A BIG THANKYOU for your help

[Stomperone]

I joined WAB just a short while ago and asked how to get to see birds in my garden. I followed the advice given by many and since then the number of birds I have spotted in my garden has grown and grown .. Perhaps it could also be that I have also become more aware of what lives in and around my garden..

The list of birds visiting my garden is growing all of the time and today was no exception.. I spotted a bird when glancing out of my window and just took it to be another sparrow but it acted differently to the sparrows I have noticed before (it flew down from the tree and landed in the garden).. I was very suprised to find that it was a Dunnock. I had thought that Dunnocks were more often found outside of the city..

It may sound silly but I get really excited every time I spot a new bird out there.. It makes me think that I have been going around with my eyes closed..

I now have plans to build a small nature reserve in my garden including a pond and I am also going to plant a few more trees and shrubs for even more cover. If I can figure out how to do it I would also like to try to build some sort of hide so I can take photographs of my visitors..

The best part about the fact I am attracting so many birds is that my neighbour has started to take interest and has also bought a feeding station so there is now twice as much food out there for them and it seems to be attracting even more birds to my garden.

Thank you all and I hope you all have a great xmas..

[stephen p]

Brilliant stuff mate, keep it up.

I've got plans for a pond in the garden aswell, hopefully will attract a few new species

[John]

That's great news on the birds visiting your garden. Building a pond is a sound idea but remember to make sure the edges are shallow enough so that birds can safely drink there. Better still if you can build a bit of a waterfall and stream leading into it then that would give the birds flowing water throughout the year.

Good luck with your plans for your garden. I hope you get the success you deserve.

John

[JeffH]

Originally Posted by John

... Better still if you can build a bit of a waterfall and stream leading into it then that would give the birds flowing water throughout the year. John

As ever, John's advice is spot on - in my experience nothing attracts birds better than flowing water. Since I built my two ponds with a stream linking them I've had far more birds in the garden than ever before - lots of birds bathe in the stream regularly, including Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Blackbirds, Wrens and only yesterday we had a small flock of about 10 Starlings all splashing around together whilst 3 Woodpigeons were trying to drink

Newcomers include Siskin, Brambling, Grey Wagtail, Grey Heron and Kingfisher and I consider my ponds/stream to be my best ever wildlife investment.

One final word of advice, make your pond as large as you can - apparently most pond builders wish they'd made their ponds bigger and I certainly do

Jeff

[jennyb]

I understand how you feel Stomperone. I still get excited when I see a new bird in my garden and I have been watching them for a few years! I added a willow warbler to my list this summer and just last week there was a whole flock of redwings.

I would suggest that you keep a list of everything that you see. It will probably get surprisingly long. My bird list is over 50 now - just in my garden!

And, why stop at birds? I really started to look around me properly and now make a note of everything (as well as trying to photograph them) - insects, butterflies, moths, dragonflies, bees, wasps, flies, beetles - the list is endless.

Good luck with your new hobby,

Jenny

[Hoppingmad]

[quote=Stomperone;212739]I joined WAB just a short while ago and asked how to get to see birds in my garden. I followed the advice given by many and since then the number of birds I have spotted in my garden has grown and grown .. Perhaps it could also be that I have also become more aware of what lives in and around my garden..

The list of birds visiting my garden is growing all of the time and today was no exception.. I spotted a bird when glancing out of my window and just took it to be another sparrow but it acted differently to the sparrows I have noticed before (it flew down from the tree and landed in the garden).. I was very suprised to find that it was a Dunnock. I had thought that Dunnocks were more often found outside of the city..

Interesting to read your comments re birds in your garden. I lived in Harlow for a few years which is a fairly big town and had a number of unusual birds in the garden particularly in winter and especially if it snowed. I now live in a village and do not have anywhere near the variety of birds visiting. However, I still love them all and feed them regularly. I particularly love the blackbird who visits every day for pieces of apple. Keep watching - if we have a hard winter you may see birds you have never seen before.

Happy Xmas.

[big bill]

I know the feeling Stomperone same happened to me today my first Pied Wagtail followed by a Greenfinch it feels great to see new birds in the garden have lots of others but hese two where a first

[Stomperone]

Thanks All - Yep I am loving all the visitors.. and looking forward to the new ones even more