclusion I need at least 3 different cameras, one for each room overlooking trees/garden!

Dinnertime!

2009-11-15T15:42:00.007Z

When I say "dinner", I actually mean "all day" buffet! The garden has been a hive of activity this weekend. I was going to call this post "Tits Galore", but I thought better of it :-)
I've had Great Tits, Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Chaffinches, Magpies, Dunnocks, Robin, Wren, even the Long Tailed Tit paid a fleeting visit (of course my camera was nowhere near me!) and the Bullfinch has been lurking in the background.

I love this time of year!

Gotcha!

2009-11-08T15:37:00.005Z

I knew I could hear the low, depressed sound of a Bullfinch! Spotted him rustling through the undergrowth, searching for berries I guess.
The photos not brilliant but its the best I could do through the upstairs window!

I wonder what food I can put out to attract him closer, maybe blueberries or something? I'm not sure if they eat the usual seed or nuts.
The garden has still been just as busy today with the regular "diners", it's a shame I miss all the activity during the week now being as its dark when I come home from work!

Told You!

2009-11-07T15:09:00.008Z

I knew today was going to be good.............

Faithful Coal Tit.......

Faithful Robin.......

........And 2 new visitors - an adult & a juvenile (I think) Greenfinch, first time seen in our garden!

Busy, Busy!

2009-11-07T10:41:00.003Z

I have a good feeling about this weekend! I've refilled the feeders this morning and already the garden is buzzing with activity - Great Tits, Coal Tits, Blue Tits, Robin, Chaffinches, Wren, Dunnock have all fed so far today and it's not even lunchtime yet!
And I've heard the depressing whistle of Bullfinches close by (can't see them yet though).
There is a definite wintry chill in the air which is probably why they've all come down for a feed and the trees are almost bare of leaves making it easier to spot (& photograph) the birds,.

Yes I definitely have high hopes for this weekend.......

Impatient So and So's!

2009-11-04T21:09:00.005Z

I can tell the new feeder is working (or should I say the sunflower seeds are) as it was empty after 3 days! The Coal Tits have been busy. Decided to refill it this morning before going to work, mainly because it's dark when I get home now. Whilst I braved the strong winds trying to re-instate the full feeder, I was "moaned" at by 2 Blue Tits, 3 Coal Tits and a Robin all waiting impatiently in the ferns - anybody would think they hadn't eaten for weeks!!
Hopefully the weather might be calmer / drier this weekend so I can take some more photos..... fingers crossed Siskins might be around by then too!

Our Back Garden

2009-11-01T15:38:00.009Z

This is our back garden - not very big at all and no room to put up proper bird tables etc so we improvised and bought an extendable pole which we fixed onto the fence (when I say we, I mean my other half!). We only rent the property so we can't make too many adjustments to the place!

As you can tell from the photos, we are almost surrounded by trees and undergrowth providing plenty of cover for birds, unfortunately it also provides plenty of hiding places for cats too. One down side of the trees is all the leaves which are constantly falling at the moment, making the garden look "untidy" (I prefer to use the term "wild"!).

But if we didn't have the trees / bushes then we probably wouldn't have the fox or the badger so I can't complain!

This is the hole that the badger has dug in order to sniff around our garden. We have tried scooping all the soil back but he just digs it again the next night so we just leave it now.

Business or Birdwatching?

2009-11-01T11:19:00.007Z

How do you choose?
I'm trying to set up my own part time business but I'm easily distracted by the back garden "activities"! My problem is that our office/study overlooks our back garden so, while I'm trying to sort out my marketing strategy, all I can see out the corner of my eye are birds flitting back & forth (admittedly sometimes these are just leaves falling from the trees!).
I've tried closing the curtains but that's even worse, then I hear the birds but can't see them and I'm thinking what if it's a bird that hasn't visited me before?! I've even tried setting up the computer in a different room away from the garden, but then I'm thinking about whats in the garden - I can't win!
So I have a "break", make myself a cuppa and watch/photograph them for 10 minutes.....of course 2 hours pass by and I'm still watching!

The only motivation I have at the moment is that if i can get my act together and the business takes off, then I can work at home all day every day and watch the garden to my hearts content!

It Worked!

2009-10-31T13:14:00.005Z

After a week of nothing visiting the new feeder, I decided a new plan was called for.
The seed was starting to turn mouldy due to the heavy non stop rain we've had all week and the only birds I'd seen were Coal Tits.
So, I thought why not buy seed just for the Tits and re-filled it with Sunflower seeds.

Literally 10 minutes after I filled it, 3 Coal Tits appeared and dutifully helped themselves to the seeds - they've been taking it in turns for the past 3 hours!

I knew I could count on them.

And, it may attract Siskins and Finches, you never know!

New Feeder

2009-10-26T16:00:00.004Z

I don't know why but I always feel a nervous anticipation whenever a new feeder is put up in our garden. I sit watching it impatiently waiting for something to land on it, having little bets with myself as to which bird will be the first! It's usually either the Coal Tit or Robin, but today nothing has ventured onto it, so far.

I hate to admit it but I've become complacent when it comes to our wildlife - I've been moaning for some weeks now that our garden is empty of all bird life, when in fact the Coal Tits have been down every day. These poor little things have to eat the equivalent of their own body weight in food EVERY DAY and they are rewarded with me sighing...."oh it's only a Coal Tit"! I forget that 4 years ago I hadn't ever even seen a Coal Tit before!

I'm so desperate to attract new birds into our garden that I'm beginning to ignore the regular, faithful ones!

How can I forget the Robin who sings his heart out every morning at first light? Or the Blackbirds who keep diving into the undergrowth to eat berries?

Some people have never even seen any of these birds before.

I ought to be grateful for what birds we do get and not impatient for the ones we don't.
And anyway winter is just around the corner.........who knows what that may bring in?!

Magpies

2009-10-24T14:28:00.005+01:00

I love Magpies, I think they are one of our most beautiful and charasmatic birds. I don't believe in any of that superstitious twoddle and think they get a lot of bad press (undeservedly)!
Yes, they may take chicks but that's nature, they have their own young to feed too - it's not as though they're like cats (don't get me started on them!).
I think they are quite comical birds when you watch them hop around, they're kind of like the "geezers" of the bird world!

Their irredescent feathers are gorgeous especially when the sunlight catches them just right. I had 5 in my garden today, all chasing each other round & "playing", until a Rook came down and told them where to go!

(The photos a bit blurry, I'm afraid)

Peanut & Cyril

2009-10-22T20:08:00.007+01:00

Well..."him indoors" has finally got round to sorting out the program used for editing videos and so I present to you Cyril & Peanut feeding together....finally!

Apologies for the shaky footage - I must admit I'm no David Attenborough!

New Menu

2009-10-18T21:08:00.005+01:00

Well, I've tried everything today... cheese... coconut... apple... seed... nuts... raisins.... the birds have more of a selection than I do! I had a couple of the Chaffinches come back (though fleetingly!),

and the Robin was still doing his Hummingbird technique, and even the Coal Tit brought his mate along so I should be grateful.

Of course, looking on the bright side my feeders aren't that busy because there's still plenty of natural food around for them......but the selfish side of me wants them to bombard my garden!
I don't think I've ever been this impatient for the cold weather to arrive!

Wexford Wildfowl

2009-10-18T13:17:00.010+01:00

Decided yesterday that it was much too sunny to sit and watch empty feeders in the garden (empty of birds not food!), so a trip to Wexford Wildfowl Reserve was called for.
Plenty of White-Fronted Geese (or Lesser White-Fronted?) were there, about a hundred or so have arrived so far with thousands more expected over the next few weeks.

I've never really been into wildfowl that much but I must admit the colourings of their feathers are beautiful (I am now a fan of Barnacle Geese).

This one wondered what feathers tasted like....

We wandered around for a few hours soaking up the autumnal sun, saw a Rook trying to be a weather vane!

Then we headed down on to the beach which is literally a carpet of Mussels - I have never seen so many! No wonder the Oyster Catchers were plentiful.

On the way back home, we called in at Blackditch and watched a Kestrel hovering over the field in front of the hide for about 10 minutes, so all in all, it was a very enjoyable day out.
Came back home to see the ever loyal Coal Tit visiting the nut feeder before dark. - judging by the amount of seed still in the feeder, it looks like he may have been the only visitor all day!

Blackditch

2009-10-11T18:55:00.006+01:00

Well, the peanut butter is still intact (untouched!) but the good news is that 5 Long Tailed Tits passed through the garden this morning, so at least I know they're still around AND there were 2 Goldcrests chasing each other through the bushes - things may be looking up!

I know this is a back garden blog but I went to our local nature reserve today (Blackditch) and saw a huge amount of dragonflies, I found them so pretty I just had to share! I admit I don't know what type they are or anything about them, I'm afraid.

There were also at least 30-40 Goldfinches in the trees eating the seeds from the pine cones, I've never seen so many before so it was a real treat!

Pocket Rockets!

2009-10-10T14:19:00.007+01:00

Why does it always seem there's about 50 Coal Tits in the garden, when there is in fact just 3?
They're like miniature rockets zipping everywhere!

Can't complain though, they're about the only regular visitor we have at the moment (of the feathered kind- Cyril & Peanut are still feeding every night!)
I tried a different tactic and put out a new seed feeder and half coconut in the hope of attracting the birds back.......but not one thing has landed on the seed feeder so far!
The Coal Tit is loving the coconut though and the Robin keeps trying to have a go on it. He seems to think he's a Humming Bird and just hovers in front of it whilst jabbing his beak in (he's the one exit stage left in the photo below!)

I'm trying the old "Peanut butter on the tree trunk" trick to see what can be tempted...........

Where are they?

2009-10-04T22:02:00.001+01:00

Has anybody else noticed a shortage of activity at the feeders this weekend? I don't know if the birds know something I don't but the only activity on the feeders this weekend has been the ever reliable Robin!
Not a titter of anything else! Maybe their food source is a bit more abundant than a few days ago, maybe more insects are around or something? Who knows?
All I know is that I've been poised with my camera aimed at the bird feeders for almost 2 days and now have cramp..................not that there's anything wrong with a Robin, of course!

Cyril

2009-10-01T22:14:00.004+01:00

Meet Cyril - that's what we've named our newest visitor! He was eating the remaining bird seed left over from the Chaffinches & Robin.
He's already made an impression on me - he has such a character about him, quite mischievious. He's met Peanut already, or rather they bumped into each other in the undergrowth - I don't know which one was more startled!

Apologies for the blurred photo but lighting was poor and it was taken through a window! Hope to take some better ones soon.

New Visitor!

2009-09-30T18:30:00.004+01:00

Had a new visitor to the back garden last night - a badger! I was quietly watching Peanut demolish the chopped apple I'd thrown out (yep he's still around!) and less than a minute after he left, along comes a badger.
This is quite a big deal for me as it's the first time I've ever seen a live badger so I was quite excited!
I'll make sure I'm watching at the same time tonight and try to get photos, don't want to scare him off though, hmmm will have to think of a name for him (or her) - watch this space!!

Peanut

2009-09-29T18:56:00.004+01:00

I have researched a bit regarding foxes, thanks to National Fox Welfare Society (www.nfws.org.uk) and, now that the cubs are almost full grown, they are starting to break up from the family.
Maybe this is why Peanut and his sibling haven't been down during the day, maybe they are starting to adopt the adults methods i.e. foraging at night.
I'm assuming that Peanut will soon be chased off this territory to make way for new cubs next year.
In the meantime, though, I'll keep putting out the food and hope that I catch at least one more glimpse of him before he leaves....maybe he'll even let me take one last photo?

Gunfire!

2009-09-27T21:04:00.006+01:00

I awoke to the sound of machine guns this morning! No, war hadn't broken out overnight.....the noise was from 6 Magpies "shooting" at each other! This is fine at 7.45am on an ordinary week day when I have to get up for work but on a Sunday morning - I am not impressed!

Then you hear the sweet melodic tune from the tiny Wren and all is forgiven!
I am sure all birds in my back garden are conspiring against me....I sit and watch with my camera at the ready for hours and........nothing!
As soon as I put my camera down every bird in the wood appears. It's like the old Kit Kat advert with the dancing Pandas in the zoo!
Yesterday the Long Tailed Tit came back and fed from the nut feeder.....until I focused on it with my camera. Also saw a small flash of colour darting between the bushes - it finally landed on the big Oak tree outside the bedroom window and I realised it was our first Goldcrest, cute little thing and again flew off before I could reach for the camera. I could almost hear laughter from the Rooks and Jackdaws above!
On a more serious note, I haven't seen Peanut (the foxcub) for about 3 nights now, I'm still putting out food for him and it's always gone the next morning, but I suppose that could be anything eating it. Fingers crossed nothing bad has happened to him.

The Onset of Autumn

2009-09-20T16:52:00.009+01:00

Yesterday had a definite autumnal feel to it, grey and cold - every time a bird landed in the trees, leaves or twigs came falling to the floor.

I think the birds also felt it being as they never left the fat ball & nut feeders all day - it's costing me a fortune! There was a flurry of excitement as all of the Tits (Blue, Great & Coal) were battling it out for the nuts - have to say the winner was a bit of a surprise........it was a Chaffinch! I didn't think they even went on the nut feeders.

The 2 Dunnocks were positioned underneath the feeders picking up any bits that fell.

I was quietly watching the Willow Warbler pick insects off the leaves of the Oak tree when 3 Long Tailed Tits appeared! They waited in the ferns for their turn on the feeder but it never came and they flew off before sampling the food. I'm hoping that once the colder weather arrives, they will become regular visitors.

Jackdaw

2009-09-14T19:40:00.008+01:00

Had 3 Jackdaws on the fat ball feeder today (2 adults & 1 juvenile) - actually looked quite comical seeing these huge birds trying to cling on to the small bars!

Will cost me a fortune in fat balls though, they've already munched their way through 2 before the Coal Tits mobbed them!

Also saw 1 Long Tailed Tit waiting in the ferns behind the nut feeder - it didn't stay for long but hopefully it will be back with it's gang soon. This is the first one we've had in the garden so, fingers crossed, they may become regular visitors in the winter.

Peanut the Foxcub

2009-09-13T12:38:00.009+01:00

We're lucky to have 2 Foxcubs visit us every evening. One of them, the dog, we've named Peanut as this is what he loves to eat!

He comes at 6pm (on the dot) every day and sits quietly waiting for us to throw food up to him. He actually looks annoyed if we're late but he soon forgives us as he munches on chopped apple and dog biscuits!
His sister comes later on in the evening and is very wary, running off as soon as she sees us. Peanut just watches us whilst noisily crunching.

Visitors to our back garden

2009-09-13T12:08:00.003+01:00

We've been lucky enough to have family of 5 Jays visit every day since June, the juveniles are quite cute and inquisitive, although still wary. They are very noisy though and tend to scare off the smaller birds...still not everyone is lucky enough to see one of our most beautiful birds close up so can't complain!

We have the usual array of Blue, Coal and Great Tits fighting amongst themselves and chasing each other, I honestly don't know where they get their energy from!

Flock of 9 Chaffinches have started visiting us, they're treating us like a take-away restaurant! Have to refill the feeders every day, even the Woodmouse is making the most of any seed the Chaffinches drop and is filling it's little pouch up with as much as it can!

The Robin has started singing it's territorial song at the top of the tree every day now, I guess that means he will start chasing away the juveniles soon.