At last! Some decent bird sightings in my new garden!

[cutecoot]

Since I joined this forum I've been moaning on and on about not having any birds in my garden, apart from 1 robin, 1 blackbird, 1 wood pigeon and half a dozen starlings.

Well, today ... a whole flock of tits mainly LTTs but I think others mixed in with it, probably about 30 birds in all .. then a wren on my fence ... then a brief sighting of a buzzard circling before quickly being whisked off by the strong winds (or at least that's how it appeared!). Also, large numbers of gulls, not that exciting in itself but the sheer number and the fact I never see *anything* here, it was quite an enjoyable sight

I'm going to move my fatball feeders right down the end of the garden now to where the LTTs flew over, just in case the come over again

[mtraylen81]

Congratulations Cutecoot,

Sounds like you had a good day! Blue tits have started comming back to my garden this year, and for the first time have a pair of Pied Wagtails vist almost every day

Hope to see some pics soon.

[Paul mabbott]

Glad to see you've got a bigger variety of birds - the key is patience!
I think you should beware of moving the food supplies about, that could well confuse them - some birds, for sure, are shyer than others (for instance, I've seldom seen siskins leave the hedge at the end of the garden) but most will come quite close to houses &c., particularly if your feeders are on a shrub or tree.

Long-tailed tits so tend to fly around in groups of 10, 15 or more as well as smaller groups and individuals but they ten not to stay in one place for very long in contrast to more common garden birds. In our locality they seem to move slowly up the gardens of the street and then down again a day or so later - so you'll see a lot one day and then nothing for a while! Lovely things aren't they!

[Ollie]

Good to hear you have had the visitors. Sounds like quite a variety as well.

If this severe weather keeps up no doubt they will be back. Had our first flock of Long-tailed-Tits today for quite a while.
Roger

[Pete Collins]

Glad you've had some new visitors! I hope that now they've found you they'll come back regularly.

[ron1863]

The LTTs will be back, we get them on average twice a day and they arrive in little flocks, feed for a time, especially on the fat balls and then move on. The Great and Bluetits seem to be residents as they never seem to leave.

[Tracey.A]

It's such a feel good factor when you see birds you don't usually see in your garden, or in my case the copse behind my flat It's been a bit quiet of late, but the last time I saw a good variety of birds I was just thrilled to bits, just like you are You just never know what you are going to see. Sometimes the best things in life are free!

Tracey

[cutecoot]

That's good advice about moving birdfeeders, but probably doesn't really apply much in my garden at the moment as so few birds visit them.

Yes, LTTs are lovely little birds. When I was a nipper living in South London (Croydon), I used to read my bird books and longed to see them (and also Jays) - for some reason the pink bits on them (and the blue bits on Jays) really attracted me, don't ask me why?! Living in Croydon though .. not a chance! But then I was there quite recently and happened to see a whole flock of them just near to where I used to live, and also Jays were about too - it amazed me that birds you would never have seen in that sort of area 40 years ago, are now around, so just goes to show how much better birds seem to be doing in urban environments now.

[Steve_In_Cheshire]

This is great news, they have probably known about your garden all along as a potential new food source but have been observing it for a while just to make sure its safe.

Now they have ventured in and sampled the free offerings they will become part of the fixtures and fittings in your garden and they will be entertaining you for hours, i move food about on a regular basis, i also put things like bruised apples under bushes so it appears natural and the backbirds love them, i chop the apples in half and de-core them and if your visitors are anything like mine they will eat all the inside and you will be left with a perfect outer skin of the apples in tact.

As a treat i put soaked sultanas on the lawn as well as often as i can for the ground feeding fruit eaters, the fat cake is one of the most popular things in the garden which is very cheap to make and they love it.

[cutecoot]

Am going to make some fat cake this morning, Steve .. now that I know its going to be worth my while! Got an empty coconut shell at the back of one of my cupboards, so will stuff it with a lard, seed and anythingelseIcanfind mix!