So, who’s seen a fieldfare yet this winter? I personally haven’t seen many, probably due to the strong south westerlies keeping them at home in Scandinavia, and also perhaps due to the mildness of the winter so far. (They’re just not that hungry yet) Those of you who have been lucky enough to spot fieldfares, redwings or other thrushes – I bet they were feasting on berries! I’ve seen them on rowan trees, pyracantha (also known as firethorns), cotoneaster of all shapes and sizes, holly, and of course on apples. Such an easy thing to do in your own gardens – plant a tree or shrub which produces berries or fruit.
Speaking of gardens, the Big Garden Birdwatch is set for this coming weekend, 25 and 26 January – I hope you are all poised to record your birds for an hour! If not, take a look here: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/ to see how you can help us with Europe’s biggest wildlife survey.
I have been keeping an eye on what the birds are up to in the garden at the moment, and this is what I have to report:
- The blue tits are exploring the dense shrubs, looking for hibernating insects to snaffle
- The goldfinches are flocking to our mammoth teasels, which we’ve staked to keep them high and dry for the birds. The seeds are a great source of winter food.
- The dunnocks are hopping around on the ground, apparently picking up teasel seeds. They always disappear into the dead hedge when they realize they’ve been spotted
- The moorhens are very furtively sneaking in to eat the apples I put out on the bird table for any thrushes that might be around!
- The rabbits are nibbling my wallflowers, but that’s another story….
Why not take some time to see what creatures in your garden are up to? They will often give you clues as to what you can do to help them through these lean months, just watch and learn….
Hello Shirley,
We have had quite a few starlings in the garden, although today it was very quiet.