new bird seen in my garden

That would be a sparrowhawk.  They seem to be turning in to common garden birds these days.  No bird feeder is safe!  About your new bird, could it have been a redwing or possibly fieldfare. The redwings red is under the wing, but very noticeable when it flutters. The fieldfare is russet brown really but can look reddish in the light.

Hi Aileen

Your "new" bird sounds like a redwing. They are winter visitors from Scandinavia and northern Europe. They are a member of the thrush family about the same size as a song thrush. Did it look like this?

The hawk was most probably a sparrowhawk which preys on small birds. They certainly do come into gardens and when chasing birds are quite focussed on the pursuit. I had one fly only three or four feet in front of me one day when walking down the garden. I don't know who was more startled me or the hawk.

Regards TJ

Thanks for the info I'll have to look out my bird book and see which bird it is. I'm not up on birds other than the normal sparrow etc, but it's fun watching from my kitchen window.

Yes! I think it was a sparrow hawk, but it's the first time I've seen it so close. We normally see them circle in the sky above us.

Unknown said:

That would be a sparrowhawk.  They seem to be turning in to common garden birds these days.  No bird feeder is safe!  About your new bird, could it have been a redwing or possibly fieldfare. The redwings red is under the wing, but very noticeable when it flutters. The fieldfare is russet brown really but can look reddish in the light.

No TJ it was much larger that that. I was running around like a demented bluebottle trying to find my camera, but it was too late. I'll have to keep my camera at the ready next time.

Hi Aileen

  Its possible you've seen a great spotted woodpecker.

  The hawk would be sparrowhawk

             Ray

Weeeeell, Waxwings have a (small) block of red on the wing, plus some black and white bits! Did it look like this, Aileen? (photo by Rebecca Nason)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bLc2gWphbPw/TMXFy4jN2uI/AAAAAAAACG4/rSeWxhBUFGY/s1600/waxwingblog3.jpg

Another possibility = Great Spotted Woodpecker (the red undertail-coverts could appear to be part of the wing at first glance). Here's a pic:

Hi Aileen and welcome to the RSPB Froum.  Enjoy yourself here

I was thinking that it was a Fieldfare you where describing at first, then a Sparrowhawk came to mind too.

Let us knoiw if you see it again.

Regards

Kathy and Dave

Thanks Kathy and Dave, I'll keep looking and hopefully I'll be able to take a photo.

I don't have a lot of time to keep in touch a lot on the Web, but every morning I look out for my birds and make sure they are fed. It's only lately that I'm seeing different birds around.

I live in the countryside and have a two small ponds, one of which lives my goldfish and the other is supposed to be for my frogs, but they seem to like living together.

Last year I found one frog dead, frozen to the ice in the pond and four of our fish dead. On asking about it at the Garden Centre who have info on ponds, I was told if we had been putting the fountain on in winter the cold water would go down to the bottom, which wouldn't be good for the fish or the frogs. Don't know if that was the reason for the deaths. Any ideas welcome!

I also noticed, you can buy a bottle for mixing with the water in the bird bath to keep it from icing over, it said on the bottle it was safe, what do you think?

Hi Ail

I don't have any suggestions for the mystery bird beyond what has already been offered. At this time of year both Redwings and Fieldfares will be arriving en-masse. Fieldfares are slightly larger than Blackbirds while Redwings are slightly smaller. Either can appear Blackbird sized under certain conditions..

Personally I'd avoid any birdbath anti icing products. Some people resort to a glug of glycerin but even this relatively innocuous chemical can be injurious to birds health if consumed in quantity. Feathers are supposed to be washed in pure water and any contaminants could play havoc with water repellency and insulating properties.

JBNTS