I have two male blackcaps in my garden, a female comes in every now and again, they have been here all winter will they stay in england do you think? i have a nest aswell its a cup shape, made from mostly mud a bit of grassy stuff mixed in but mainly mud, its in a small tree/bush, looked on internet and it came up with blackcap nest??
i also have reed buntings coming in the garden a male and female, and another male every now and again.....they stay for as short while along with the sparrows, eating from inbetween the slabs guessing their getting the insects....lovely birds though!
When is the best time to cut down on food?? and should i get rid of fat balls or keep a few out?
Hi Dani
I also have 2 males and a female, and mine are nesting in the next door neighbours very tall conifer hedge.
They will at least stay until they have raised their brood of chicks now, and there is no reason to get rid of fat balls completely.
I would just watch how much of your food is being eaten, and if the useage declines then reduce the amount that you put out so that it doesn't get wasted
Best wishes Chris
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Hi Dani everyone around us seems to stop feeding in the near future and we think the local birds seem hungry so we feed all the time whatever they eat,sure that someone may say that should not feed in summer but do not think it fair on birds to encourage them in the garden all winter then cut them off.Almost certain they would have become reliant on feeding stations and do not believe they would take food if they did not need it.My guess is that this is against experts advice.Personally I am a long way from believing that so called experts always know best.
Hi Sooty
I fed all year round last year and my birds kept coming.
I just fed less in the summer months
I also feed all year round. Like Chris, I put out less during the summer to avoid wastage but if they turn up and want food they get it. Also, because they have their youngsters to feed, I find demand can be as high as in the winter months. The smaller birds (assorted tits, robins, dunnocks and finches - in my case) can only carry one piece of food at a time so they are to-ing and fro-ing non-stop.
The necessity of bird-watching is a really good reason for avoiding all forms of housework.
The dust will still be there tomorrow - the birds may not be!
This topic has come up quite a few times on the forums, there is an interesting thread here.
I don't think the nest with mud in would be that of the blackcap, it is a bit too early and they don't use mud in their nests as far as i know. The blackap nest is a delicate structure of grass and roots, lined with fine material like hair. I would suggest that this nest could be that of a blackbird or song thrush which solidify their nests with mud.
It may be that these blackcaps head off in the next few weeks back to their breeding grounds further north, it would be interesting to see if this happens so please keep us all informed if you can!
As for feeding, year round feeding of certain foods is perfectly fine and can really help some species, especially in areas where naturally occurring foods are not as readily available. Fat based foods are best provided in the winter as birds do not need fat as much during the breeidng season. Providing high protein food such as mealworms, or planting lots of plants that will attract insects, will really benefit your resident breeding birds. I always put a seed feeder up as some birds like greenfinches are seed eaters throughout the year, only feeding a few invertebrates to their young.
Reed buntings are an unusual bird to have in gardens over winter, so you are very privileged. They leave their normal habitats of wetland in search of food and shelter during hard times and will venture into gardens. They should also head off in the next few weeks to find a breeding site if you have not got one nearby.
Warden Intern at Otmoor.
thanks for that, thats really helped......the nest looks too small for a blackbird, its the size of a mug.. the song thrush we had hasnt been back since our female blackbird kept chasing it off....im proberly wrong, just trying to give a bit more info on it.....could proberly get a pic of it....its the first time theres been a nest there, its abit on show......
thanks for all your help, its great to have a question and have it answered so quickly!!!
The plot thickens! If you have had these species in the garden i would say they were the leading contenders, i can't think of any other species that would use mud in their nests. Anyone else got any ideas? If you mean the cup of the nest is mug sized then that sounds about right for a blackbird/song thrush.
If you could get a picture of the abandoned nest posted in this thread, we would be happy to have a look and offer some opinions as to which bird made it.
I am glad you have found this site useful, any more questions please get them out there as i am sure there will be someone who knows the answer!
Doesn't a Pied Flycatcher use mud? Or is that just on nest boxes?
Guess it might be too early in the year for them anyway.
BB