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Post by nicki on Dec 1, 2009 11:54:22 GMT 1
oh, and there were LOTS of starlings today! I wonder how they communicate to their pals where they have found food? Ahh can answer that one for you...when they gather together to roost in the evening, they look at each other and follow the ones looking in best health and best weight - they then all go to feed together Great plan I didn't just make that up, it was on the radio yesterday
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Post by Old Dragon (Al) on Dec 1, 2009 13:02:42 GMT 1
Ah, so that is their secret, then, Nicki! Yes, do get a feeder, Sue. You don't know what you are missing. ;D I have yet to see the goldfinch in person, but when there this morning in the cold and frost, there were dozens of little birds tucking in. Off shopping later to get the ingredients for making fat balls. One thing I am noticing though, is that we seem to have far more female birds than males. Female green finches and chaffinches especially seem more prevalent; sparrows, too. All six chaffinches present this morning were female. Must also get some more nest boxes organised and sited up on the building, too.
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Post by reclaimingrebus on Dec 1, 2009 19:57:06 GMT 1
seeding teasel heads will bring the goldfinches in
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Post by Old Dragon (Al) on Dec 1, 2009 20:12:07 GMT 1
We'll have to grow some next year, Elaine, and sunflowers, too. Clearly, I have been getting my wagtails mixed up, but I can now confirm that we have pied and grey wagtails visiting regularly. It seems the pied look more greyish in their winter plumage, and the grey ones have yellow on them. Both varieties were running around on the bark this afternoon, and looking where the hens had been scratching for insects. There were so many starlings on the feeders, I couldn't count them accurately! Of course, I hadn't taken the camera down this afternoon, but as I was filling one feeder, they were scoffing on the next one, and not bothered at all by my presense. Still getting confused by the tits, and need to swot up, but I think we have a willow tit visiting. Colin thought he spotted a black cap, too. Once again, out of the six or seven sparrows on the feeders, only one was a male, and I only saw female chaffinches and greenfinches again today.
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Post by nicki on Dec 1, 2009 20:39:01 GMT 1
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Post by Old Dragon (Al) on Dec 1, 2009 22:25:13 GMT 1
Glad you are enjoying the thread, Nicki. Thanks for the link, too. I was studyig the wagtails and tits on another sight last night, but really want to try to get some good photos of some for comparison. Our grey wagtails have very pale yellow on them, nothing like as bright as those on the RSPCA site. More of a pale lemon shade. I am almost sure that some of the coal tits are mutants. The markings on the heads of some don't seem to tie in with any of the similar tits.
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Post by Old Dragon (Al) on Dec 2, 2009 18:51:32 GMT 1
Starlings so numerous on the feeders today that they were impossible to count! We also had jackdaws stuffing their beaks with fat balls, too, and what a racket those and the starlings made, too!
I had taken the penultimate load down at lunchtime, and decided to have a cuppa in the car, which was parked right next to the original feeder, by the building. Glanced across, and there was a little blue tit perched on the bar almost level with the car window and about 6' away. He/she wasn't feeding, but looked very well stuffed and like a little, tubby round ball of feathers. It just sat there the whole time that it took for me to drink a mug of tea, and totally unperturbed. It almost looked too tubby to fly, but did so just as I was thinking that I really needed to crack on with some work, but didn't want to disturb it. Of course, I didn't have the camera on me... Had I have had that, I bet the tit wouldn't have been there, but I'll keep parking there, so that the birds get used to that and one day, who knows?
I really must commit to memory the differences between Marsh and Willow Tits, though...
Pale Wing Patch - Marsh Tit - No - Willow Tit - Yes Bib - Marsh Tit - Small - Willow Tit - Large Cap - Marsh Tit - Glossy - Willow Tit - Dull Bull Necked - Marsh Tit - No - Willow Tit - Yes Cheeks - Marsh Tit - White - Willow Tit - Whitish
Ummm... I fear our little visitor has a bull neck, but a small bib! Wonder what that makes it? Looking at this list of differences, I think it is more likely to be a willow tit. There are willows growing in profusion nearby, and water, too...
Must try to capture it on camera.
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Post by Old Dragon (Al) on Dec 3, 2009 19:05:13 GMT 1
Sat in the car by the feeder today, and hoping the cheeky little blue tit would appear. Instead, all I got was another cheeky chap! Attachments:
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Post by Old Dragon (Al) on Dec 10, 2009 19:45:44 GMT 1
I promised that, eventually, I'd get a shot of Hetty the hen on a feeding station, and finally she obliged today and while I had the camera, too! This time she was on the original feeding station near the building, of course, and where we keep all the tubs and plants that are waiting to be planted, so the background is horribly cluttered. Attachments:
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Post by Florrie on Dec 11, 2009 9:31:33 GMT 1
thats a great photo
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Post by petdesigns on Dec 11, 2009 19:07:03 GMT 1
yes, it is a great photo!
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Post by Old Dragon (Al) on Dec 22, 2009 19:14:36 GMT 1
Well, as you might imagine, the bird garden is buried under snow, and I forgot the camera! Mind you, as I was on foot going down there, I was dubious about taking that, even in my pocket, and for fear of falling over, landing on it, and breaking it. However, there are now dozens of birds frequenting the feeders and in a constant stream from dawn to dusk. They aren't half getting through some food, too. Neighbours have been tying stale bread to my front door, and that's all gone in minutes. Each night I've been making fat balls, and those are disappearing at a rate of knots daily, too. For anyone interested in the recipe for the fat balls, here it is... 1 kg. porridge oats 750 g. lard 1 kg. plain flour (approx.) 250 g. chopped, dried fruit. (i.e. currents/raisens/sultanas.) 250 g. wild bird seed mix Method. Melt the lard into a large pan. Add oats, dried fruit and seeds. Mix thoroughly, then add flour gradually and work as if for pastry. When the consistency of a pastry dough, coat hands with flour and form the dough into balls. Place into a bag and leave in the fridge to harden until required. The above makes about 36 - 40 balls, or about 12 square slabs to fit into the flat, block feeders. You can vary the recipe a bit to make use of kitchen scraps such as bacon rinds, and stale breadcrumbs can replace some of the oats, too. Dried mealworms also seem popular if mixed into the dough, too.
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Post by petdesigns on Feb 9, 2010 19:18:29 GMT 1
I hope we did it right - a few willow sticks will be in the post for Llys Trerobert tomorrow.
I only just saw this recipe for fat balls - better copy and print it so we can spoil Rob Robster even more!
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Post by Old Dragon (Al) on Feb 10, 2010 3:44:25 GMT 1
Thanks, Jutta. If I can get them rooted okay, they should start growing leaves soon. I did hear that spring was starting early this year - then in the next few minutes, saw a weather forecast saying more snow was on the way!
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Post by petdesigns on Feb 10, 2010 17:40:40 GMT 1
They should be ok to root - we've grown 5 from this particular willow and in the highly scientific way of sticking broken off willow sticks in some water for a while until some roots appear and then 'stuffing' them in the field!....
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Post by Old Dragon (Al) on Feb 20, 2010 13:12:08 GMT 1
Jutta, there are tiny roots starting to form now on the willow sticks. I have been saving up the empty cardboard toilet rolls, so the next step will be to fill those with compost and put them in a tray like a cat litter one, so that I can add water under the tubes and plant the willows in those. Most can then be planted out where the horses can't reach them along the river bank and keep my fingers crossed they will, eventually help to preserve the bank as well as look nice along there. Will probably pop one in at the lower end of the bank in the bird garden, too, and where it is very wet. I'd like to pop others along the field boundary fence, but doubt they'd survive there between the horses and the boys who own that heavy plant hire place, who'd likely cut them down next time they replace that fence!
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Post by petdesigns on Mar 1, 2010 9:55:48 GMT 1
Oh, that sounds good! This type of willow grows relatively fast - one of our 'sticks' even survived being half eaten by sheep...
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