They're not to everyone's tastes and some gardeners might consider them their worst enemies. I know one of my neighbours hates them with a passion. He patrols his lawn and plucks the dandelion flowers from their stalks before disposing of them carefully. For slugs, he has devised an even more ruthless strategy: he collects them in a bucket and empties the hapless contents onto the road outside our houses so that they get run over!I see slugs and dandelions differently. Goldfinches adore dandelion seeds, and for me that's enough to make me look upon them favourably.
Because of the cheerful yellow flowers (which I secretly like), I can stand at the kitchen window as some of my favourite birds feed just a few feet away. They soon munch their way through a dandelion head and leave a scattering of down on the grass - minus the seeds. It's unquestionable that slugs are unpleasant creatures, but I've forgiven them this year. The reason? A pair of song thrushes has built a nest in my (slug-hating) neighbour's garden. When I look out of the window, there's often a beautifully-spotted thrush hopping across the lawn with a beak crammed full of tiny slugs in the manner of a puffin carrying sand-eels. I'm proud that my slug-filled garden is keeping song thrush chicks fed, and I like watching the goldfinches making short work of the dandelions. Rather than worrying about how to get rid of these pests, I'm hoping that the birds will do the hard work for me...
I seem to be very lucky with my garden, I think partly due to the location, we have cemetaries lots of parks and local rivers with the Thames not too far away.
I will just list the most often seen birds, Robin, Black Birds, Starlings, by the dozen, Dunnock and House sparrow Wood Pigeon, in the spring early summer we have lots of tits Coal, Blue and Great with plenty of young. Some years we have Gold Finch but plenty of Greens, Autumn/winter we have the Ringnecked Parakeets, in early summer they are mostly, I believe raiding the fruit trees in Kent!!
With occasional visits from Sparrow Hawks, and both Lesser Spotted and Green Woodpeckers, the occasional duck and the last two years Jays, add a sprinkling of Magpie, Crow and Rooks, what more could I ask?.
I enjoy photography and as I have a good stock of bird feeders with I hope, something to every birds taste my camera is always snapping away. I love my monthly newsletter from RSPB always something of interest, and you all do such good works.
Last week while at the kitchen sink, one of my favourite places for inconspicuous bird watching, I saw a very rare visitor to MY garden. It was a male bullfinch. He was very busy jumping up to the leaves on a hosta plant in a pot. He stayed for some time feeding furiously. Needless to say I was curious knowing that the finches are mainly seed eaters.
When he had gone I went to investigate and found that he had been feeding on the unripe seed pods from the violets which have over-run all my pots and spare spaces in my garden and on the lawn. I was getting a bit tired of violets all over the garden, but now they can stay. I have seen bullfinches flying out of a hedge some distance from my garden so hope that he was going back to feed young.
Hi Lizzie. Thanks for leaving a comment. What a good idea to help keep your song thrushes fed. So many other people would just reach for the slug pellets. I have to say I'm a bit touchy when I find slugs in my vegetable patch...
Joyce, sometimes goldfinches can be a bit shy when they first find a bird feeder. It must be quite overwhelming if it's a busy one. Perhaps you'll find that they become more confident over the next few days and weeks? They are lovely birds to watch. I'm not sure how common they are in western Scotland. Does anybody else know?
For the past three mornings 2 goldfinches have been coming to my feeder at 05.30, before any of the other birds. This is the only time that they have been seen,whereas for most of the day there is a constant flow of other birds. Is the goldfinch a shy bird and is it common for them to be in the west of Scotland?
Like katie I have song thrushes in the garden. I have laid down planks from an old pallett between the rows of cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli plants. In the morning I turn the planks over move back behind the hedge and within a few minutes the thrush arrives and carries off the slugs. I have not seen any young ones so far but the blackbird parents are feeding two chicks who follow behind them. I still have a few nibbled cabbage leaves but a wash and trim and they taste fine.
Lizzie biolik
20 june 2008