http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/ British Wildlife at Wild About Britain - The home of British wildlife, nature and environment conservation across the UK en Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:52:18 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/ http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jonquil_d/851-when-object-outing-not-watch-birds.html Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:35:32 GMT Walking with people may not always be the best way to see birds:when there are people about the birds can quite easily take cover...sometimes one of you is enough to do that let alone five or twenty or even thirty two which was the size of the group today...."circular" walk from Brockholes Chapel.
Not surprisingly Corvids were there a plenty .Crows, rooks and jackdaws.....with lots of magpies though not in flocks like the others. A couple of us discussed together why Magpies should have increased in numbers over the last half century, and if it was true that they had or did it just seem that way to both of us at any rate, and to how many others? Apart from that there were robins and collared doves and feral pigeons and down beside the Holme a grey wagtail seeming very small,but ducking and bobbing its yellow.
I heard but did not see Great tit, Blackbird and Dunnock. I'm told there were Mallard on the river but today that was not for me.
It seems as if the Wood pigeons are back in the area....today and yesterday I have seen little flocks of them. Some one , when I commented on this said they had never been away.....so am I the only one who thinks that way: some months in the year they have been ever present but this year I have 12 days in January and five so far in February when I have seen them and until yesterday only one at a time. ]]> Jonquil_d http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jonquil_d/851-when-object-outing-not-watch-birds.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jaelen/850-modified-feeder-mealworms.html Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:01:22 GMT I found this old squirrel-proof feeder when we moved here to North London last year... it was in pretty bad shape although I did try and use if for a while. A few birds had a go, but it usually would hang for days untouched. After watching the starlings devour every mealworm I ever put out while... I found this old squirrel-proof feeder when we moved here to North London last year... it was in pretty bad shape although I did try and use if for a while. A few birds had a go, but it usually would hang for days untouched.

After watching the starlings devour every mealworm I ever put out while the robin sat up on a branch watching forlornly, I decided to try and do something with this feeder.



I started by cutting the old, rusted central bit out, that was intended to hold peanuts. After a bit of a search for a suitable dish for the mealworms, I found that a small chrome plughole cover would fit if I bent and twisted it a little, (and it's got drainage holes- perfect!) It's held in place with bluetack, which does need replacing now and again.



The robin figured it out within a matter of an hour or two- he scoots in one side, grabs a worm and is out the other side so quickly it took me ages to get a photo of him!

Pleased with the way this one is working now, although I do want to do something about the rust... I need to find out how to clean it off and cover it without harming any birds that use it. :o

]]> jaelen http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jaelen/850-modified-feeder-mealworms.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jonquil_d/849-if-you-want-see-you-have-look.html Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:56:02 GMT What a grey miserable afternoon, just the sort of time to put one's feet up and watch the Rugby....so glad I didn't.I didn't go very far, just to the moor at the top end of Brow Grains Road and back....and a few more glimpses of the bird life of our countryside ebbing and flowing...the pond first of all: I counted forty mallard and six geese(five farmyard and one Canada) all on the water on the way up and all off it on the way down, forty four minutes later. In addition there were three moorhens and some gulls.
Across the way I spotted Redwing, I counted five that I could see and then something alarmed them and up went twenty to thirty of them. A bit further and I could see a flock of what I call sbbs(small brown birds),not because they are always brown but mostly the small birds are....up some tall trees across a field. I could see yellow bars and thought "greenfinch" until one hopped up onto a branch at the top : there were fifteen to twenty goldfinch, and among them a blue tit..
On the way down the Redwing were gone, the gold finch had moved nearer the lane but a magnificent cock pheasant was strutting his stuff and a pair of magpies were back in their usual haunts near the cross roads. Throw in a few jackdaws,collared doves and starlings at the village ends of the walk and the unmistakeable song of a Great Tit which neverthless stayed hidden from view , it was an hour and a bit well worth the effort.
If you want to see you have to look. ]]> Jonquil_d http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jonquil_d/849-if-you-want-see-you-have-look.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jonquil_d/848-last-complete-circuit-again.html Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:46:25 GMT The sun was shining and the breeze was almost non existent as I left but it was chilly. Three rooks balanced together in the tree opposite our drive as I leftand I recorded Magpie, jackdaw starling collared dove more rooks, black headed gulls and house sparrows in quick succession. The sparrows... The sun was shining and the breeze was almost non existent as I left but it was chilly. Three rooks balanced together in the tree opposite our drive as I leftand I recorded Magpie, jackdaw starling collared dove more rooks, black headed gulls and house sparrows in quick succession. The sparrows were making a right racket in the top of a hedge....and I was to hear them in two other locations in the course of the afternoon. No shortage in this area.
The pond was part iced over and the geese had vacated to the lawn of the house next door. They were all there but as I walked to where the track is immediately adjacent to the pond they came honking over perhaps in expectation of bread which ill informed people still come and throw at the birds.There were thirty mallards (20 drakes 10 ducks) and half a dozen black headed gulls including some first winter birds with there beautiful black edged fan tails. No sign of the moorhens though....but then there were not signs of very much at all over most of the walk apart from the odd corvid,mainly crows.
Past the pond parts of the road were iced over and water could be seen running beneath the ice. I wondered if there would be any mini eskers in place when the ice finally melted.The bridle way was frozen hard and there was ice in the wheel tracks and beside the path the snow was blackened with what in town would have been traffic spray but no spray here...what was it? Perhaps a sign of wind born soil erosion trapped on the surface of the snow?Possibly going on all the time but we wouldn't see it normally. It was eye wateringly cold and the breeze off the moor cut through my multi layered protection and took away my warmth.All was so silent that the little sounds stood out, the whistle of the breeze, a gentler sound than the howl of gales,and the burble of water that despite the cold was still running, and distantly voices from where I could not tell but they carried in the stillness.
Nothing visible or audible on the moor, nothing in the trees,until a grey squirrel dashed into the copse from the middle of a field where the mole hills seemed to be bigger and more in number than ever. A couple of crows flapped languidly off the field where I had first seen Curlews and the Highland Cattle now hold court.
Before that the two Saddleback sows were in evidence with nine of their late autumn piglets, now about half the length of mum and today rushing madly about and squealing joyously.
The Family (highlanders) were there Big Daddy and three of his cows were at rest chewing the cud whilst three calves were stuffing themselves from the hay store. Their coats glistened red and in one case black in the mid afternoon sun: it was good to see them again after too long not walking my route.
Then back towards the village and bird life seemed to pick up as civilisation was approached. I heard again the familiar up down up down call of the great tit (after weeks of not hearing it)but then following some tweetering looked up to see a pair of blue tits almost over my head.
As I passed the road junction with Leygards Lane I looked across to a group of houses where first Magpies, then the great tit(I had heard aright) feral pigeon and a small flock of house sparrows could be seen in the gardens.
No swallows on overhead wires at this time of year, in fact nothing at all on the overhead wires today
But I turned off the road to cut through where I paused to watch garden feeders.I was not disappointed.Blackbirds were ground feeding under the feeders,whilst house sparrows, Chaffinch, Greenfinch and collared doves helped themselves from the feeding station and gulls and starlings and more sparrows were in the locality.
After that there was very little to see but not a little tweetering, obviously more sparrows than I could see and finally on the last leg some starlings no longer flocking together but occupying solo rooftop stations as if trying to establish a patch for themselves...seems a bit early for that...and then home. ]]> Jonquil_d http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jonquil_d/848-last-complete-circuit-again.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jonquil_d/847-aborted.html Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:00:22 GMT All set for Clumber Park...Cars arranged with pick up and departure times...all set for the group to meet up when we got there....and the forecast for the morning was wonderful.Only snag was that the return was scheduled for snow and driving blizzard.....found myself in total agreement with our car... All set for Clumber Park...Cars arranged with pick up and departure times...all set for the group to meet up when we got there....and the forecast for the morning was wonderful.Only snag was that the return was scheduled for snow and driving blizzard.....found myself in total agreement with our car driver....however wonderful the birding the risks were not worth taking...it was bad enough seeing my wife off in the morning on a work trip knowing that she would have to come back through it.Gladly she made it but there were points on her journey when it was touch and go. Apparently his other half did not pass on my suggestion that we could do a local reserve and be home by lunchtime...so I watched the garden birds yesterday and this afternoon in failing light I walked up to the edge of the moor.
Mallard, geese, gulls and a moorhen at the pond, a few corvids a couple of great tits and some house sparrows on route. Maybe the next time I will complete the circuit and see more.
There has been interest in the garden in January. As with the great tits this afternoon it's just a case of spending the time watching ...if you don't look you won't see.....so this year I have seen wren, gold crest, and black cap in the garden and this month the Song thrush has been back and there are pictures of all but the gold crest to prove it. ]]> Jonquil_d http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jonquil_d/847-aborted.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/wozwzwzy101/846-evil-heart-crainially-vacant.html Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:15:44 GMT Earlier in the week my local wildlife freinds suffered yet another attack In a place where they should be able to feel safe.
A MiddleAged woman with long brown hair&glasses(the sort youd trust your purse with in carity shops) Deliberately let her 2 dogs loose to chase a fox(The urban foxes in my neibourhoood are Tiny&soft&peaceful as pusscats)&after it had ran across a busy road&through gardens where cats are&attacked the fox,-she was laughing.
Ive got footage of the injuries the fox suffered to its face. ]]> wozwzwzy101 http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/wozwzwzy101/846-evil-heart-crainially-vacant.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jaelen/844-modified-seed-feeder-tail-brace.html Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:25:09 GMT I got the idea for this when I was visiting my parents in the States over Christmas. I came across a bird-feeder especially designed for woodpeckers, with a bit protruding at the bottom to give the bird something to brace its tail against, the way it would against the surface of a tree. I had... I got the idea for this when I was visiting my parents in the States over Christmas. I came across a bird-feeder especially designed for woodpeckers, with a bit protruding at the bottom to give the bird something to brace its tail against, the way it would against the surface of a tree.

I had noticed how the sparrows struggled sometimes to try and balance on the seed feeders in my garden- contorting themselves to wrap around the underside of the feeder while they tried to grip on the grid under the hole.

I wondered if a tail brace might help them, too... so, I glued a small empty tin, (Heinz baked beans- it just happened to be a perfect fit :p) to the underside of the feeder.

It took a day or two for them to try it out- but it does seem to work! The sparrow in the photo appears to be putting a fair bit of pressure on her tail... enough to fan it out against the tin.
There is probably a better material to use than this, (especially in the winter) so I'll try and experiment with a few other things... but for the moment, I'm pleased with this result.

]]> jaelen http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jaelen/844-modified-seed-feeder-tail-brace.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jaelen/843-project-bird-feeders.html Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:00:28 GMT I have recently started modifying a few bird feeders, to try and see if I can come up with ideas that might work better for the birds. It is frustrating, (and sometimes costly!) to go out and buy what appears to be a nice feeder, only to discover later that because of a careless or poorly... I have recently started modifying a few bird feeders, to try and see if I can come up with ideas that might work better for the birds.

It is frustrating, (and sometimes costly!) to go out and buy what appears to be a nice feeder, only to discover later that because of a careless or poorly thought-out design it is instead a potential health risk to the birds...as in the case of a peanut feeder I bought recently which retains water in the bottom, causing the nuts to go mouldy. :(

So, one of the things I'd like to accomplish with this blog is highlight some of the problems with feeders I've had, so that members can perhaps avoid them :) and also show some of the things I've tried to do in an attempt to improve on the original, (hopefully!) :D ]]> jaelen http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jaelen/843-project-bird-feeders.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jonquil_d/842-local-walk-again-last.html Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:30:01 GMT Perfect afternoon for a walk:quite wet underfoot in places. Completed my usual bird patch walk for the first time this year. Usual geese and mallards on the pond together with at least three Moorhens. Thirty six Mallard counted of which twelve were ducks. Most of them were threemerous. On the... Perfect afternoon for a walk:quite wet underfoot in places. Completed my usual bird patch walk for the first time this year. Usual geese and mallards on the pond together with at least three Moorhens. Thirty six Mallard counted of which twelve were ducks. Most of them were threemerous. On the return leg the star spot was a flock of over fifty Fieldfares in a field beside Wessendon Head Road As on a previous occasion there were starlings with the flock.Otherwise not much - a trio of Mistle thrush,some house sparrows and various Corvids and some black headed gulls and a male balckbird sounding off in a garden as I neared home.. ]]> Jonquil_d http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jonquil_d/842-local-walk-again-last.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jonquil_d/841-pennington-flash.html Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:26:23 GMT £1.20 to park all day...not sure you get better value than that anywhere..There’s a huge lake and.a wonderful circuit of hides with a great variety of bird life....our group of twelve amassed about fifty species and journey spots brought the days total to about 53. The main lake was surprisingly... £1.20 to park all day...not sure you get better value than that anywhere..There’s a huge lake and.a wonderful circuit of hides with a great variety of bird life....our group of twelve amassed about fifty species and journey spots brought the days total to about 53.
The main lake was surprisingly choppy and there were “white horses” where waves broke on the surface.
This made it difficult to see the birds as they disappeared into troughs.
There were masses of gulls and ducks and small woodland birds.
I always enjoy the feeder stations at places like this and today was no exception: there was variety and quantity. The stars were the long-tailed tits...most of us agreed we had never seen so many in one place at one time.
As for ducks there were groups of teal and shovelers, wigeon and gadwall. There is something so much more satisfying in seeing a group of birds together rather than having to pick out odd ones from a melee.
Individual birds seen included goldeneye and scaup and the ever elusive kingfisher.
"Seabirds" included a colony of cormorants, and blackheaded, herring, lesser and great black backed gulls and we were unsure of a common gull….one bird certainly had greenish legs.
In the travelling we saw mistle thrush, kestrel and buzzard as well as the more familiar but otherwise absent collared dove….a really good days birding and the weather stayed kind if a little breezier than some of us might have preferred.
Birds seen included Blackbird, Black-headed Gull, Bluetit, Bull finch, Buzzard Canada Goose, Chaffinch, Coaltit, Collared Dove, Coot, Common Gull,(?) Cormorant, Crow, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Feral Pigeon, Gadwall, Goldeneye, Gooseanders, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe ,Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Lapwing, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Little Grebe, Long-tailed Tits, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Muscovy Duck, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Rook, Scaup, Shoveler, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal. Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Willow tit, Wood pigeon, Wren, ]]> Jonquil_d http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jonquil_d/841-pennington-flash.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/bez19766/839-birds-prey-near-merthyr-tydfil.html Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:15:12 GMT Hi All Any good bird of prey sightings around Merthyr Tydfil South Wales. Bez Hi All

Any good bird of prey sightings around Merthyr Tydfil South Wales.

Bez ]]> bez19766 http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/bez19766/839-birds-prey-near-merthyr-tydfil.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/gracie/837-always-carry-spare-nearly-always.html Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:15:33 GMT Anyone who knows my husband will know that one of his favourite sayings is “always carry a spare”, and he carries it out to the letter, always having a spare for just about anything. So when I saw bird food on special offer I took his advice and bought extra, putting one in the cupboard in the... Anyone who knows my husband will know that one of his favourite sayings is “always carry a spare”, and he carries it out to the letter, always having a spare for just about anything. So when I saw bird food on special offer I took his advice and bought extra, putting one in the cupboard in the outside out house as a spare – of course you guessed it I forgot all about it.

While looking for something else I found the spare bag of bird food, with a neat hole bitten through it and, and I kid you not – the lot was eaten, all that was left of a 5kg bag was the husk of the seeds; but left in its place was piles and piles of mouse droppings, two shelves full and not detected before because the cupboard doors were closed.

It had got in the cupboard behind it and through holes that once housed drain pipes because the cupboard was an old sink unit with a false top on, it is now thoroughly cleaned out and sprayed with an anti bacterial spray I didn’t find the culprit, I am glad to say, I did the job with the door wide open in case it was there and wanted to escape; the surviving bags of bird seed are now securely fastened in tins and plastic lidded containers.

We had a spate late last year of our security light constantly going on and could not find what caused it until one evening by chance we saw the culprit a mouse doing an acrobatic act across the clothes line, we thought he was going for the bird food on the garage roof where I feed the birds, little did we know he had his own private stash!

And the moral of this story, always carry a spare, as long as no one else wants it too!
:D ]]> Gracie http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/gracie/837-always-carry-spare-nearly-always.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jonquil_d/836-my-overall-bird-list-2011.html Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:52:50 GMT It is taking just a little while to put it together from twelve monthly lists but I am getting there. I count myself fortunate to belong to a bird groups which over a year makes thirteen visits to widely placed and different bird watching centres from Leighton Moss in the north West to Sherwood... It is taking just a little while to put it together from twelve monthly lists but I am getting there. I count myself fortunate to belong to a bird groups which over a year makes thirteen visits to widely placed and different bird watching centres from Leighton Moss in the north West to Sherwood Forest in Nottingham shire, and Teeside and Flamborough Head to Wigan Flash. We tend to average over fifty species for a Saturday trip and somewhat fewer for the evening walk in May but they all add up. It is wonderful to have the company of more experienced bird watchers and I count myself highly privileged.Lists will follow....total well in excess of one hundred species.. ]]> Jonquil_d http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jonquil_d/836-my-overall-bird-list-2011.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jonquil_d/835-2011-my-meltham-birds.html Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:00:26 GMT This time last year I started to seriously collect my data on daily sightings and the following list was compiled from the garden list to which was added birds seen from the garden, and then birds seen within what I called my walking distance from home.Thus I have a picture of the birds I have seen... This time last year I started to seriously collect my data on daily sightings and the following list was compiled from the garden list to which was added birds seen from the garden, and then birds seen within what I called my walking distance from home.Thus I have a picture of the birds I have seen in my locality (the villageof Meltham and its immediate area). When I add in the holiday and bird outing lists it will obviously be much longer.
I have been surprised by what I have seen. I know others have seen other species in the same area for example Barn Owl and Nuthatch and Gold Crest are reported to me as having been seen.Saw my first Gold Crest on the patch today but that will be the 2012 list if I manage to keep going.Some of the following have been regular visitors some I have seen once...at this stage the list is straight alphabetical.
My Meltham Birds 2011
Blackbird, Bluetit, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared dove, Crow, Dunnock, Feral pigeon, Gold Finch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, House sparrow, Jackdaw, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Reed Bunting, Robin, Rook, Starling, Wood Pigeon, Wren, Black Headed G ull, Grey Heron, Herring gull, House martin, Jay, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Songthrush, Swallow, Swift, Tawny Owl, Canada Goose, Curlew, Field Fare, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Lapwing, Linnet, Little Owl, Little ringed plover, Mistle thrush, Moorhen, Red Grouse, Redwing, Skylark, Spotted flycatcher, Stock dove, Tree sparrow, Tufted Duck, Willow tit, Wheatear, Whinchat, Whitethroat, Yellowhammer ]]> Jonquil_d http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jonquil_d/835-2011-my-meltham-birds.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jonquil_d/834-getting-boring-weather.html Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:46:58 GMT Oh , I said this morning, I really need to get out and have some exercise, hardly done any walks since mid December.....I usually take camera, binoculars and notebook with me when I walk and for slightly different reasons all three are a bit useless if the rain is coming down. So MOH said, leave... Oh , I said this morning, I really need to get out and have some exercise, hardly done any walks since mid December.....I usually take camera, binoculars and notebook with me when I walk and for slightly different reasons all three are a bit useless if the rain is coming down.
So MOH said, leave the camera and just walk...and much as I try not to act on advice this time I did. It wasn't actually raining as I set out and I did get as far as the pond (long steady slope uphill to get this far and the track continues to rise after passing the pond) by which time there was a gale blowing off the moor, making standing difficult and holding binoculars virtually impossible. The pond was being whipped up into a frenzy at the down wind end, waves breaking against the stone work of the dam holding back the water from the village. There were few birds on the water but a line on the far shore included the resident geese and some mallard and a few brave mallard were on the water on the sheltered upwind side of the water. A few crows tumbled struggling across the sky and some magpies kept low profile out of the wind, but that was it birdwise.
There had been nothing small in the garden earlier either, at least nothing smaller than blackbird and starling: no tits, no sparrows, no finches and no wren...at least not whilst I was watching and there was little small to see on the wider scene.
There's a rhyme that goes " The north wind doth blow, and we shall have snow and what shall the robin do then poor thing?He'll go to the barn to keep himself warm and tuck his head under his wing."
Must admit I have wondered just what the little birds do do at times like this of howling gales and torrential rain. I've read accounts of large congregations of wrens being found in sheltered holes(there latin name Troglodites troglodites means cave dweller) but I never see wrens more than one at a time....so that doesn't seem too likely locally. I suppose I did see one or two examples of what I call sbbs (small brown birds)blown over the road as I walked but not what became of them.
At any rate there seemed no mileage in ploughing on into the rising wind so I turned and returned home by another route....but no more birds... just the crows and magpies struggling and the ducks(mallard)and geese(one Canada and five farmyard) and a handful of sbbs and that was it.Saturday should bring a trip to the reserve at Pennington Flash. Perhaps things will be better there. ]]> Jonquil_d http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/blogs/jonquil_d/834-getting-boring-weather.html