The Lincolnshire Bird Club

Although the following cannot match seeing the Scaup [I wish] it is for me better than risking driving in these awful conditions!

On reading Freddy's thread about the influx of thrushes in his garden, I am a bit jealous!

Anyway these are the sightings for yesterday [ 4th ] :

Blue Tit - 2
Great Tit - 2
Coal Tit - 1
Collared Dove - 11
Greenfinch - 9
Chaffinch - 5
Goldfinch - 16
Feral Pigeon - 1
Wood Pigeon - 2
Blackbird - 2
Starling - 5
Dunnock - 3
Robin - 3 [ first time I've ever seen more than two ]
House Sparrow - 23
Rook - 1 over
Crow - 2 over
Common Gull - 3 over
Jackdaw - 1 over

Recently have seen a Robin on the nut feeder and the Dunnock on the bird table, this I've not seen before. Of the food I'm putting out it consists of fat balls, peanuts, nyger, black sunflower seeds, sunflower hearts, songbird mixed seed, apples, cheese, raisins and any scraps I have. I have two bird tables, two fat ball feeders, a 20 port Droll Yankee nyger feeder, three nut feeders and eight seed feeders. Also got water available when it isn't frozen.

If anyone has any ideas for me to help the birds in any other way please tell me.

Been told that maybe a Nuthatch or GSW may pop in, been waiting twenty years and still no sign.

Kind regards

John aka Max

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GETTING OLD HAS IT'S ADVANTAGES BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THEY ARE lol

Perhaps this thread could be used for a general 'Garden Sightings' thread?

Currently in mine:

House Sparrow - 30
Wren - 1
Robin - 1
Goldfinch - 5
Greenfinch - 6
Blackbird - 5
Dunnock - 3
Collared Dove - 2
Starling - 6 devouring suet cakes and fat balls!

I have 14 feeders in the garden.

Peanut feeder - 1. Peanuts bought from Old Macdonald's Farm, near Tesco, Boston
Sunflower Heart Feeder - 1 6-port. Sunflower Hearts from pet shop down Dolphin Lane, Boston
Niger Feeder - 1. Niger bought from Wilko
Suet cake Feeder - 2. Cakes Gardman-brand
Fat Ball feeder - 2 both with RSPB-brand Fat Balls

SEED MIXES

1 4-port feeder with Walter Harrison-brand 'Energy No Mess'
1 2-port feeder with black/striped Sunflower Seeds from Wilko
1 4-port Ring-pull feeder with RSPB-brand Feeder Seed
1 6-port feeder with Bill Oddie's High Energy Nutri-boost mix (Haith's)
1 4-port feeder with Robin Mix from Old Macdonald's Farm
1 6-port feeder with my own seed mix (S. Hearts, suet pellets, peanut granules, striped sunflower seed & chopped maize).

Also, ground feeders with mealworms, suet pellets and sunflower hearts with suet on. Kitchen scraps and apples whenever available.

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It's interesting to see the seasonal change in food taken and species variation in the garden. Most noticeable is the feeding pattern of Goldfinch which feeds on Niger seeds in large numbers in the breeding season, almost disappear for 4 or so months before returning in winter to ignore the Niger and avidly devour masses of sunflower hearts. Unfortunately sunflower hearts are desired by many other species so I have to designate more feeders to these instead of mixed seeds (costing me a fortune!). The only birds interested in mixed seeds appears to be house sparrows and collared dove. Dunnocks (lots) prefer layer hen mix (cheap!) which also seems to be a favourite with Robin and Blackbird. Strangely the suet "worms" don't seem to be favoured by anything other than rats. We await the spring invasion by dozens of starlings, rooks (rookery 200 meters!), jackdaws and wood pigeons which devour everything in huge quantities.

Greenfinch come to s/hearts occasionally and siskin and redpoll rarely on niger. GSW on peanuts and sparrowhawk on the pigeons!

My garden is on the rural edge of Fulbeck.

Jackdaw just taken off with a sausage roll in its beak!

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A surprise today amongst all the blackbirds, robins, chaffinchs, dunnocks, and house sparrows was a female GS Woody on the oak tree and a femeale blackcap feeding on berries off the honeysuckle!

David

3 visits by Black-headed Gulls today!

Other rare ones - Long-tailed Tits again and another Jackdaw visit.

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Had a flock of 20 or so Redwings stripping the pyracantha of all berries in 3 days. Now for 2 days have a Fieldfare that is dominating proceedings by chasing off Redwings. Blackbirds and even Starlings, House Sparrows, Dunnock, Collared Doves and Robin at every opportunity from my garden. Had a Heron eating bread on the garage roof that had been thrown out for BH Gulls which was in turn attacked by 2 Crows. ( Got a good photo of this) 6 Goldfinches put in a brief visit today but didn't bother with the Nyger feeder.

So much territorial behaviour from all quarters because of the cold weather and food shortages. In addition to peanut feeder, 2 seed feeders, nyger feeder and fatball feeder I have been chopping up apples and pears and also feeding dried mealworms.

Regards

Jim

Hi

Had Redwings in my garden stripping berries off the Holly Bush. A first for my Garden in fact have never seen them in Wragby before.

Malcolm.

Further to James Howarth's post above on territorial behaviour, a Fieldfare has now taken control of the Sentinel Crabapple tree in the garden ( with its dozens of cherry-size deep red crabapples ), and is seeing off all-comers. It should get interesting when the local Mistle Thrush turns up......

Regards,

Freddy

Further to my post earlier today (Sat ), the Mistle Thrush duly turned up mid-afternoon.

Round One. After much pecking and fluttering of wings, the Fieldfare won.
Round Two. The Mistle Thrush returned and saw off the Fieldfare, which perched watching nearby.
Round Three. The Fieldfare won and the Mistle Thrush disappeared for the rest of the afternoon. The Fieldfare also saw off two other Fieldfare.

Meanwhile, a lone Redwing kept to the Hawthorn berries, the ousted Blackbirds returned to the Pyracantha, but the Song Thrush didn't put in an appearance today.
As dusk set in and the snow started to fall again (4.15pm), the Fieldfare was still pecking furiously at the Crabapples.

Regards,

Freddy

Pair of Bullfinch spent most of day in & around garden.
Single fieldfare taking few remaining hawthorn berries, most of which along with holly berries, having been taken by large flock of redwing since christmas.
This was in addition to usual chaffinch/goldfinch/wood pigeon/collared dove/ blackbird/dunnock/great spotted woodpecker.

Coningsby:

After my new Yellowhammer records last week, 2 Reed Buntings today, 1 male and another male 1st winter.

Certainly spices up the records on the LBC Garden Survey!

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JH Birding
http://jhbirding.blogspot.com

It's interesting reading the comments and I'm certainly envious of some of the birds your getting.

On Saturday spotted a male Blackbird attempting to extract some Nyger seed from the DY but he couldn't keep a grip on the feeder. There were apples underneath the feeder but for some reason he didn't fancy them so the Starlings got stuck in.

Noticed that the Wood Pigeon doesn't like the Feral one and keeps attacking it. Not quite as many birds been last few days, there is plenty of seed etc. Until today never bought seed in bulk but it seems it's certainly worthwhile on the pocket and with free transport thrown in, looking forward to receiving it on Friday.

Lastly spotted Black-headed Gulls flying over the garden along with the Common Gulls, the latter usually have the area to themselves.

Regards

John

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GETTING OLD HAS IT'S ADVANTAGES BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THEY ARE lol

This afternoon noticed an odd looking Goldfinch on the nyger feeder. Instead of a red face it was orange with no black on it's head just a pale cream.

Interesting watching SnowWatch tonight I certainly got a few tips.

John

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GETTING OLD HAS IT'S ADVANTAGES BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THEY ARE lol

Over the weekend moved all the apples and added to them and put them at end of the back garden, thinking wrongly as it turned out that birds flying over would see them and nip down, they obviously don't like Golden Delicious [ I'd bought two bags at local supermarket because they were at reduced price, next time I'll choose another variety ].

Seen an increase in Greenfinch coming could be because I've introduced sunflower hearts [usually prefer black sunflower as there tends to be less waste, I am still putting them out as well ], also seen increase in Wood Pigeon hopefully they won't tell their mates

Max

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GETTING OLD HAS IT'S ADVANTAGES BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THEY ARE lol