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SoftTouch
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« on: Friday 08 January 2010_ 18:21:19 » |
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I had this sent through in an email today. Some of you may find it helpful. During these extreme cold spells don't forget the cold weather drill of fat, splash and shelter:
Fat: Provide additional survival rations in the form of fat products for raw energy to survive the long, cold nights. Simply hang the products up, place them whole or chopped on the ground, or rub them into bark for more retiring species.
Splash: Make sure that there's always clean, fresh water available for drinking and bathing and ensure bird baths are kept clear of ice.
Shelter: Avoid disturbing birds when they are sheltering from the elements. At night time roosts and in 'loafing areas' during the day, the birds are trying to conserve vital energy and avoidable disturbance is a bit like reducing the amount of food available. Nest boxes will often be used as vital, windproof roost sites.
The first and last hour of daylight are particularly important feeding times when it's very cold so the birds should be left to feed up in peace if possible.
If I can add any weight to this then it's what I do and have done for some years. As a result, the list of birds in our garden today was: Wood Pigeon Collared Dove Blue Tit Great Tit Long Tailed Tit Black Cap Dunnock Sparrow Pied Wagtail Starling Blackbird Thrush Fieldfare Chaffinch Robin Goldfinch Most of the time the list is similar, even during the summer but this is the first year I've seen Fieldfares. They really are the most beautiful birds and we have 4 of them. |
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Marg
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« Reply #1 on: Friday 08 January 2010_ 21:39:56 » |
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I came here to post about an unusual bird in my garden and i find you have preceded me Gill! I was reading on the BBC website about how this extreme weather may well decimate some of the rarer birds,which is so sad,and about how some of them are turning up in people's gardens.This is just a short passage from it :
"The society says that it is being inundated with calls from the public, who are reporting unusual visitors to bird feeders in gardens - including woodcock, snipe and grey wagtails."
For the last 10 days or so i have had a grey wagtail who spends most of the day in my garden,he loves the mealworm crumble,i suppose because they mainly eat insects.He spends a lot of time walking around my part frozen pond and i took a photo of him about to get a drink from an are a free of ice.If you can see him in the rather poor photo i took from the kitchen window,you may just spot his yellow breasted reflection in the water.He/she is a beautiful bird and i am always relieved to see him each morning after another freezing night.I didn't realise they were an unusual sight but then again,i have never seen one before now
I also have regular visits from a robin,and many others ,goldfinch,greenfinch,several blackbirds,a beautiful thrush who comes every winter,starlings,collared doves etc.I got a new birdtable for xmas and some extra quality foods,so glad i did.
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Margaret
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clayts
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« Reply #2 on: Saturday 09 January 2010_ 12:29:00 » |
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The other vital step I include is 'sweep away snow' - I clear my paths each time there is a significant snowfall, and then put down food for the groundfeeders such as blackbirds, robins, dunnocks, wrens, chaffinches, magpies, collared doves and woodpigeons.
A load of birds were waiting for me on the oak tree this morning, chirping frenetically at me as if to say 'hurry up and clear the snow'. As soon as I exited stage right, the birds came flocking in stage left and guzzled like crazy.
Whole peanuts served loose go down a treat amongst the tits this time of the year (remember not to serve them loose in breeding season), and the little suet pellets (currently cheap in Wilko's) get gobbled up by all species, including squirrels.
I also go into the woods to serve up monkey nuts for the grey squirrels (who are usually waiting for me and then mob me when I appear).
We had a gang of about 25 black headed gulls arrive the other day (not in my garden thankfully !) and swoop on some bread a neighbour had thrown over his fence.
Pretty sure I've had a redwing, but nothing really out of the ordinary. Grey wagtails are apparently being spotted in a lot of gardens at present, Marg, so that's a good result for you.
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hoglover!!
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« Reply #3 on: Saturday 09 January 2010_ 14:22:28 » |
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Gill, We have a flock of Fieldfares out the front of the house every day at the moment and do so every year at this time. They love the trees out there(not sure what they are  )with big red berries on them. The Blackbirds love them too. Thing is, they perch in the trees which overhang my car on the drive and then poop orange poops all over the bonnet  Small price to pay for them feeding themselves up  Feeding the birds is a full time job for me at the moment. They sure know where to come when the going is tough. I'm putting 6 slices of wholemeal bread and butter under my weeping pear tree(the birds favourite)every couple of hours. Putting a mixture of sunflower hearts, other seeds and mealworms, early in the morning and again about 3pm and changing the baths a few times a day. I've got 3 nest boxes which are used every year for breeding, so I expect they are being used at night now too. I'm amazed how the birds survive the nights at the moment. PatX |
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SoftTouch
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« Reply #4 on: Saturday 09 January 2010_ 14:46:32 » |
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If I have any bread that's starting to go stale, I break it up then soak it in melted lard or suet. Then let it cool and throw that out, they go nuts for it. My wagtails are going for the mealworms and the suet pellets with insects. The robins love the seed and small pieces of grated cheese.
If I have leftover meat fat I chop that up and throw it out there and I make my own fat balls with melted lard and seeds etc mixed in, poured into a container of some sort, left to cool, plunged into hot water to free it then put outside on the tables or on the ground for the ground feeders.
I don't clear spaces as such. The patio right by the house tends to stay partly clear due to the overhang of the thatch, I put food there. Otherwise I put out old tupperware large dishes and just put them on the snow. I find I'm less likely to A over T when going down to refill stuff.
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SoftTouch
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« Reply #5 on: Monday 11 January 2010_ 11:37:01 » |
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Don't clear paths!
Yesterday Harv and I went out the front and along with neighbours, we shovelled all the snow and ice into a heap by the kerb, brushed all the pavment clean and then sprinkled salt all over it.
No sooner had we finished than it started snowing again and now the path has an inch of the white stuff. Typical.
On the plus side, my feeding regime brought in several more wagtails, some black headed gulls and a couple of wrens.
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SoftTouch
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« Reply #6 on: Wednesday 13 January 2010_ 09:55:22 » |
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The latest lot of snow seems to have been the final straw for a lot of the birds that have managed to cope until now. We currently have a flock of Meadow Pipits in the garden and I've never seen those here before.
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reajennifer
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« Reply #7 on: Wednesday 13 January 2010_ 11:05:43 » |
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We currently have a flock of Meadow Pipits in the garden and I've never seen those here before.
I think that might be very rare to find in the garden. Wasn't even in the first book I looked. They must be really struggling  Hope is on its way - weekend and friday looking warmer (but I wouldn't count on it just yet)  Jenny x |
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reajennifer
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« Reply #8 on: Thursday 14 January 2010_ 10:16:26 » |
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OK so it wasn't a bird, but I spotted a fox in my garden at 5.30am today - there were no lights on but you could see it clearly against the snow. When it realised I was watching it through the window it legged it. Pity, I would have like to have watched it for longer. I have never seen a fox around here ever. But then since I do tend to be in bed by 10pm most nights is it any wonder! It was looking around where I feed the birds for something to eat. Next I will be leaving it a plate of Iams!! But do I want to encourage it because of the hogs Jenny |
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wayne1983
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« Reply #9 on: Thursday 14 January 2010_ 20:42:11 » |
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I have one of them pole feeding stations and i put allsorts out. Got a hanging bird table and just bought another hanging bird feeding station!. I think i can say im helping the birdies to survive, and just ordered a hoggy house!  |
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KaL976
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« Reply #10 on: Thursday 14 January 2010_ 23:49:49 » |
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Last thursday morning at 12.30am after the first dumping of snow there was a wailing sound I couldn't place so went out looking a found a fox.
Put some wet dog food out for it by its previous tracks every night since & it's not touched it.
Ho hum, at least the local cats & crows are happy.
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reajennifer
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« Reply #11 on: Friday 15 January 2010_ 06:38:55 » |
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Could it have been a mating call or are we too early yet?
Early last year I was tacking up my horse to go out for a nice little ride when from the field across the road came this screaming - it turned out to be a fox calling for a mate. Well my plans for a nice ride went out the window as the horse by then was could i say 'rather alert'. So i went for the brave option - took his tack off and turned him out into the field (a different field)!! If I had met that wailing out on a hack i would have ended up off at high speed or left behind!! Was thankful to read mating season did not last that long!!
Jenny
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Alison
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« Reply #12 on: Friday 15 January 2010_ 13:06:46 » |
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Could it have been a mating call or are we too early yet?
I would've thought it'd be too early but on the Snow Watch programme the other day they showed a photo that somebody had taken of a pair of foxes mating in the snow, so maybe not. |
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clayts
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« Reply #13 on: Saturday 16 January 2010_ 20:56:17 » |
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Yes, January is foxy mating season - 54 days later out pop some gorgeous bundles of fluff...
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Marg
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« Reply #14 on: Monday 18 January 2010_ 08:03:01 » |
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Yes, January is foxy mating season - 54 days later out pop some gorgeous bundles of fluff...
Not for long if David Cameron has anything to do with it.  The image he portrays of a caring man does now wash with me at all.  |
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Margaret
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Angie
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« Reply #15 on: Monday 18 January 2010_ 09:18:20 » |
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In the past couple of weeks we've had a number of calls from people reporting their first sighting of Fieldfares, or asking us to confirm the identity of this 'new' bird to them. It was also the first time I'd seen one. Of course I'd only seen just seen my first one too.
I'm no expert but read that extreme weather, particularly snow is a factor in the abundance of Fieldfares in our gardens at the moment.
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SoftTouch
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« Reply #16 on: Tuesday 19 January 2010_ 18:31:36 » |
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I'm no expert but read that extreme weather, particularly snow is a factor in the abundance of Fieldfares in our gardens at the moment. Must be right. As soon as the snow melted they all vanished, Redwings too. We're forecast to get another 6 inches again tonight. If we do and they're back tomorrow, there's your proof. I was somewhat confused to find a ladybird walking along a branch yesterday. Surely they shouldn't be out and about now? And the final straw was sitting in the office working when I heard a buzzing sound and there was a darn great bluebottle. |
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reajennifer
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« Reply #17 on: Tuesday 19 January 2010_ 19:46:19 » |
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I was somewhat confused to find a ladybird walking along a branch yesterday. Surely they shouldn't be out and about now? And the final straw was sitting in the office working when I heard a buzzing sound and there was a darn great bluebottle.
Maybe it is to do with global warming Gill |
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reajennifer
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« Reply #18 on: Sunday 31 January 2010_ 19:30:25 » |
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Just thought I would share a few pictures of the animals in our garden. The blackbirds where out in force first thing, patiently waiting for me to feed them. Then followed the rest............. They are all so hungry at the minute with all this cold weather. This is the first year we have had regular goldfinches, and the first year to have pheasants (it took the pheasants a while to come into the garden, but at least I don't have to try to follow them with a bucket of food now - what did the neighbours think ) Jenny x |
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reajennifer
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« Reply #19 on: Thursday 04 February 2010_ 09:39:18 » |
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This morning I had 3 male pheasants in the garden - fantastic for me  as they are beautiful birds, but worrying as they must be struggling to find natural resources of food Jenny x |
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clayts
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« Reply #20 on: Monday 08 February 2010_ 19:38:30 » |
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Total mayhem going on there then, Jen Lovely to see the mix of creatures - I laughed when I saw the squizza on the feeding station - my furries do that too ! |
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reajennifer
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« Reply #21 on: Monday 08 February 2010_ 21:38:42 » |
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Lovely to see the mix of creatures - I laughed when I saw the squizza on the feeding station - my furries do that too !
I am very lucky - suspect it will get very busy this week with the colder weather again - looked out and counted 10 wood pigeons today. |
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