Talkback: Garden birds and my Big Garden Birdwatch

Gardeners' World Web User

I'm sure you meant to say Saturday 29th January and Sunday 30th January? According to my calendar Monday is the 31st January. Gremlins in the calendar or is it those pesky blackbirds?

Gardeners' World Web User

Ha ha i laughed out loud reading this Kate, it reminds me so much of my own garden. I moved in to mine in august and have found not many birds visit. When i did start getting visitors last month a pair of magpies began to visit regularly. The male i watched with fascination as during the rain he collected up all the bits of bread i had left out and systematically hid them all around the garden, under leaves, stones, piecs of wood. I assume he came back later to collect them all and since he had hid everything no other bird could get a look in. what a wonderful past time to watch the birds.

Gardeners' World Web User

This blog made me laugh out loud too. But instead i have a female blackbird who rules my garden.Even though i place food out on bird table she seems to turn her nose up at it and goes for the fat balls in the feeders. very funny watching her,i do believe blackbirds are suppose to be ground feeders!! I do have Two robins who like doing this too!They love to come up close and say hello, except when i get my camera out!

Gardeners' World Web User

I'm having the same trouble you had last year Kate. Although, I think it's because we're being overrun by squirrels. Last year we had 1 squirrel, now we're getting upto 12 at any one time! The squirrels are attracting the local cat population, which is probably keeping the birds away. Even our trusty robins haven't made an appearance this winter.

Gardeners' World Web User

sorry i dont understand reader 1....what on earth do you mean about the dates.......kate has wrote the dates that you have wrote....'is this a joke or what'?????


nice read though kate..i to have a black bird thats appeared since the snow, daily he is in the garden eating everything i put out for the birds,also at the end of the garden my garden slightly curves and i have put up a mirror and growning over and around it is ivy and a climbing rose however you can still see the mirror,the blackbird is always looking at himselve in the mirror and flying at it well i guess i should say he attacks his reflection i think he thinks its another bird watching him...he moves his head up and down moves left/right but cant work out why the other bird does the same...i stand there watching for ages,it really is funny ......

Gardeners' World Web User

Having started to feed the birds in my garden in N. Italy, I have discoverd that the best way to stop the blackbird and the robin "guarding their food" is to have several different feeding areas. they can't guard them all at once! In addition to trying to make sure all the "little brown jobs" get a look-in, I have to try to make sure the horrible neighbourhood cats don't have a field day by making the food available above ground level. Putting fat-balls within pecking distance of branches seems to be doing the trick and my resident robin doesn't look quite so pompous as he wavers on the branch whilst pecking away!

Gardeners' World Web User

Molokoloko - I did, thank you for pointing it out, I am obviously bird-brained!

froggie - we changed the dates after Molokoloko's comment so they were incorrect and are now sorted. Happy birdwatching!

Kate

Gardeners' World Web User

Lovely blog,Kate! the birds are such a joy. After a serious injury I have to do some of my gardening from a sitting position. I found that while I sat cutting twigs by hand for composring, several friendly robins came quite close to see what I was up to. Lovely to see and hear - they are such inveterate people-watchers! Happy birdwatching to all.

Gardeners' World Web User

I have two blue tits that come to my garden,but the pigeons come then. i've recently planted primroses under the tree which the bird feeders hang from and the pigeons then start scratching the ground which is messing up the primroses. How can i deter the pigeons from coming into the garden?

Gardeners' World Web User

I have seen waxwings for the fist time ever. In a berry bush in Lincoln

Gardeners' World Web User

I'm longing to see waxwings in my garden to see if and how they fit in with the resident bird population. They have been seen in Redland, only a few miles away so I keep hoping, but the blackbirds have stripped the sorbus of its berries and they are one of their favourite foods. I shall birdwatch while I am gardening (vine pruning) as it is so fiercely cold today in Bristol.