Bird Feeders

caferacer · Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:26 am Post subject: Bird Feeders

With the current cold snap is anyone getting anything unusual visiting their feeders?

Sive · Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 3:05 pm Post subject:

I saw my first two goldfinches of the season yesterday and a blackcap.....but not unusual in the sense you mean it, I don't think !

Greengage · Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 7:10 pm Post subject:

Saw 5 rats feeding on whitethorn berries spooky..........................

caferacer · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 11:53 am Post subject:

The longer the cold spell the more desperate birds get for grub and its then when the more rare and unusual species visit feeders.Ive seen nothing out of the ordinary so far though...

Margo · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 12:20 pm Post subject:

We actually had a big fat thrush on ours last week. I haven't seen one for a couple of years now. We have loads of sparrows, Chaffinch, blackbirds and robins. Problem being if I put stuff lose on top of the table the blooming crows swoop down and its gone in a flash. So its mostly in holders as they don't seem to get to them. As for rats they are like hoovers underneath the table

tagwex · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:27 pm Post subject:

If it was noticably bigger than your ordinary thrush it could have been a mistle thrush.

James Kilkelly · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:21 pm Post subject:

The Belfast telegraph had a piece on the decline in numbers of some of our common bird, so they may not be "common" for long.........

tagwex · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:23 pm Post subject:

I found a Robin caught in my rat trap last week. That won't help.

James Kilkelly · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:31 pm Post subject:

kindredspirit · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:56 pm Post subject:

Too many birds in my garden. I was planting on Saturday and digging holes. Everytime I turned around I almost stood on a Robin each time. I've loads of Sparrows too. Two Wrens who hop around under the troughs and two Wagtails who dip into the pond all the time. I don't mind any of these birds but I wish someone would come and take away those pesky Blackbirds: they have my garden destroyed. I'm considering putting up Harry, the Hawk Kite, who is resting in the garage over the winter. Very Happy

Good guy · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 8:22 pm Post subject:

I haven't seen anything anyway exotic yet, either. Before Christmas I saw a Grey Crow - my first in the garden. Rooks, jackdaws and magpies are common enough but I've never before had the grey crow.

I'd love it if I had another visit from the waxwings - eight or ten were on my sorbus Scarlet Sentinel a few years ago. They really looked exotic, like little parrots!

Good guy · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 8:23 pm Post subject:

Q. What's the deadliest garden bird?

A. The missile thrush!

Margo · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 8:58 pm Post subject:

The whooper swans are back

Good guy · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 10:26 pm Post subject:

Do they visit you, Margo? Or are they just in your vicinity?
They used to come to a lough beside my mother's house, years ago, and make quite a racket. An injured one turned up on the foreshore once. We didn't approach too closely because it was aggressive, but we left food. In the morning it had gone.
A wonderful place to observe them near me is at Inch Levels, near Burt. It's a sanctuary managed by Birdwatch Ireland and well worth visiting in winter.

Margo · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 10:30 pm Post subject:

They always seem to congregate in a flooded field. Same place every year. They've been exceptionally noisy this year. Theres about 20-30 of them