Kitchen Garden Forum

The Goldfinches have sussed out the Nyger feeder and are now emptying it on a regular basis. They had some help from Redpolls and Siskins but they seem to have moved on.

We were talking to a guy at one of the RSPB reserves and he says rarer garden visitors have been seen this year. He said the harsh winter meant birds used up much of the naturally available food early and so had to search for other sources of food and found their way into gardens.

The goldfinches did find us in the end and have been constantly on feeders since and we had siskins for the first time. Both enjoyed niger seeds in ordinary feeders and sunflower hearts - we also had lots of long tailed tits too.

It has been like Piccadilly Circus here today! We heard a lot of noise which turned out to be 3 pairs of starlings with at least 4 chicks each, all hustling to be fed. They stayed a few minutes then it was the turn of the sparrows, again all clamouring to be fed, at least a dozen of them and then the chaffies arrived. This was interspersed with visits by the four great spotted woodpeckers, who insist on dining alone.

We have not seen greenfinches here for a couple of years, so we were delighted to see a pair, with one baby, at the sunflower hearts.

It is a bit quieter here now but we still have the blue and great tits and the goldfinches. I think the sparrows have migrated to the kitchen garden...must check the peas!

Diane

The garden is teeming with birds and their chicks and I'm trying to keep the cats, magpies and jackdaws away.

Yesterday I was walking along the path on my way back from the shops and disturbed a family of wrens which had only just left the nest. I counted 8 tiny tufty babies trying their best to hide in the hedge and among the plants. I've seen a few around the garden this morning and they are much more grown up in just a day, flying more confidently and more assured, but still under their parents' watchful eyes.

It seems to be part of the training process to bring all the fledglings to the bird feeders so they all know where they can get a snack. The only birds not to have brought any young are the bullfinches so far.

We've had a delightful time over the past few days watching a black & white spotted woodpecker bring its baby down to our garden to feed on an insect fat block hanging from one of our fences.
I've been busy in the garden but very conscious that some birds won't come down to the feeders while I'm pottering about, so I have to keep remembering to go indoors at regular intervals for a few minutes to allow them space to come down and feed without feeling threatened. Some of our regular birds are used to me and don't worry about my presence but I'm conscious that some of the more irregular visitors are not so tame, and when they're desperate to feed their young, do need priority to get on with it.

It's lovely to see some of the babies maturing sufficiently to have learnt where to come to find food on their own but sadly some of their flying still needs to be perfected. We've had two babies, a chaffinch and a starling, fly into our patio windows over the past few days and kill themselves. I'd draw our vertical blinds across to make it more obvious but it does make our room incredibly dark - and I also like to look out whenever I'm in there to see what's happening in the garden.

Why did I ever doubt this feeder. Filled it this morning!

Geoff great photos,
Primrose a young thrush flew into my window yesterday and killed itself sadly. It's usually after I have cleaned the windows maybe the answer is not to clean them so often.