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Post by alsagerstokie on Feb 20, 2021 14:02:05 GMT
Have you been visited by any cute little rats yet? Do your best to keep the stuff off the floor although the bastards are quite capable of climbing up a bird table. Not had that but we do get possums. Evil looking bastards, pull the curtain back and see one of them the other side of the glass  Possums you say  |
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Post by murphthesurf on Feb 21, 2021 21:17:18 GMT
We live next to a canal and there’s a stream close by but have two birds baths that the previous house owners kindly left for us, as it happens I’ve googled only a matter of hours ago what types of food certain birds favour and learned that there’s two different beak types and what food to put out for them, fascinating stuff and great rewards if you learn what to do. New to this type of stuff but intend to spend money to get it right for the little feathered ones Have you been visited by any cute little rats yet? Do your best to keep the stuff off the floor although the bastards are quite capable of climbing up a bird table. Good advice from Fel - this is why hanging feeders are so useful - get some 'S' hooks, for them, Quez, and you'll be good to go. It's also one of the reasons I mentioned about bird baths needing to be on a table, etc. - rats love water. |
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Post by murphthesurf on Feb 21, 2021 21:23:22 GMT
Popped into Morrison’s and grabbed fat balls, suet cakes, suet logs and sunflower hearts and have a bird table as present in the garage for the wife’s bday tomorrow. Brilliant - I'd have loved that!  PS: You have a PM. |
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Post by murphthesurf on Feb 21, 2021 22:25:10 GMT
Quick mention as reminder to self to fill in more info later b/c signing out now...... NEVER USE MAGGOTS, eg. those used for fishing bait, as wild bird food. Laters....  Maggots should never be put out as garden bird food - as far as I understand it, this is why: Mealworms are bred in 'clean' conditions and are therefore 100% safe to feed to the wild birds in your garden. Maggots intended for bait/fishing are bred on rotting flesh and would therefore be toxic to garden birds. Tick. Done. |
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Post by alsagerstokie on Feb 21, 2021 22:26:25 GMT
A tip for everyone.
Birds like Robins are most of the time upright alert hopping round your garden so they are quite comfortable around people. Especially if your doing some gardening digging exposing worms.
Other woodland birds like Blue Tits Great Tits.
They are used to dense leafy places where they can hide if necessary so if you have positioned your bird feeder where its convinient for you it might not be for them. So hang your food for them in a bush or away from house so they feel safer when eating.
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Post by murphthesurf on Feb 21, 2021 22:41:33 GMT
A tip for everyone. Birds like Robins are most of the time upright alert hopping round your garden so they are quite comfortable around people. Especially if your doing some gardening digging exposing worms. Other woodland birds like Blue Tits Great Tits. They are used to dense leafy places where they can hide if necessary so if you have positioned your bird feeder where its convinient for you it might not be for them. So hang your food for them in a bush or away from house so they feel safer when eating.
Yeah. If you're out gardening and digging is involved, you can bet it won't be many minutes before a robin shows up and patiently perches nearby, keeping you company in the hope that his lunch will soon appear in the soil heap. If the hanging feeders (I use 'S' hooks with them) are sited in leafy places, as recommended above, the birds whilst perched on them are less obviously on show than they would be if they were out in the open, without some foliage for cover - ie. clearly visible and therefore risking being a potential lunch advert themselves for prowling sparrowhawks. |
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Post by crapslinger on Feb 21, 2021 22:50:55 GMT
Have you been visited by any cute little rats yet? Do your best to keep the stuff off the floor although the bastards are quite capable of climbing up a bird table. Good advice from Fel - this is why hanging feeders are so useful - get some 'S' hooks, for them, Quez, and you'll be good to go. It's also one of the reasons I mentioned about bird baths needing to be on a table, etc. - rats love water. Good sport with an air rifle as well as them fcuking destructive grey squirrels, I cut the tails off the fcukers and hang them on the fence, biggest problem where we live with songbirds is Sparrow hawks ruthless and efficient as a Spitfire, I leave a part of the garden wild to protect the native birds problem is rats love blackberrys. |
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Post by questionable on Feb 24, 2021 17:28:32 GMT
Well since I’ve splashed out on a wide variety of seeds, bird table and other foods I’ve seen a few pigeons and a solitary black bird, I’m furious with them.
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Post by alsagerstokie on Feb 24, 2021 19:02:45 GMT
Well since I’ve splashed out on a wide variety of seeds, bird table and other foods I’ve seen a few pigeons and a solitary black bird, I’m furious with them. Have faith spring is on the way. More will arrive. |
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Post by dave1 on Feb 24, 2021 20:04:16 GMT
Well since I’ve splashed out on a wide variety of seeds, bird table and other foods I’ve seen a few pigeons and a solitary black bird, I’m furious with them. I was going ask if you have sunflower hearts but just seen on an earlier post that you have. Can't go wrong with these- I get goldfinches, Robins etc in my garden. Them suet balls have never worked for me. Mealworm also very good, as is the little red suet stuff. As someone has earlier posted I also use wildlife direct (following a recommendation on here). Got a big bag of sunflower hearts for £20 odd. Was going big garden centre near me (name alludes me- past Swan with 2 necks) and they were over double the price... |
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Post by franklin on Feb 26, 2021 11:58:28 GMT
Well since I’ve splashed out on a wide variety of seeds, bird table and other foods I’ve seen a few pigeons and a solitary black bird, I’m furious with them. Pigeons are buggers i tend to avoid a flat surface to put feed on and make it as difficult as possible for them to reach any feeders. I use feeders with a metal "guard" to keep them off and areas the big buggers cant land. |
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Post by raythesailor on Feb 26, 2021 15:29:55 GMT
Saw and heard a Grey Spotted Woodpecker this morning.
I knew it was a woodpecker but only found out it was Grey Spotted when a bloke walking in the opposite direction told me ! 🚶🏼♂️🤔
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Post by questionable on Feb 26, 2021 16:52:48 GMT
Well since I’ve splashed out on a wide variety of seeds, bird table and other foods I’ve seen a few pigeons and a solitary black bird, I’m furious with them. I was going ask if you have sunflower hearts but just seen on an earlier post that you have. Can't go wrong with these- I get goldfinches, Robins etc in my garden. Them suet balls have never worked for me. Mealworm also very good, as is the little red suet stuff. As someone has earlier posted I also use wildlife direct (following a recommendation on here). Got a big bag of sunflower hearts for £20 odd. Was going big garden centre near me (name alludes me- past Swan with 2 necks) and they were over double the price... Bridgemere?? |
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Post by dave1 on Feb 26, 2021 19:22:40 GMT
I was going ask if you have sunflower hearts but just seen on an earlier post that you have. Can't go wrong with these- I get goldfinches, Robins etc in my garden. Them suet balls have never worked for me. Mealworm also very good, as is the little red suet stuff. As someone has earlier posted I also use wildlife direct (following a recommendation on here). Got a big bag of sunflower hearts for £20 odd. Was going big garden centre near me (name alludes me- past Swan with 2 necks) and they were over double the price... Bridgemere?? That's the one!!! |
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Post by alsagerstokie on Feb 26, 2021 19:44:51 GMT
Saw and heard a Grey Spotted Woodpecker this morning. I knew it was a woodpecker but only found out it was Grey Spotted when a bloke walking in the opposite direction told me ! 🚶🏼♂️🤔 The great Spotted Woodpecker i got on film last year. Also heard one other week. One ive never seen that i want to is the Green Woodpecker. |
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Post by marylandstoke on Feb 26, 2021 20:31:53 GMT
Saw and heard a Grey Spotted Woodpecker this morning. I knew it was a woodpecker but only found out it was Grey Spotted when a bloke walking in the opposite direction told me ! 🚶🏼♂️🤔 The great Spotted Woodpecker i got on film last year. Also heard one other week. One ive never seen that i want to is the Green Woodpecker. Look for them on the nights you put your recycling out. |
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Post by alsagerstokie on Feb 26, 2021 21:23:15 GMT
The great Spotted Woodpecker i got on film last year. Also heard one other week. One ive never seen that i want to is the Green Woodpecker. Look for them on the nights you put your recycling out. Taken from google as ive said never seen one.  list delete duplicates |
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Post by alsagerstokie on Feb 27, 2021 20:26:35 GMT
Whats the rarest bird you have seen out in nature not in Zoos and that.
That was the first time other week i had seen a Kingfisher.
Saw Egyptian Geese onve so i suppose it maybe that.
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Post by zerps on Feb 28, 2021 6:13:28 GMT
Has anyone mentioned Naomi Campbell?
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Post by partickpotter on Feb 28, 2021 8:42:32 GMT
Not sure if this is a buzzard or a golden eagle I’m pretty sure it’s the latter, mainly, and you’ll have to trust me here, because it is bloody huge...  |
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Post by chuffedstokie on Feb 28, 2021 11:19:54 GMT
We live next to a canal and there’s a stream close by but have two birds baths that the previous house owners kindly left for us, as it happens I’ve googled only a matter of hours ago what types of food certain birds favour and learned that there’s two different beak types and what food to put out for them, fascinating stuff and great rewards if you learn what to do. New to this type of stuff but intend to spend money to get it right for the little feathered ones Have you been visited by any cute little rats yet? Do your best to keep the stuff off the floor although the bastards are quite capable of climbing up a bird table. Couldn't believe it, despite my best efforts at keeping everything off the floor a few bits and pieces do hit the deck one of the not so little shits rocked up yesterday. Appeared out of the neatly piled up hedge trimmings left behind after these places were built. Now that it's got warmer here maybe they're more active. Watching the robins boss the place is interesting to watch. |
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Post by felonious on Feb 28, 2021 14:35:42 GMT
Whats the rarest bird you have seen out in nature not in Zoos and that. That was the first time other week i had seen a Kingfisher. Saw Egyptian Geese onve so i suppose it maybe that. The Egyptian geese were at Westport Lake some years back. I believe I saw a Golden Oriole several years ago, stopped the car on the lane but couldn't get another sighting. Other than that I've now seen three separate multiple sightings of pied blackbirds. |
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Post by thehartshillbadger on Feb 28, 2021 14:46:33 GMT
Have you been visited by any cute little rats yet? Do your best to keep the stuff off the floor although the bastards are quite capable of climbing up a bird table. Couldn't believe it, despite my best efforts at keeping everything off the floor a few bits and pieces do hit the deck one of the not so little shits rocked up yesterday. Appeared out of the neatly piled up hedge trimmings left behind after these places were built. Now that it's got warmer here maybe they're more active. Watching the robins boss the place is interesting to watch. Last summer I put some bird feed on top of a hedge as I didn’t have a feeder at the time. It kept disappearing, but hadn’t seen a single bird. Then one day whilst sitting having a beer in the sun I saw two enormous rats pop their heads out of the top of the hedge and devour the goods. Took ages get rid of em as well. One day I was sitting watching telly and one of my cats was acting a bit odd, turned round and one of these rats was sitting there watching football with me in the middle of my living room! The cat was absolutely useless😀. Getting a few birds in now but nothing of note, hopefully the warmer weather will bring a few in. |
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Post by mattyd2 on Feb 28, 2021 15:00:59 GMT
They do say 2 swallows don't make a summer.
But by god they made mine last year...
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Post by chuffedstokie on Feb 28, 2021 21:20:43 GMT
Pair of these flying below me from the top of my favourite hill.  |
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Post by alsagerstokie on Feb 28, 2021 23:20:29 GMT
Whats the rarest bird you have seen out in nature not in Zoos and that. That was the first time other week i had seen a Kingfisher. Saw Egyptian Geese onve so i suppose it maybe that. The Egyptian geese were at Westport Lake some years back. I believe I saw a Golden Oriole several years ago, stopped the car on the lane but couldn't get another sighting. Other than that I've now seen three separate multiple sightings of pied blackbirds. Yes i saw them last summer somewhere. Oriole a definite rare site. Shame you only saw it briefly. One Bird ive always wanted to see is a Merlin. I supoose its quite hard to separate some birds of prey tho. I hope to get a bird of prey on Camera that is my next target to get decent photos of one. That and Owls. Spotting them tho hard especially because they are active at Dusk. |
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Post by longdistancekiddie on Mar 1, 2021 9:00:04 GMT
Niger seed for the finches.
T
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Post by crapslinger on Mar 1, 2021 20:52:06 GMT
Niger seed for the finches. T Racist  |
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Post by crapslinger on Mar 1, 2021 20:53:42 GMT
Seen a Red Kite over our village this lunch time, loads of buzzards last couple of years including one Honey Buzzard.
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Post by alsagerstokie on Mar 1, 2021 21:23:52 GMT
The last sighting officially of an Ivory Billed Woodpecker was 1944. Yet is classed as CR and not extinct.
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