First of all can I say how nice it is to have some new faces submitting comments. My aim in this blog is to make it a nice, unthreatening atmosphere where loads of you feel welcome to have your say.
Secondly, the obvious - isn't it COLD! I’ve been recording the maximum and minimum temperature in my Sussex garden every day for eight years now, and the last four days have been colder than any previous November day.
And when the cold kicks in, strange things start to happen in the world of garden birds. The total number of bird species that I saw visit yesterday was 15, way up on normal (and today's photo is of a wary Chaffinch and demure Collared Dove wondering whether to brave my rowdy Starlings).
And then I had the pleasure of being visited by a brand new species for the garden. Yes, for the first time since moving here, I saw ....wait for it....a Crow!
Now I often see them over the top, and Jackdaws and the odd Raven flying over too. But the thing is that birds are experts at risk assessments. For many species, when they find themselves near a garden or passing over, their sensor goes ‘beep beep beep. Danger alert! Steer clear!’
To them, a garden just looks a bit too enclosed, too disturbed. All those fences and buildings and trees mean that they know they won't be able to see predators approaching. And they don’t like all the to-ing and fro-ing of all those four-legged and two-legged mammals. Even if birds can spot that there are nice berries or seeds or fat balls to be had, it is normally just not worth the risk.
But throw in a bit of snow and hard frost and birds need to find so much more food to just keep themselves going. What's more dangerous now? Daring to venture into the garden, or starving?
So right now I'm keeping my eyes peeled for yet more risk-assessors choosing to be brave rather than hungry. What would I like? A Blackcap maybe. Some Long-tailed Tits. Oh go on then, I'll settle for a Waxwing...
Enjoying all your anecdotes, thanks folks !
I would love to actually see a waxwing, but to have one visit the garden would be amazing. We have plenty of jackdaws, crows and magpies. I soak dried fruit, cut up granary bread and butter and put, dried oats, apple, grapes and peanuts out for them. The sunflower hearts are just too expensive as they can eat £10's worth in about 5 seconds! I rarely have starlings visit, but today I had four or five in the garden.
I am very pleased to say I had a female blackcap visit last winter so will be on the lookout this year. I am also chuffed that a wren is in my garden everyday. I put crumbled fat ball and grated cheese in its usual hunting places but have never seen it actually eat any. Still, it is doing well to survive this weather.
Be patient and the long tailed tits may come. We had been feeding the birds for a few years before we had our first visit and then it was only fleeting. Gradually over the years they began been visiting more and more often but only during the winter (we feed the birds all year). Last year two pairs remained and brought their fledglings to the feeders. We have eight resident Long tailed tits who visit daily, I can get within feet of the feeders before they fly off.
We did have a Blackcap visit during the very coldest part of last winter but as soon as it warmed up it moved on.
I too would love a visit from a Waxwing, I think we are too far south but we live in hope.
One winter we had a crow who would regularly take scraps from the shed roof - a great bonus for getting rid of awkward things like fish skins and meat fat. ( Can only do so much 'fine dicing' of such things for the bird table - especially when they ignore it!)
Likewise in my garden.
We have a small (10m x 30m) suburban garden in Sutton (outer London suburb) and regularly have the usual sparrows, tits, robin blackbird, finches and so on visit the feeders. We have several pairs of crows and magpies who use our roof and TV aerial for perches, but never in the garden. This weekend, they took the plunge and a pair of crows came in to take some of the meal worms I have been putting down.
After the crows left, the magpies came in but were soon seen off by the crows returning. They seem to work as a pair, one feeding whilst the other 'stands guard', then they swap roles. I have to say I'm pleased they honour us with their presence, but I suspect I'm going to have to increase my stock of meal worms now! I would settle for a blackcap too, please!