Well all the Summer visitors have gone last month. It seems quite strange without the Housemartins little squeeky calls.
The weather must be changing as we are getting lots more chaffinches and today there are huge flocks of Goldfinches and Greenfinches on the feeders. The cats have decimated the Dunnocks which were breeding well and we had several pairs in the garden. The long tailed tits are still twice daily visitors to the garden and have started using the peanut feeder. The blackbirds have also returned to the garden. It is funny that a couple of weeks ago I saw a flock of mainly young blackbirds, probably sixteen altogether dashing through the trees and bushes. I've no idea what they were up to, but they seem to have dispersed again and just a couple of pairs have taken up residence again.
The elderberries have all been eaten and now they are starting on the Pyracantha berries.
There are lots of wrens and all the other tits and usual visitors but I haven't seen any Song Thrushes or the Woodpecker for a few months.
I've been putting out a handfull of peanuts each night for the hedgehogs which are regular visitors. They eat up all the bits the birds throw off the feeders too. They should be nice and fat for the winter.
BIRDS IN THE GARDEN
Well - things sure are lively in your garden Pat!
We've had frost 3 nights in a row now - so I put out a piece of left-over cake for the birds. The starlings were there instantly, it's like they'd been waiting for me to put something out for them. Now a redwing has joined them as well. I've seen a blackbird around once in a while - but never many at the same time. One of them is on to the cake ...... so all my regular winter visitors are here for breakfast :-)
Yesterday I saw a snipe on the grass strip between the sidewalk and the street. I've never seen one here inside the neighbourhood although I've often heard them - they usually stay out in the lava fields. I was backing out of the driveway and it huddled down then when I stopped the car it continued hunting for something to eat.
Ravens are also starting to be more visible around the neighborhood - there's quite a few of them that hang around here all winter.
edited for spelling ;-)
This message was edited Oct 19, 2006 9:59 AM
It must have been a surprise to see the Snipe in the street. I've only ever seen them on the moors in the wet parts about two miles above our town. There aren't many Starlings at the moment around here. They usually eat the fat block in a couple of hours, but it has been there a few days now so the blue tits are getting their share. There are Redwing in nearby woodland but they haven't visited the garden yet. They usually come to eat the Pyracantha berries, but there are so many Rowan, Holly and Hawthorn berries that they have lots to go at.
I'm still having trouble with the neighbour's cat. It caught a bluetit yesterday. It really is deadly. I'll have to put something prickly in all its hiding places - or use a catapult. I must say I've had a bit of target practice with the windfall apples but haven't managed to hit it yet - at least it scares it away for a while.
Yes Pat I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw the snipe! There are so many redwings around now - they seem to be flocking together as well as the Starlings. The blackbirds aren't as many but still quite a few - they're so loud they always make their presence known! I saw three redpolls by the pond this morning - haven't seen them there before. Unfortunately it was frozen over - I guess I should go out in the morning and break a hole in the ice for the birds.
The cats are a problem here too - they were stalking my goldfish this summer. I haven't seen them get any birds fortunately. There was a cat that lived accross the street that was an incredible hunter - saw him out on the street last year eating a snow bunting. I think he got quite a few - and mice as well ..... he's moved away fortunately - I'm pretty sure he would have gotten his claws on all my fish!
Poor little snow bunting, that is something I have never seen here. We do get Red poll in winter though.
WARNING!!!
I'm writing to alert people in the UK about a Trichomonas parasite that is spreading through British finches at the moment, particularly Greenfinches. I have seen a couple of sick looking ones on my feeders and have been busy disinfecting the feeders and the bird bath to try to stop it spreading. The birds are lethargic and have their feathers fluffed up and one of them had its beak open as though it either had a sore throat or couldn't breath properly. There are more details on the R.S.P.B. web site
This message was edited Oct 30, 2006 6:30 PM
It was amusing this morning - bird watching while having breakfast as usual. The squirrel is back and was busy hiding the peanuts that the hedgehog had left over from its supper. Every time the squirrel went back for another nut a Coal tit flew down and took any that it hadn't covered properly. They carried on for about half an hour and the squirrel was totally oblivious of the bird undoing all its hard work.
I've not seen any more sick greenfinches, so hopefully it isn't spreading.
LOL Pat. what great enertainment to have over breakfast! I can just picture it :-)
I've seen quite a few redpolls in the last few days and on Saturday a few came for a bath in the pond, 3-4 at the same time. I got a photo of one of it - sorry it's not very good - I took it through the kitchen window.
That is a lovely photo, it is having a good splash. I have never understood how birds can enjoy bathing in cold water in freezing cold weather, even if it does get rid of their ticks and creepy crawlies. Although if it is thermally heated water then maybe it would be nice.
thanks pat. I'm sure it would be nice for the birds to be able to take a warm bath :-) But that was icy cold water. It's standing on a sheet of ice that had formed over the pond and then been rained over. After a week of overnight frost and cold enough day temps. to keep the pond and puddles frozen the birds were so happy when it rained and they could take a bath! It rained so heavily last Friday that large puddles formed on the street and it was like a pool party there were so many birds bathing :-)
After the bath it sat in my "cherry tree" and pruned itself for a long time.
Rannveig,
Really beautiful pictures ! Specially the last picture!
The expression in the eyes of the bird is really enchanting.
The bird doesn't seem to mind the cold !
Thanks bonitin! From you that is quite a compliment :-) I really like the red polls - they're so small and cute :-)
Rannveig, do you know it's Latin name ?
I don't know this lovely little bird, perhaps it doesn't occur in Belgium, but then it might, I don't know. I'm so limited in my knowledge of birds living in a city !
This should help
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Redpoll
Thanks wallaby - It's the common redpoll (the Icelandic breed) that's here, Carduelis flammea :-) There's often a large flock of them in the brich trees around here ..... the birch seeds seem to last them well into spring because they seldom come to eat the feed I put out for the other birds until in late winter. The snowbuntings on the other hand turn up as soon as it snows .... which was last night :-) I need to go out and buy some feed for them .....
Thanks, Wallaby1 for the link !
There are lots of finches in the garden just now and they all look well again. It is a few weeks since I saw a sick one, so hopefully the colder weather has cleared the outbreak up.
At dusk this afternoon there were lots of blue tits and great tits going through the shrubs and there was a gold crest with them, and yesterday I saw a brambling with the chaffinches and my first sighting for ages in the garden of a song thrush. I'm amazed than any of the birds that run about on the ground survive with all the cats. I'll have to plant lots more valerian (which they chew and rub their faces on) to sedate them and give the birds a better chance.
Pat - never thought of using Valerian for that! I hate the smell of it so I threw it all out!
With the snowcover the past two weeks the birds are starting to come to my place for lunch and dinner :-) Mostly Starlings and thrushes but yesterday two red buntings came to eat the corn I put out for the snowbuntings, which haven't shown up yet for some strange reason. I've only seen one flock fly over and then I hadn't bought any feed for them yet ..... haven't seen them since. Usually they turn up the first day everything is covered up in snow.
Here's a photo I got of the redpoll yesterday - a bit fuzzy since I took it through the window:
There also were 4 or 5 redwings looking very puffy from the cold :-)
And one male blackbird :-)
The snow is staying with you quite a while Rannveig. It has turned quite mild and rainy again here. We have lots of blackbirds feasting on the Pyracantha berries and the Sorbus. What do you put out for the snow buntings? We have only had a small number of starlings so far this year, and the red wings usually come into the garden when they are getting short of food elsewhere, but I have seen them around here when I've been out walking.
The cold weather usually brings lots of other species into the garden, but I hope it stays mild for as long as possible - I hate winter.
The snowbuntings like ground corn, but I also put out bird feed for finches that the redpoll seemed to like! The starlings and thrushes like apples and bread (with syrup if it's really cold) and on cold days they also get lard which they really like!
It's raining today so the snow's melting - I'd prefer to keep it around until January .... it brightens up this very dark time of year :-)
LOL magpied - they are very pretty brids :-)
Blackcap in my garden today (Sylvia atricapilla for non-English speakers)
Resin
Does anybody knows if it is normal that my sparrows are obviously collecting nest material at this time of the year !???
Rare, but not unknown. I saw some newly-fledged young House Sparrows on 26 December a few years ago. The warm weather and an abundant, protein-rich food source will trigger breeding.
Resin
That must be it, Resin. The weather here is abnormally mild.
No frost yet and we are almost in the middle of December!
The abundance of food is provided by me all year round, so these two factors must explain it.
I have seen all the birds around lately behaving like it's spring, blue tits, robin, and I saw 2 very small birds which could only be wrens. Some of the plants think it's spring too, a hardy fuchsia has made fresh shoots.
Can't be good for the plants if winter decides to show up. It's still definately winter here and I'm glad since these mid winter mild spells tend to trick the plants into early growth that can be fatal .... at least here. The birds are enjoying the apples I put out for them, I've been a bit lazy since the snow melted, but the ground is still frozen so they need to be fed none the less.
I've seen some geese around the neighborhood grazing. A flock of the showed up on my driveway last winter - I ran in and gave the some bred, but they didn't come back for more.
Many birds that are migratory in other parts of the country stay put here around Reykjavik and are pretty dependent on being fed when it's cold (the thrushes and starlings for instance).
The geese that dropped in for a visit in February this year.
Nice few Greylags there . . . most of yours spend the winter around where I live (usually see a few each winter with Icelandic rings on)
Resin
Yes Resin you're right - most of them fly "south" for the winter :-) They're only resident here around Reykjavik - often see them in large flocks grazing in open spaces around the city.
My garden birsa are getting less and less now, firstly due to a sparrowhawk and now i also have a kestrel................ soon won't have any birds left at this rate.!!
I blame it all on the farners and the EEC..........
Buzzards, Kites and Kestrels over mine, but we have oodles of tits (blue, great and marsh), sparrows (house and tree), and nuthatches at the feeders.......
:o))
We've still got huge flocks of finches, which is probably a good thing as the cat likes the odd gold finch for an afternoon snack. I've seen the sparrow hawk in the garden a few times recently and have found the bodies of two collared doves, not eaten but loads of feathers around. They roost in the same tree I see the sparrow hawk in, so that is the most likely cause of their demise.
There are also lots of tits, blackbirds and the robin, which is in full song from before day-break.
Not many winter visitors yet. I've seen some large flocks of winter thrushes in the countryside but none in the garden, but there are lots of berries everywhere, so they aren't struggling for food yet.
We usually get a blackcap with the bluetits, but no sightings this year as yet.
There have been huge numbers of Chaffinches for the past three days. They usually only come into the garden when there is really bad weather, in fact we have started saying there must be bad weather coming when they appear in more than twos and threes and it is usually right.
Has anyone else noticed this? It will be interesting to see what weather we get in the next few days. This week has been mild and overcast. Might have to get the wellies and snow shovels out!
I saw 3 chaffinches in the garden a few days ago, as well as some blue tits on the sedum. I don't know about the weather influence though.
The forecast for the next 4 days is wet and windy and up to 10C, whoopee!
The chaffinches must have sensed the gales (atmospheric pressure changes?) and come into the garden for shelter. There are still lots about and they are getting quite acrobatic trying to compete with the gold finches on the feeders. They tend to dive on, grab a seed and fly off to eat it straight away, while the gold finches sit on the perches and eat until they are full.
I sprinkled a bit of suet into a crack in the old apple tree and the wren and great tits keep going in there for a treat. The squirrel was also investigating it this morning. I wouldn't have thought they ate suet.
My new hens are settling in now and getting quite bold. They dared to all go on the top perch with the old hens tonight, but they were all squashed to the far end so they didn't get pecked. They are growing really fast and will soon be as big as the others, so should be able to stand up to them a bit better. They were funny this morning when I let them out. They were all sparring up to one another, trying to look very tall and fierce and jumping up and down and then running away really fast.
Pat - what is suet? I'd really like to find something I could interest the wren in - I see it around once in a while in the trees .....
Glad your new hens are settling in nicely - I have a very humorus picture of them in my head strutting around trying to look big! lol
Hi Rannveig, Suet is the shredded fat you use in cooking - for dumplings etc. You can get a vegetarian version. The bluetits like it too.
I've just been birdwatching from bed - very lazy but lovely to see them all on the feeders. The squirrel has just been on the sunflower seed feeder for its breakfast too.
Then from the kitchen window I've just been watching a plump female blackbird having a vigorous bath in the plants on the edge of the small pond. Bluetits are busy eating the petals off the Mahonia x media, Dunnocks are hopping over the mossy lawn and a Wren is delving about in the rockery. There are also lots of Goldfinches eating the seeds on the old Evening primroses I left in specially for them.
Gardening and caring for nature is so rewarding - it makes me very happy.
Pat - sounds so lovely to have all this life around you :-) The birds are gathering here for treats as well - just not so varied - it's always the same ones. Thanks for the explanation - I give them tallow which they like alot - I'll try to put some out for the wren too ......