After bemoaning the disappearance of some of my finches, I had a welcome return today. A siskin pair - the same pair who have previously been "regulars" in 2010. I know they are the same pair because one of them wears a lovely silver ring. They have been missing from my garden for 3 or 4 weeks, so I was over the moon to see them again.
Then this afternoon, yet another brilliant return from a bird i thought I would lose for the summer. Again, I haven't seen him for 3 or 4 weeks, but today he came back and helped himself to the nyjer seed. He is still wearing his brilliant breeding plumage, but today he didn't have his mate with him. Is she sitting on a nest somewhere? I hope so. Yes, it's my lovely redpoll.
Not content with these two returning rovers, I have a nest!!!!! I was beginning to think I would never have one, but this afternoon I watched a starling coming and going through a hole in the soffit boards on the top corner of our house, above the ivy. The starling was busy collecting mouthfuls of mealworms and taking them to the nest - so they have babies. This hole is there because the soffits in this area were ruined by the ivy, which hubby cut back last autumn. We had some estimates for repair before Christmas and it is very lucky we did nothing about it at the time. It will now have to wait until next autumn!!
All in all, a wonderful day at number 41.
Cheers, Linda.
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We get Redpolls nesting in the Gorse at the Mouth of The River Don.
Havent seen any this year yet . I think I need to spend a bit more time down there I think.
Cheers
AL
If its no fun Yer no doin it right!
Unknown said: Like you I put up a nest box fitted with a camera but absolutely no interest whatsoever. Ungrateful little so and so's.
Like you I put up a nest box fitted with a camera but absolutely no interest whatsoever. Ungrateful little so and so's.
What's really ungrateful is that my bluetit has been roosting in the camera box all winter. He brought his wife and she spent a week cleaning out his mess then gave it up as a bad job. They found another nest elsewhere but he continued to roost. The box is knee deep in feathers and poo. Whilst we were away last week he left his bachelor pad and now just has his meals here.
At least I have a faithful pair of starlings!
I've had the occasional blue tit and great tit perch on the edge of the hole of the box and have a peer in but as far as I know no one has been inside. The annoying thing is that I replaced an existing nest box which has had great tits nesting for many years. This had been attacked and damaged by a great spotted woodpecker try to get at the chicks so it wasn't as if it was in a completely new location. I wonder if the high light levels from the little translucent windows which are necessary for the camera are putting off the birds.
Glad your starlings are nesting though. When you get your soffits repaired you'll have to leave an accees hole. A neighbour of mine did exactly that so that sparrows could continue to nest even when he had PVC facias installed. I was impressed.
TJ
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Tony
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Hi TJ,
I don't know about the translucent windows being a problem. Other people get nests with them!
When we have the soffits repaired we are having PVC. Hubby already calls me Cuckoo for what I do for the birds, so in for a penny ... I may as well be even more cuckoo and demand we leave a hole or two.
Susan H said: Hi TJ, I don't know about the translucent windows being a problem. Other people get nests with them! When we have the soffits repaired we are having PVC. Hubby already calls me Cuckoo for what I do for the birds, so in for a penny ... I may as well be even more cuckoo and demand we leave a hole or two.
Hi Sparrow,
could you not somehow fit a box in the roof space if you leave the hole? Or attach a box on the outside near to where the hole is?
Unknown said: Hi Sparrow, could you not somehow fit a box in the roof space if you leave the hole? Or attach a box on the outside near to where the hole is?
Hi Paul,
The hole (a large one) the starling is using is in the underside of the soffit - so if the chicks decide to go for a walk, they might just fall right through the hole and end up in the garden beneath!! The hole leads to a cavity created by the soffits. It doesn't lead to the roof space (so hubby tells me) I'm just a feeble woman and don't understand these things - that's the impression I prefer to leave with hubby so I get things done for me!! Anyway, I'll have a good think about it and will definitely do something, whether it be a box or a hole in the PVC.
This is a photo of the hole. The hole and the marks on the soffits were all due to the ivy.
You can just see the edge of a bedroom window. I am going to have to ask the window cleaner not to clean it when he comes next.