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Sparrow Salad

Caught this little lady eating the dandelions of my "lawn" - hopefully a few more birds will take a liking to them.

  • CBs are limited to a fairly small area of Torbay, less than 5 miles away from me but they haven't found my garden yet. Reed buntings have, but not cirls. EB you cannot put a tent on my lawn as it will scare the birds, but there is a field just beyond which you are welcome to use. Bring finches, my numbers are well down this year apart from golds.

    I did post in ask an expert about my declining chaffinches but didn't get an answer. I had about 3 pairs a couple of months back, now just one female. So probably no baby chaffinches this year. Hopefully they will recover.

  • There have also been several reports of papilloma virus affecting the Chaffies' feet - some quite badly - I have just started to get regular visits from a male over the last couple of weeks which arrived when we had the snow & for two or three days now there is a female in the garden several times a day.

  • Not noticed any foot problems but have just read up on finch disease and the symptoms fit a sick chaffie I found the other day. I shall have to be extra careful about hygiene. I had just cleaned all my feeders but I think I'd better do the table and all the perches more regularly too. I know a lot of people who simply never clean their feeders and it makes me angry because they could be harming more birds than they help.

  • Sorry to hear that the disease is still around, was hoping it had died out by now & I agree with you re hygiene, so very important when we are lucky to have so many garden visitors!

    I have two of each kind of feeder so can swap them about & give a good deep clean.

  • I think a lot of people don't realise that attracting lots of birds to their garden can cause diseases to spread more rapidly. A few years back I went on a crusade to get plastic nets banned, writing to manufacturers and retailers about the risks. I think I shall do the same with hygiene, asking them to make people more aware of the need for cleanliness. We are often asked by people on TV to feed birds, but rarely do they explain that it is not something to take lightly. I feel responsible for the birds I feed, they are part of the family!

  • Sam, I do so agree with you! It's a passion with me! As a lot of people only feed in winter, I sometimes put a letter in the local paper, about November time, with a gentle reminder. Along the lines of ' would you eat off a plate you hadn't washed for 6 months?!' with reasons why feeders/water dishes need cleaning. Perhaps later this year we could all do a mass 'write in'!

  • Hi Rose, yes we should all write to everybody who promotes feeding asking them to highlight the importance of feeding. Imagine the irony if all we are doing is killing off the birds we feed.

  • I have also observed house sparrows eating dandelion leaves in my garden in the extreme southwest of Norway in November, despite there being access to food in the bird feeder. The winters here are quite mild, not unlike many parts of the UK. The dandelions can often grow throughout the winter.
  • I am concerned about a thrush which flew into my greenhouse this morning. It is not flying yet but Is feeding very well on the lawn. I think it must have an injured wing and I feel helpless to do anything’s no to help it.
  • Hello Valerie,  I would observe the bird for a while as it may just be stunned and able to fly off after a rest, however,  if it continues to show signs of damaged wing or other injury then contact help via this LINK.    You will have to enter your location and insert garden bird in the species box and it will come up with a list of people/organisations in your general area that can help offer advice and assistance.     Good luck.