Rizzo Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 3 minutes ago, Hillonearth said: Got a family of bullfinches nesting in the garden this spring. The other night two chicks made their first appearances...the mother was running about like crazy feeding them in bushes further down the garden, while the father did the bullfinch equivalent of sitting back and cracking a beer. Rotten photo I know, but all I had immediately to hand was a wee camera with a crappy zoom facility.... They are lovely things, we have a few that visit our garden but they only eat the buds off of our willow tree and haven't actually nested here. You're a lucky sod! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanius Mullarkey Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 Quite a few bull finches and gold finches appeared recently. On the advice of this thread I got a Niger seed feeder and the gold finches have royally fucked off. Fussy wee c***s. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillonearth Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 Just now, Rizzo said: They are lovely things, we have a few that visit our garden but they only eat the buds off of our willow tree and haven't actually nested here. You're a lucky sod! We're lucky enough to live somewhere that's primo bullfinch real estate - the garden backs onto woodland, so my guess is they've been nesting somewhere at the edge of that, judging by the beady eyes watching me anytime I've been down that way the last month or so 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rizzo Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 Sunflower hearts seem to keep our goldfinches and siskins happy, they'll go to the nijer seed feeder if there are no sunflower hearts left. Been seeing quite a few green finches in our garden the past few weeks as well which is nice as I seem to remember them being far more common. There's a definite pair but I'm not sure how many pairs there are or if it's the same ones I'm seeing every time. Might take a wee trip to Vane farm tomorrow if the weather is nice. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightswoodBear Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 1 hour ago, Hillonearth said: Got a family of bullfinches nesting in the garden this spring. The other night two chicks made their first appearances...the mother was running about like crazy feeding them in bushes further down the garden, while the father did the bullfinch equivalent of sitting back and cracking a beer. Rotten photo I know, but all I had immediately to hand was a wee camera with a crappy zoom facility.... That explains what it is that's I've seen at ours now . Seen one and wasn't sure what it was. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightswoodBear Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 Managed to snap woody at the feeder this morning and a couple of Bullfinches the other day 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiG Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 At my work there is a fair amount of bird life around and I've got a couple of suet feeders out. Unfortunately this has attracted the attention of some b*****d corvids and they demolish the food that is left out. Anyone use one of these squirrel / large bird "proof" feeders and are they effective in any way? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mantis Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Caught this guy last week: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herman Hessian Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 On 5/21/2018 at 09:57, RiG said: At my work there is a fair amount of bird life around and I've got a couple of suet feeders out. Unfortunately this has attracted the attention of some b*****d corvids and they demolish the food that is left out. Anyone use one of these squirrel / large bird "proof" feeders and are they effective in any way? i have one of these very things hung out the back of the house, in which nothing has shown any interest at all for weeks, apart from a nuthatch which has a cursory look every couple of days then buggers off without taking anything; so - the nut level has suddenly plummeted over the last couple of days - spotted last night, a woodmouse climbing up the cable to the wall-mounted satellite dish, along an eight foot metal pole that's rested on the bracket - on which the feeder hangs, down in to the cage and stuffing it's mouth with nuts (mouse teabagging after a fashion, i suppose); it's been troughing stuff off the bird-table for ages, but has clearly now decided to go all ethan hunt for a bit of excitement... the feeder definitely does the job as far as keeping bigger things from poncing food - get loads of infuriated jackdaws trying to get at stuff, so from that perspective it is very effective... here's the little twat: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herman Hessian Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 so - here is the path that the wee beastie has to negotiate to reach the nuts - up the wall from his home in the roof of the outdoor shittery, and along the metal pole to the feeder; I've managed to get a shot of him setting out on his treacherous journey, shinning up the satellite cable to the dish bracket where he gets on to the pole, but he's way too timorous - and i'm too fucking clumsy - to be able to get a shot of him either on the pole or stuffing his face in the feeder, he always clocks me and runs away when i trip over the clothes horse by the window or bang the camera in to the glass, or drop it, like a twat... note the still-full nyger seed feeder that assorted feathery fucks are still steadfastly refusing to acknowledge 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rizzo Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 I might need to invest in one of those feeders with the guards, our feeding station has been absolutely mobbed by jackdaws, magpies and feral pigeons recently. There also seems to be a scabby little moggy that is using one of my raised beds as a litter tray. My dog has chased it from the garden a few times but it keeps coming back. Without resorting to land mines, gin traps etc is there anything that actually keeps cats away effectively? The garden is quite open so there's no way of fencing it off. We've made a makeshift fence around the particular bed the little git was using but now it sits under the bird feeders. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanius Mullarkey Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 Orange peel/oil seems to be quite good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herman Hessian Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 quite impressive out there this morning - obviously had a clutch of blue tits fledge somewhere nearby and there were six of 'em scrambling round the feeders, tumbling over each other, falling of the perches, throwing seed about and generally being quite amusing as per usual, in the clamour to find the camera, i scared them all off - however - i have put together a court-room style chalk rendering, so that you can share my delight at this fetching display of ornithological joy in spite of the fact that i am clearly at the "absolutely cuntish" end of the autistic spectrum when it comes to taking photographs seriously - apart from the fact there are only five of them, and you can't see the feeders - if you squint, it's just like being there... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rizzo Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 I'm very close to investing in some guarded feeders, now we have a massive fat b*****d wood pigeon that scoffs everything on offer whether it be nijer seed, sunflower hearts, peanuts or fat balls. I think I'm going to set up another feeding station purely for the wee finches and things that aren't getting a look in. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetterlund Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 I put up a feeder with suet balls a few weeks back and over the last few days it seems all the birds from the surrounding gardens have discovered it at once. Cue some entertaining scenes with the wee bluetits and finches climbing over each other on the feeder while the larger blackbirds etc wait for the crumbs to drop down. The cat is loving them too - surely only a matter of time before I find the remains of something in my slipper one morning. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanius Mullarkey Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Caught the cat playing with a dead bird earlier. Was obviously young but it was quite dark with gold/yellow tinged feathers. Quite a sticky out beak as well. Any idea what it was (didn’t take pic). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetterlund Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 46 minutes ago, Melanius Mullarkey said: Caught the cat playing with a dead bird earlier. Was obviously young but it was quite dark with gold/yellow tinged feathers. Quite a sticky out beak as well. Any idea what it was (didn’t take pic). Release your inner twitcher: RSPB bird identifier 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugna Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 From last week's holiday in Swaledale. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanius Mullarkey Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 On 16/06/2018 at 13:12, Zetterlund said: Release your inner twitcher: RSPB bird identifier Ok I think I’ve got it. This just flew into the living room window and landed in a bush. I think the cat caught a fledgling one. Some kind of tit, great tit? wee bugger eventually flew off after 5 minutes of shitting on my hand. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wile E Coyote Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 That's a young Great Tit. By the looks of it been out the nest for a few days 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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