Late winter garden birds

[thud]

I hope it's late winter anyway - I've had enough of the cold dark days. What happened to bright crisp days?

Ten days ago (or so) I managed to get the niger feeder debugged and filled with fresh seed. The following day two Goldfinches - the only birds that use niger regularly - very nearly emptied the contents into the seed tray. I was fuming!

The next day I found the Bullfinch munching away on the 'spilt' niger. Haven't seen a Bullfinch here since we moved in in August 1975!

[Hevva]

Smashing photos John - I must confess the brambling is one of my favourite birds. There has been very little mention of them on the forum and I have only ever had one in the garden. We go to an orchard with feeders at Bough Beech in the west part of Kent to see them, sometimes as many as 50 at a time. :)

[thud]

Hi Hevva,

Someone the other day was talking about a couple of dozen Tree Sparrows another a flock of Fieldfare..

We get the rarer visitors in ones - and usually when it's really dismal out there...

The Blackcap is a lovely little bird, quite a character. I'm doing everything I can think of (which isn't much, really) to encourage him to stay. He makes me smile..

[Pine Marten]

Lovely photos John. I see a bullfinch now and again at the garden centre. Has hedges around it and some wild land. Very colourful bird.

Pine Marten.

[mikebidwell]

Hi John

You've got some great images here, well done mate !!

Best wishes

Mike

[thud]

Hi Pine and thanks Mike.

Camera gone bust. My faithful EOS 40D gave up the ghost on Wednesday with the dreaded 'Err 99' message :-(

As it happens: I never take this extended warranty insurance they try to sell you with fridges and such. Except for the 40! For reasons I do not understand I took a three year extended warranty on it. So far, so good - it has departed to the repairers. I reckon it is either shutter or mirror - could be expensive...

In the meantime I'm using my old 350D, which my wife now calls 'hers'. The 40mm or so screen is driving me mad. She needs an upgrade! What she really needs (I'll tell her when she's in a good mood - about Easter) is a serviced and beautifully repaired EOS 40D.........

Me? Well I'll have to get by with a replacement, I suppose...

[70007]

Hi Hevva,

Someone the other day was talking about a couple of dozen Tree Sparrows another a flock of Fieldfare..

We get the rarer visitors in ones - and usually when it's really dismal out there...

The Blackcap is a lovely little bird, quite a character. I'm doing everything I can think of (which isn't much, really) to encourage him to stay. He makes me smile..

I thought that my blackcaps had vanished for the summer as they usually do in March, but this afternoon I spotted mrs blackcap in the shrubbery, so which is the latest spring sighting I have had for a while.

I am tempted to speculate that she might be considering nesting locally, which would be very exciting from my point of view.

John

[thud]

Hi John,

I have yet to see a female Blackcap - kept hoping he'd bring a mate and settle, but no.. Perhaps there are no females this far up country..

He was with us through the bad spell, 42 days from first record shot to last. On (or about) the end of that period the Sparrowhawk returned - crashed into the shrubs, I think to scare out the birds that were hiding inside. A couple of days later I chased the hawk off with a broom :-) For a week following that the Blackcap's visits became less frequent, shorter and I think more nervy. Then he went.

Just the second year we've seen a male Blackcap..

[70007]

We seem to be all Johns. :)

I have just had a quick look back through my Garden Birdwatch records and we have seen Blackcaps here for about 15 years, but initially (in late 90s) they only appeared in January and February.

Now they are here from November to April, and I have seen the occasional one in late October, so it may be that once they begin to turn up they extend their stay if conditions are right.

Hopefully, yours will adopt the same policy.

John

[thud]

It's a long time to keep my fingers crossed John.

All the best people are called John aren't they? Well, not the ladies, obviously :-)