Brightening Up

Earlier on today the sun threatened to appear a few times and it was generally a bit brighter outside than it has been. It was also a degree or so warmer than it has been, so it wasn't quite so bitterly cold outside. The bird activity in the garden hasn't been quite as busy as a result, but I did see a Goldcrest flitting through the apricot tree earlier which was good to see. 

Below are a few pictures I took whilst I was outside with my camera earlier. Two long-tailed tits have been seen visiting the garden frequently, and as they are quite tame, getting close to them to photograph them is quite easy. The fact that there's only two of them says to me that a few of them may have died over the winter. It's really quite unusual to only see two of them, and in previous years, seeing 10 in a group wasn't unusual.  Hopefully they have a successful breeding year this year to boost numbers back up again.

Chaffinch numbers seem to be particularly high in the garden at the moment, and this chap was happy to have his photo taken whilst I was outside...

That's all for now folks, thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of your day :) 

Birds stocking up

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!

Norfolk birds

So, here I am posting about our family holiday to Norfolk which I have just come home from. We stayed in a nice cottage in northern Norfolk (rather near where Springwatch is currently being filmed at Pensthorpe Nature Reserve this week). The variety of wildlife seen around the garden and grounds of the cottage was amazing. I think I will share my Norfolk wildlife and plant sightings over at least 2 posts. The grounds of the cottage were amazing. My favourite part of the grounds was the small lake pictured below.

Pretty much as soon as we went into the back garden of the cottage for the first time, we saw Blue Tits were nesting in a small hole in a wall. The adults were seen flying in and out of the hole with insects all the time and it was difficult to follow. This activity was constant until later on in the week when the Blue Tits stopped feeding the young. We think that they must have fledged, although we have not seen any fledglings around. Of course it is possible that the nest was predated but the hole was too small for anything large to get in and take the young. The picture below shows the hole.

Also nesting nearby, but in the grounds of the cottage rather than the back garden were Goldcrests. In a conifer tree, a pair of Goldcrests were rearing young in a tiny nest on the end of the branch. The young looked very close to fledgling when I saw them on the first day of the holiday. It looked like there were 2 or 3 chicks crowded inside the nest. One of them decided to exercise his/her wings outside the nest, before returning to the nest cup. I just managed to get a picture before it hopped back inside the nest, which is seen in the top left image of the photo montage below. The nest was empty the next day so I am assuming they have fledged.

Other fledglings that were seen around were Great Tit (main picture in montage) and Coal Tit (bottom left photo in montage).

Also nesting in the garden of the cottage were Blackbirds who had built a nest high up in a shrub. Unfortunately, while the male was around, it only appeared to be the female who was feeding the chicks. Nevertheless, the female came in frequently with mouthfulls of insects.

The first picture below is of the female perched on the garden wall about to fly into the nest. The second photo is of the nest, which I managed to take a quickly and quietly. If you look carefully, you should be able to see the beaks of a couple of chicks. Maybe they will fledge next week. The photos were taken this morning before we left.

A flock of 15-20 Long-tailed Tits visited the garden twice and were very entertaining. They always look busy and never seem to stop. These little birds were flitting around the branches of a tree in the garden. I love the way they follow each other around. The biggest flock we have seen in our garden at home was made up of around 10 or 11 birds, so I was impressed to see such large numbers in Norfolk. I got a few photos of the tiny birds in action.

In the lake in the grounds of the cottage were Mute Swan cygnets and Egyptian Goose goslings. The cygnets were very closely watched by the adults and any threats to the cygnets were scared away very quickly. Also on the lake were Tufted Ducks and Mallards. The Egyptian Geese were often seen sat on the edge of the lake in the sun. The goslings were still quite small and were seen huddled together looking like a pile of feathers.

My highlight bird-wise in the grounds has to be the Barn and Tawny Owls that were seen flying around in the evening. A few evenings during the week, we walked to the barn near the lake to watch the Barn Owls. I think the Barn Owl must be roosting in the barn at the moment. We have seen it come out of the barn in the evening to hunt over the surrounding fields. I don't think they have young yet as they didn't return to the barn with any food.

Barn Owls are such incredible creatures and it was fantastic to see such good views of them as they hunted silently in the dark. We only saw the Tawny Owl once, but heard it much more often. They could well be roosting or nesting nearby too. Also seen near the barn were bats in large numbers. We also saw a Treecreeper one evening just as it was going dark on a tree near the barn.

Away from the cottage, we saw plenty of other birds. National Trust properties often have gardens that are fantastic for birds. We went to Felbrigg Hall, a National Trust property near the cottage. Click here for the link to the website. As I was looking around the gardens, I came across a House Sparrow terrace nestbox in use by a Great Tit. It was seen bringing food into one of the holes.

A Chaffinch was seen singing on a tree.

And Jackdaws were seen at another NT property, Blickling Hall. Click here for more information on the property.

Many other birds were seen on various walks throughout the week. On the beach near a town called Sheringham, Little Tern were seen at the shore. I had to check the bird book to make sure they weren't Common or Sandwich Tern. They certainly were little and were struggling to fly against the wind. Just slightly further along the coast near some cliffs, I saw a species of pipit. This bird, I was unable to identify even with the bird book. I am guessing it was either a Rock Pipit, or more likely due to its brighter outer tail feathers, a Meadow Pipit.

Also seen in Sheringham were Starling:

And finally, on a sunny walk in the countryside, a female sparrow on the roof of a house. It's great to see the declining House Sparrow in its well-known habitat.


Other bird highlights were: Nuthatch, Marsh Harrier (seen at Blakeney Point), Reed Bunting, Whitethroat, Meadow Pipit, Yellowhammer, Chiffchaff, Cuckoo and Great Spotted Woodpecker. Blimey, isn't it amazing what you can see in a week!

Finally this posting comes to an end. I did chatter a bit didn't I?

Long-Tailed birds

Unfortunately, it looks like we have waved goodbye to the warm weather that we have had this week. On the positive side, I still have some photos to show you that I took on Thursday evening when the light levels were fantastic. The birds that visited are all fairly common birds, but it was nice to see the Long-tailed Tit return again. Actually, there was a bit of a long-tailed theme with the visiting birds on Thursday. Chaffinches and Magpies (both long-tailed birds) were present for much of the time I was outside.

I do like the photo of the Long-Tailed Tit in the photo below. I must say that it is a little bit weird though. The bird looked straight at me whilst I took a photo of it, and the rest of the body was nearly hidden from view, so the shot just shows the head of a Long-Tailed Tit-strange, I know. I don't think I can think of any other garden bird that can hang upside down like the tiny and agile Long-Tailed Tit. I also can't think of any other garden bird that has a beak small enough to finish off the tiny, tiny bits of fat left in the fat feeder.

The Chaffinches have to be the highlight of the evening though. The male Chaffinch, which is in all of the photos below was in the garden for the longest time, choosing the best opportunity to take a sunflower heart or 2 from our fairly new feeder. If anything, the light may have been too bright as it reflected off the feeder. The males are so brightly coloured at the moment that they are some of the most colourful garden birds at the moment.

I always find it funny to watch them struggle to grip on to the feeder perches. They look some of the most awkward garden birds as they feed, very much unlike the Long-Tailed Tit in the first photo. Apparently, Chaffinches are one of the most common prey items of the Sparrowhawk. This really doesn't surprise me. They don't seem to mind feeding with other birds and aren't quite so quarrelsome and bossy as the Greenfinches.

Just before I was about to go inside, a pair of Magpies dropped in for something to eat. It amazes me how they are able to squeeze onto the bird table like they did in the 2 photos below. I reckon its that long tail that gives them the balance needed to hang on the bird table so easily. The smaller Collared Dove really struggles to get a grip on the table. The good light just shows the amazing colours on the feathers of the Magpie too. They may be troublesome, but they are fantastic birds to watch.

In the photo below, you will see the Magpie look straight at you... just like the LTT photo at the top of the post. Scary stuff!

The Blue Tit just seemed happy to sit in the apricot tree watching the birds feeding and the sunset. I wonder if this is our nesting female. If so, did it go into the nestbox shortly after this photo was taken to roost for the night?

So there you have it... I won't be posting again until at least Monday, because I am going down to the south coast to see my Grandma for the weekend. I should be going to a nature reserve on Saturday morning for the easter bird challenge, so I'll look forward to posting on that.

Birds in April sunshine

Its always nice to see the sun shine so much at this time of year. It was pretty warm all day yesterday, and the birds have been busy at our bird feeders all the time. It has mostly been the usual suspects in the garden, but its always pleasing to see some less common birds visit the garden, especially if you have tried to attract them with different foods. The good light is good for taking photos too.

The Long-Tailed Tit in the photo below has got to be my favourite. The quality of the shot probably isn't amazing, but the amazing agility of the tiny bird makes the photo quite quirky. Most other birds would probably be unable to access the fat cake in that feeder, but this one decided to hang upside down off the feeder in order to get to the food! At the moment, there only seems to be one Long-tailed Tit visiting, instead of the small flock that sometimes come.

The Blue Tit pair that are nesting in our nestbox at the moment are frequently seen at the feeders, or on their favourite look-out perch in next-door's garden. The first photo shows a Blue Tit that looks like it is feeding on the buds of the plant they use as a perch. Maybe not quite as agile as the Long-tailed Tit in the photo above, but nonetheless very entertaining to watch as they flit from branch to branch.

The female Blue Tit looks around to make sure she is safe before flying into the nestbox to do some housework in the photo below.

Big, bold and green, the Greenfinch has been a common sight again recently. I don't think we still see them in the numbers that we used to (9-10 at any one time) but they arrive in 4's or 5's and are quite aggressive when they scare off smaller birds and fight with one another. Again, Greenfinches are quite hard to photograph probably because they are quite timid, and my camera doesn't have a good enough zoom to get a picture from a long-distance.

The chaffinch in the photo below the Greenfinch is just one of many visiting at the moment. One of my planned postings for the next week will include some more Chaffinch shots in even better light. I have always thought that they are a bit useless at clinging on to bird feeders, and seem to frantically try to get a grip on a feeder perch.

Again, the photo below isn't the greatest- mostly because of the swing which takes up much of the shot. However, at a second look on the computer, I was amazed at the colours on the Magpies' wing and tail feathers. The shiny blue is stunning-don't you think. I also noticed the fact that the Magpie had managed to turn its head right round so that it was facing the opposite direction to the rest of its body. There is more to the Magpie than you first think!

Just before I finish, I hope you like the change of blog template. I like to present my blog well, so I am constantly making changes to themes, colours, fonts, etc.

Garden birds update

Its almost like a circus outside at the moment with the birds. We are getting large flocks of tits, especially Blue and Long-tailed. Yesterday, there were 7 Long-tailed tits, and 6 Blue Tits, along with 4 Greenfinches, 2 Goldfinches, 4 Chaffinches, 1 Goldcrest, 2 Great Tits, 2 Coal Tits, 2 Dunnocks, 2 Robins, and of course the usual pigeons, doves and magpies. They seem to fly from feeding station to feeding station, eating as much as they can. I think most of our birds have finished their moulting for the year, and the feeders are needing constant refills. I would really like to get a picture of the tiny visiting Goldcrest, but because the are so small, it means I have to try and get close to them. So I decided to stick to the more common birds this time! Fat is the best food to attract Long-tailed tits, and the one below is enjoying some of our fat block.

The quality of the video isn't as good as normal because it is taken through glass, and it was raining outside.

The Goldcrest that is visiting occaisionally at the moment is very shy and its difficult to get close up to them. They don't take food from the feeding stations, but they seem to like the conifer tree at the end of our garden. Its amazing to think how small the nest of this bird will be. I looked the Goldcrest up in a bird book, and it does say that they are likely to nest in conifer trees. Fingers crossed that we get them nesting in our garden. Talking of nests, I was planning to, at some point get a Camera Nestbox or Feeder cam. The trouble is that they are mostly quite expensive. Any suggestions?

Just a quick note on the weather. It has been awful here over the last week or so, making the return to school seem even more tedious. It has got to be something to do with global warming, because this isn't the way I normally remember summer!

Not quite what I was looking for

A trip to Wendover woods occupied me yesterday. I went in the afternoon, and unfortunately, the place was quite busy, already reducing my chances of seeing some wildlife. It was busy, mostly because of picknickers, but as soon as we had walked a short distance from the car park and picnic benches, it was a lot quieter on the paths. The woods are great for birdwatching, and renowned for being home of a very special and rare bird: the Firecrest. However, I later found out that there were only 10 breeding pairs of Firecrests in the entire forest.

We arrived in the early afternoon, and walked on the nearly 3 mile-long "Firecrest Trail". According to the leaflet about the place, the tiny birds are heard more often than seen. They make a very high-pitched song. Unbelievably, we heard a song matching the description of that in the leaflet, but we later found out that it belonged to another very small bird, the Coal Tit. From a distance, I have to say that I thought that it was a Firecrest. With a closer look through the binoculas, I saw not just one Coal Tit, but at least 10 of them. Coal Tits are known to prefer conifer trees, and these woods were mostly conifers, as you can see in the photo above. Coal Tits are beautiful birds, but they are quite common, so it was no real surprise to see them. Firecrests are very rare where we live, so it would have been great to see one. Throughout the walk, we ended up seeing hundreds of them, along with a suspected Sparrowhawk, and some Long-tailed Tits. But no Firecrests. It was difficult to take a picture of the Coal Tits, because they were quite high up in the trees, and more timid than most that I see in our garden.

Below are some photos and illustrations of Coal Tits and Firecrests from the RSPB website. Shame they are not from my camera! Firecrests look very similar to Goldcrests, which sometimes causes some confusion.

Top image taken by me at Wendover Woods, and all others are from the RSPB website.

Fat is in fashion!

At the moment, our fat balls and blocks are particulary popular with the birds. We have had Long-tailed Tits, Blue Tits, Blackbirds, Starlings, Robins and Magpies. The Long-tailed Tits are very entertaining, and I saw 10 all crowd around the fat ball feeder. I find it quite amusing that they scavenge for the last few crumbs of fat. It is good that they are visiting and I hope they are here to stay! We recently bought a fat block, which had all gone within 2 days, mostly because of the Blackbirds. The strange thing is that, normally, the fat products are more popular in winter, but there are no signs of this at the moment.
The picture below shows what I think is a young blackbird, judging by its unusually light plumage. The females are slightly darker than this.