Birds

Hi all, recently I lived in Chelmsley Wood Birmingham in a fairly urban area and only saw blackbirds and magpies, however after moving to Sheldon, the other side of the runway of Birmingham airport I have experienced an explosion of wildlife. To the rear of my property is Sheldon country park and since I have introduced a bird feeder in my new garden I have seen 2 or 3 pairs of great tits every day, a woodpecker, we have had a Sparrow hawk regularly hunting small birds and today I saw a pair of Jays. Of course at least twice a day we have 'Sparrow time' when at least 30+ sparrows descend to fight over the feeder and a family of Robins are also regular visitors. A couple of weeks ago my wife and I were digging up some plants and when we stopped to rest I had to tell my wife not to move as a Robin was literally foraging 3 feet from her, we stood still as it walked between us gobbling up grubs and moths with no fear at all, it returned about five times to feed and was perfectly comfortable being with us. Another regular visitor is a Pelican which flies over every day, sometimes with a mate, within 6 months my wife and I have become not only bird watchers but also plane spotters! Stuart
  • It's great being able to see so many species, I lived in Edinburgh all my life, saw the usual house sparrows, feral pigeons and starlings, now, just 15 miles out of the city and I have become a keen birdwatcher with Buzzards, Kestrels, Woodpeckers, reed Buntings and more all around me, though the larger not visitng my garden lol enjoy your bird watching, Robins can become quite friendly little birds, I once had one fly onto my hand !!!! shame I have no pic :(