Hi there
I have to admit the endearing bird I have had is the Yellow hammer. While living at Stirling, Scotland we had a birdtable in the farm yard. A male and female Yellow Hammer would come in every morning and snack on the seed that had landed on the ground from the bird feeders.
In Scotland Yellow Hammers have the 'nickname' of Scottish Canery'. The yellow on the male bird is very bright and it was super to see them so close up as we did.
At the same property we where also lucky to have a Pied Wagtail and a Grey Wagtail. Both birds raised their families in our garden area. The little ones where so cute, and even though their tails where short and stubby they still wagged their tails. The birds in question seen to trust us. They where not worried when we weeded the garden area at all.
Anyone else had lovely experiences like mentioned here
Regards
Kathy and Dave
Thank you letting us know Claire.
I did not realise there was an on-going issue with young Sea Eagles in relation to domestic birds. Not so good for the people who own the domestic birds.
Glad to hear that the issue is being looked into and all will resolve itself in the near future.
Kath and Dave
Unknown said:Just to let other people reading the forums know, that the East Scotland Sea Eagle team are aware of this problem and are trying to address it by netting and taping the open areas of the chicken run so that the eagle can't get in. Despite maintaining a food dump for the birds at the release site we always have 1 or 2 birds who wander and find their own food very early on. Although it doesn't seem like it right now, the young eagle's wander lust will kick in eventually and he will move on and take more wild food, unfortunately they are quite curious and naive at 4 months old. It should be emphasised to everyone that white tailed eagles (sea eagles) are protected under schedule 1A at all times of year and it is therefore a criminal offense to shoot them. All of our birds are fitted with radio-transmitters and their movements monitored which allows us to find dead birds. Cheers, Claire (East Scotland Sea Eagle Officer)
It should be emphasised to everyone that white tailed eagles (sea eagles) are protected under schedule 1A at all times of year and it is therefore a criminal offense to shoot them. All of our birds are fitted with radio-transmitters and their movements monitored which allows us to find dead birds.
Cheers, Claire (East Scotland Sea Eagle Officer)
Paul, I can appreciate your jumping about as we did exactly the same thing when we saw a Goldcrest in our garden earlier this year. Unfortunately my photos are nowhere near as good as yours. I've seen them before but a very long time ago. This wee fella spurred us on to get a new bird table and start feeding the birds again.
Make the most of today because, unlike Sky+, there isn't a rewind button.
Wonderful to read all about the variety of visitors to garden! & even better to see some of them too! :-)
Being at work during the week, I often miss my visitors although I do have a good flock of goldfinches & greenfinches visiting. Sparrowhawks have frequented too as I've seen the tell tale pile of plucked feathers, but I've not been around to see it alas! Had up to 9 buzzards soaring above my house, but that's a bit much to class it as a garden visitor! Lol!
My parents who live in Shrewsbury town have had jays, woodpeckers (greater spotted & green), and one winter, a hawfinch. Probably the most surprising was a pair of red legged partridges down in the vege-garden! They also have a regular sparrowhawk and also a pair of mallards which have turned up each spring (around April) for the last 3 years now, they come daily from early in the morning 'til dusk, swim in a tiny pond and hoover up spilt seed from the feeders and get fed regularly with wholemeal bread by my Mum! Then end of June they disappear again! They have not bred... No idea why they stick together like it!!
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
My photos on Flickr
Juno said: Well for me it has to be the Spotted Woodpecker, considering the area I live in, its quite a rarity. He has a good investigate of my almost dead Plum tree then gives the peanut feeder a 'good bashing' I also have had more visits recently from the local Sparrow Hawk, there's a fuzzy picture of it feeding on a Collared dove in my picture area. I am also very lucky to get loads of Sparrows on a regular basis, I've only been feeding them for 2 years now...., and I have several posh multi port feeders for their exclusive use. Also recently started getting Goldfinches on a yellow Niger feeder, my mission this winter is to keep them coming more regularly. Ho dear that was more than 1 bird wasn't it. Sorry. How about Stock Dove are they rare..? I get several at once.
Well for me it has to be the Spotted Woodpecker, considering the area I live in, its quite a rarity. He has a good investigate of my almost dead Plum tree then gives the peanut feeder a 'good bashing'
I also have had more visits recently from the local Sparrow Hawk, there's a fuzzy picture of it feeding on a Collared dove in my picture area.
I am also very lucky to get loads of Sparrows on a regular basis, I've only been feeding them for 2 years now...., and I have several posh multi port feeders for their exclusive use.
Also recently started getting Goldfinches on a yellow Niger feeder, my mission this winter is to keep them coming more regularly.
Ho dear that was more than 1 bird wasn't it. Sorry.
How about Stock Dove are they rare..? I get several at once.
How do you ensure the multi port feeders are for the "exclusive" use of the sparrows? ours are used by wood pigeons, greenfinches, sikins, goldfinches and starlings as well as the sparrows - and even a red poll this year.
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
We had Yellowhammers visit the garden regularly between January and Easter each year but this year we have seen only as single male on one occasion. We are worried that we have lost them forever.
yestrday I was absolutely thrilled when a Goldfinch visited us. Strange as that may seem, they are not common around Erskine, Scotland where I live and this is the first time that I have known them to visit in 9 years of living here. We had some lovely Siskins visit the garden this year. And a Sparrowhawk made a visit recently to have some dinner!
I posted about it at the time here:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/forums/p/4040/29717.aspx#29717
anail a'Gháidheal, air a' mhullach
We’ve had some lovely, if fleeting visits from a Kingfisher.
You’ll have to excuse the photography, I only have a point and shoot camera.
Longtailed tits, there is a flock of about 15 which visit each winter.
This is the female Greater Spotted Woodpecker, we are lucky enough to have two breeding pairs which visit daily.
This is a young Greater Spotted which I had to rescue from the greenhouse on more than one occasion.
This young Goldcrest got it self stuck in my greenhouse, I’ve never seen one that close up before and it was so much smaller than I expected. The pots are slightly smaller then coffee mugs.
We get a pair of Mallards visit every spring, they once laid one egg but deserted it.
We are also lucky enough to have two pairs of nuthatches
Unfortunately I haven’t got a photo of the most unusual bird we have had visit the garden. Last summer and the summer before we had an Alpine Swift pay us a fleeting visit.
Build it and they will come.
Lovely photos WF - and how lucky you are to have such an amazing variety of birds. I am green with envy over the kingfisher as I would so love to see one for "real".
Squirrel
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!
Unknown said: We’ve had some lovely, if fleeting visits from a Kingfisher. You’ll have to excuse the photography, I only have a point and shoot camera. Longtailed tits, there is a flock of about 15 which visit each winter. This is the female Greater Spotted Woodpecker, we are lucky enough to have two breeding pairs which visit daily. This is a young Greater Spotted which I had to rescue from the greenhouse on more than one occasion. This young Goldcrest got it self stuck in my greenhouse, I’ve never seen one that close up before and it was so much smaller than I expected. The pots are slightly smaller then coffee mugs. We get a pair of Mallards visit every spring, they once laid one egg but deserted it. We are also lucky enough to have two pairs of nuthatches Unfortunately I haven’t got a photo of the most unusual bird we have had visit the garden. Last summer and the summer before we had an Alpine Swift pay us a fleeting visit.
Squirrel B said: Lovely photos WF - and how lucky you are to have such an amazing variety of birds. I am green with envy over the kingfisher as I would so love to see one for "real". Squirrel
I’ve spent the last 10 years creating a wildlife garden, I’ve tried to recreate as many different habitats as space/time/budget will allow and as you can see I have been rewarded.
scottthehat said: [looks like you have a nice area, i would love to see the kingfisher like that does you river have fish, and does he fish of it,where do you live in devon,
[looks like you have a nice area, i would love to see the kingfisher like that does you river have fish, and does he fish of it,where do you live in devon,
The Kingfisher is sitting on the bridge over our pond, there is a plentiful supply of sticklebacks in there for it to eat. It usually visits in the winter when the river (which is a quarter of a mile away) is flowing too fast for it to fish.
We are in South Devon.
Living in Australia, we have a totally different list of visitng birds to those of you living in UK or USA. One of these birds is the white-browed babbler, which is a very frequent, if fleeting, visitor to our 2 acre property. they are about the size of a starling, or a little smaller, and travel in flocks of about 10 or 12, flitting through the property from tree to tree, checking for ripeness of blossom. They constantly call to each other, with a very comical 'yahoo', which can be heard from quite a distance, so we always know when they are in the area. When they move through, they put me in mind of a troop of avian monkeys, swinging from tree to tree! ☺
Their visit yesterday was not unusual, but their behaviour certainly was! I'd been giving our fish pond (an old bath dug in nearly flush with the ground) a good flushing with the hose. I'd forgotten to take a new hose down there, and the old one had developed splits and holes over winter, sending sprays up in the air when used. I was weeding not very far away while the hose did its job, when I heard the babblers come through. I'd also forgotten my camera, so I decided to sit and watch these lovely happy visitors. To my surprise, they made straight for the pond and the water dishes around it, and the hose! They stayed for a full 10 minutes or so, playing in the spray and bathing in the dishes. I had NEVER seen them do this before, so that makes them one of my most unusual visiting bird experiences.
This is a photo of a White Browed Babbler taken earlier this year.
Smiles, Jan.