Goldfinch galore

Firstly, I would like to mention that I have been very busy recently, having fun getting this blog started for you to see, and so far, I am very pleased with how its going!

In the last week or so there has been a large group of visiting goldfinches. I have seen juveniles too, but was unable to get a picture of them. The juveniles are only briefly in the open, so it is difficult to capture them on camera. Unfortunately, we are just about to run out of nyjer seed (which goldfinches adore), right at the critical moment, so I may see an absence in them for a while. They are becoming a little interested in the ordinary seed mix though, so fingers crossed, they will stay a bit longer. Today, I saw 5 at one point, and below, are a few pictures and videos I managed to take. The video clips are quite short, because I am currently using the internal memory on my camera, and it is running out! Again, you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Birds and animals update

This morning, I went outside to take some pictures and videos of our garden birds and animals to show you. Firstly I would like to mention the strange absence of starlings recently, who used to feed on the fat feeder in large numbers. However, these starlings have been replaced by the slightly more dull and cheeky magpies. The magpies eat the fat balls as much as they can, before flying off with the rest of it in its beak. I took a picture of a magpie yesterday (probably a juvenile) because of its short tail. I am a bit confused though, because whenever I see this scrawny looking bird, the tail hasn't grown an inch since last time. I took pictures of blue tits, house sparrows, robins, wood pigeons and magpies. I also, as promised, got a good shot of 2 lizards basking in the sun. I have seen plenty of lizards lately, and they seem to like overgrown areas, with small open areas too bask in. The seed mix I am using at the moment is much more popular with the smaller birds, such as blue tits and great tits. I also spotted some long-tailed tits in our front garden yesterday. Please click on the images to enlarge them:

Strange Fox sighting

Yesterday, at around 08:00, in broad daylight, I spotted a rather thin looking fox trotting across the back garden. It had a half-hearted attack on a ground-feeding pigeon (which flew off without injury), and took a look at our pet rabbits before casually walking back to the end of the garden. It then jumped the fence at the end. All of this happened within a minute, and couldn't manage to take a picture of it. If I see it again, I will have a camera within arm's reach. I think it may have been a juvenile, as it was quite clumsy. I have seen a family of foxes on the railway bank at the end of the garden in the past, and i did once see one stood on top of the rabbit hutch.
Will hopefully post something to do with some of our garden reptiles soon.

Red Kites around as usual

Generally the bird feeders have been very busy in the last week and I have noted many more Red Kites than normal. 5 were seen soaring overhead on Saturday. 2 or 3 of these were quite small, so this could easily have been a family. I managed to get a picture of one (which isn't very good), but it does give you an idea of the shape. The pic on the right is clearly my incompetent doing, and the one on the left was from a website. Since they started breeding in the Chilterns in 1992, they have really expanded in numbers, and it is now difficult to go a day without seeing one. The garden birds are quite unphased by the large predators overhead, and somehow know that Kites rarely take other birds as prey. I just hope they don't outcompete our other birds of prey such as Kestrels, Buzzards and Sparrowhawks. Anywho, its still entertaining watching these beautiful birds and long may their success continue!

Introducing...

Our garden bird feeders, bird tables, nestboxes and water baths:

Usage of nestboxes

The terrace nestbox and the one to the right of it were both used this year. I was somewhat surprised to have visitors this year, since we have never had nesting birds before. The terraced one was occupied by a pair of blue tits, which I suspect didn't do very well because I have not seen any juveniles around the garden. The other one, however housed a family of great tits, and seemed to do well. Parents were constantly feeding insects and seeds, until they fledged quite recently. I think there were 3 fledglings overall, and I have seen them flitting around the garden.

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog. I am really getting into recording wildlife on a larger scale now. I already do the BTO Garden Birdwatch and thought I would go a step further by starting up this website. Recently, I ordered a digital camera and I am very pleased with it. I then decided to record my sightings of the wildlife in our garden, and create a blog, which people can visit. The image below shows one of the first pictures taken with my new camera. The best thing about doing a blog is that you can simply just keep adding things to it, and is much easier than keeping a diary. It is great to be sharing the goings on of the garden to you as well. The camera I bought is perfect for me. It enables me to take pictures of wildlife that is relatively far away. Please enjoy the blog in the future, when it has more content!