I decided I would go out into our garden this morning and watch the birds coming in to feed. It was quite frosty this morning, so the last of the snow hasn't quite melted yet on the shaded part of the lawn. It was quite warm in the sun though, so it was nice to be out there. I set up my tripod fairly close to the feeders, but the birds were still coming in to feed. It was great to get such close-up views of the birds.
The first bird I saw out there was a Goldfinch, although I was unable to get a good photo, as they were a little shy to come in close to feed. A Starling, which was singing on the roof for a good ten minutes finally built up the confidence to fly down into the garden. It landed on the fat block feeder, which has been very popular recently. I was glad the sun was shining, as it showed up the various different colours of the Starlings plumage.
The bird only flew onto the feeder when other birds came into the garden to feed alongside it. The shot below shows the Starling trying to balance on the feeder.
After feeding for a while, the Starling seemed happy to just perch in the apricot tree in the sun. Maybe it would be worth buying a Starling nest box for our garden. There are definitely enough of them around.
A group of four Long-Tailed Tits visited the garden too, also feeding on the fat blocks. They are surprisingly, very tame birds around here, and are very happy to come into the garden whilst I am taking photos.
The birds do occasionally squabble, but generally, they share the feeders very well, and there is often a feeder completely surrounded by the birds.
The Great Spotted Woodpecker visited twice this morning, but I was in the house on both occasions. The Blackcaps are still around, but are sticking to dense cover, making them quite hard to see. I heard some tapping on the entrance hole of the nest box, and the light levels were flickering, but nothing came into the box.
For Christmas, I was delighted to get a ground bird table, which is now on the lawn quite near the house, giving us great views of the birds. Magpies, Robins and Woodpigeons have all been enjoying the food provided on this table. I haven't got any photos of these visitors yet, although a photo of the feeder in its location can be seen below:
This may be my last post of 2009, as we are going to Wales for New Year. if it is, happy New Year to all, and all the best for 2010!
7 comments:
Hi there Joe, great images from your garden. Lovely clear shots. It's always nice to stand outside to take photos. So many of mine have been through a window recently. It's too cold here.
Our gardens do look quite different at the moment and at a guess you'll see a different garden in Wales too! Wishing you a great time away and all the very best for 2010 :-D
BTW captured some Blackcap video yesterday you might like to see :-)
Great photos of all the birds Joe! Wow! You are so lucky to be going to Wales!! I have distant relatives over there. Enjoy your trip and Happy New Year!! I know you will get some great photos from over there!!
I have to remind myself that Starlings are wanted birds in your garden there! LOL... I can't imagine many US birders putting up "starling houses." They are so numerous and are in such huge flocks here that they'll eat up feeding stations in a short amount of time, and be aggressive towards the songbirds.
Love your ground tray feeder! Happy New Year Joe!
Nice Starling pics Joe and LTTs are always nice to see and quite approachable for close ups.
A Very Happy and Healthy New Year to you and your family Joe.
Lovely photos here and a very interesting post. For some reason none of the fat snacks in my garden are being touched even in the worst of the weather, I am convinced that either the shops here are selling old and perhaps stale stock or that the suppliers are using inferior ingredients. All the birds are going mad for everything else I put out for them but not the fat balls or fat filled coconut halves. I think I will have to find a different manufacturer or make up my own as I know some people do. It is such a shame as I was hoping to attract back the LTTs from last Winter and of course it is the fat treats which they love. Great to see that they are visiting you...such pretty little creatures.
I was impressed with the list of birds you had seen on the previous post... a Red Kite in the garden!! I'm amazed, what a thrill.
Hope you have/had a great time in Wales Joe.
Hi Joe - a very Happy New Year for 2010 - some lovely photos of the birds in your garden - especially the little long tailed tits - we have quite a few around here but I've never had them at our feeders... maybe this year! Take care Miranda
Hi Shirl, Ginnymo, Laura, Jayne, Mike, Shysongbird and Miranda. Thanks for your comments, sorry I haven't replied until now :(
Shirl- Thanks, glad you enjoyed this posting and the photos. Yep, its great to spend so much time outside with the camera. Its very hard to hold the camera properly with cold hands though! Wow, the snow you have where you live is really staying around, hopefully it will will warm up a bit near you soon.
It's just started snowing here again, and the forecast says it will snow all the way through the night, and maybe tomorrow too.
The garden in Wales was quite different. We did get some snow there, although only really a small covering.
Loved the Blackcap video- it really can be hard to get images of a bird like that.
Ginnymo- Thanks for the comment, glad you enjoyed this posting and its photos. Yep, Wales was a great trip, it's great to visit a place with such a different landscape to here in England.
Happy New Year to you too! :)
Laura- Thanks, glad you liked the photos! Despite their tiny size, long-tailed tits seem to be one of the easiest to photograph. It's generally easy to get close enough to them. I suspect you may see the long-tailed tits more if the cold weather continues :)
Hi Jayne- Really interesting to hear about how you guys think of starlings. I guess they do have very bad habits. And your definitely right- they do empty the feeders in hours, and scare off smaller birds. Maybe it's because their populations aren't doing all that well here in the UK that we don't mind them so much?
Happy New Year to you too, all the best for you in 2010! :)
Mike- Thanks for the comment, glad you liked the photos. Yep, the LTT's seem to be one of the most tame birds of the garden, and they make great photos. Hopefully we will see them continue to visit in the cold weather.
Shysongbird- Thank you and a very happy new year to you too!
Interesting to hear of your unpopular bird food. You could well be right- maybe they are trying to get rid of old stock. We have found that the food from "CJ Wildlife" has never been close to being bad quality. Some stuff there is a bit pricey, but the birds always seem to enjoy the food, which is, I guess the most important thing.
I hope you manage to spot some more winter visitors over the coming months. I came back from school today to find all of our feeders empty!
BTW I left a comment on your recent blog post.
Miranda- Thanks for the comment, glad you liked the photos. Yep, the long-tailed tits are such delightful visitors. Their visits are so quick though, so I guess I miss them most of the time.
Best wishes, and have a great 2010 :)
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