Our Feeding Stations :):)

Nice pics Safariman and Lai. Especially the Little Tail Tits are really cure and you just want to pick one up and craddle it in your hand

And for sparrows!

Thanks G R - the Long Tailed Tits are so adorable looking with really cute faces and they're so wonderfully gregarious.

Lai

And of course GREGarious is such a positive, loveable namey

Onesie Man - I missed that one

Lai

Thanks Doogs. A burst of sunshine makes all the difference!

Lai

with this horrid weather the food in my feeder is disappearing at a rate of knots. I'm trying to put out as much high energy food as possible and there is always a queue waiting for me every morning when I re stock them

We are the same PPH, filling up the feeders twice a day at the moment, and Mrs S is making her special food as fast as she can. We have loads of birds coming in a constant stream. Our Longtail Tits are still visiting, and normaly at this time of year they are back out in the woods, and countryside. Hopefully the cold weather will ease soon, and the birds can get on with breeding
WS

Same here PPH and WS. I'm filling up at least once a day and sometimes more with the suet shreds. Our Long Tailed tits are also still at the feeders WS and as you say, normally they are back in the woods by now.

I'm feeling so sorry for them all with this weather. We've never had Blackbirds and Robins coming to feed before and now they are regular visitors.

Lai

We,ve been out and bought another load of nuts, and seed today. We usualy get a Robin or pair of them, but not Blackbirds apart from an odd one, but this year we've got 4 or 5 coming to the feeders. I think mainly becuase the ground is that hard, they cant get to the worms or things
WS

I guess that's it WS. I love seeing the Robins and Blackbirds for a change. One little robin uses our African hut to survey the feeders and he sits in there for ages just watching the world go by. The bird p** is not so good so come the better weather the whole thing will need hosing down

Lai

Our Birds have taken a bit of a battering today with the wind, and I know from watching that a lot of them are nest building, so I hope they have stayed safe. The feeders are really busy, just hope this weather does'nt last to long. Our Swallows arrived back last week, bet they wished they'd stayed in Africa. We also saw a Jay today, we had one briefly last year, I hope this one stays around a bit
WS

I agree WS, the weather had taken a turn for the worse, it is windy and wet and as you say the poor birds are nesting and must be so confused by the changing weather. Our feeders are busy as ever, lots of jays on the ground and of course our Fizal pheasant and his 2 hens.

We have a duck nesting nearby so hope she and her eggs stay safe.

I hope your swallows are okay WS - a bird I really wish we had here.

Lai

Some visitors to the bird feeder in the last couple of days, everything seems to be struggling at the moment with the cold wet weather and uncertain whether they should be breeding or not. I will do a post on life on the pond tomorrow.



Male blackbird



A dunnock I think!!!!



Robin



A not very good photo of a magpie who did not stay very long.


Safariman

You were right Safariman, that is a Dunnock. Unusual to see it on a tray of feed as they are ground feeders, and usualy stay very close to hedges on the ground which is their habitat. It's also nice to see the Robin on the tray, as they are ground feeders to, but we have noticed over the last few years that they are more willing to go on feeding stations. It's proberbly as you say over recent years the weather's all over the place, and Birds breeding cycles are all over the place
WS

great photos Safariman, I'm not lucky enough to get magpies but I'm getting lots of the normal blackbirds, robins, sparrows but also a mob (I know technically it's a small flock but they act like a mob) of starlings

A Dunnock is also called a Hedge Sparrow Doogs get one occasionally

Lovely photos Safariman and I too was pleased to see the Robin, I do love them. It must be tough for the birds at the momemt as you say but does anyone else think that the Magpies are getting bigger or is it just round here or my imagination?
littlewid-x-

Lovely to see who's visiting your feeders Safariman. We don't get Dunnocks/Hedge Sparrows sadly. But the good news is that after an absence of a couple of years we now have a few Bullfinch, both male and female back again. He has such striking colours so I will try to get a photo to share.

Lai

A few visitors to the feeders this morning, taken from inside the house.

Greater spotted woodpecker and a couple of Goldfinches


Pied Wagtail running across the garden


The P'fers - not sure which of our 4 though!


Male Bullfinch eating a dandelion




Lai

Lovely photo's Lai and brilliant that you got the P'fers it was great to see them. I didn't realise that birds ate dandelions, is that normal? I love the blossom in the background of your first picture.

My neighbour has a nesting pair of collard doves in his tree right by my fence, I will have to see if I can get a picture without disturbing them.

littlewid-x-

Thanks Littlewid. I'm not sure but the P'fers have just been in again and they were eating the dandelions as well!

Look forward to your dove photos soon.

Lai

Lovely to see your visitors Lai. Nice to see the P'fers again. Unfortunatly we dont get Gold Finches, we did see Bull Finches where we lived before, but I think we are a bit to high up in the hills now for them as we have'nt seen any since we moved here. As I said our Swallows are back, much to the annoyance of our Red/White spotted car . Birds do eat Dandelions its the seeds they are after, if you look after they have been at them there are shreads of the head left, but all the seeds will have gone, and there are loads of Dandelions this year to keep them happy
WS