# PF Nature Club



## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

I know there are a number of us on here who love their nature- birds, wildflowers, mammals, inverts etc... So I thought I would create a thread where we could share some of our experiences- especially as we go into spring when everything is coming alive again.

Any and all participation welcome- provided it has a link to nature 

I'll start it off with a question

*- Best bird sighting you have had in 2013?
*​


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

Out of the garden - two red kites at Didcot Parkway station.If I had been on the platform instead of the train I would probably have got poohed on. 

In the garden - the returning greenfinch although the siskin ran it close.


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## Cleo38 (Jan 22, 2010)

Oooh, can I have 2 as they were the best in different ways ......

Last Sundays walk as we saw x5 pairs of kingfishers along the river bank. The flashes of turquoise & orange never fail to excite me. The fact we saw so many was fantastic as last year we didn't see any along that stretch

Yesterday we saw a bittern, my second only sighting of this bird. I was chuffed to bits


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

I've only ever seen a Bittern once!

Mine has to be my Reed Bunting sighting, my very first ever


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

I'd be pleased with any of these! I last saw a red kite last year- they are all tagged in NI. They have had a pretty high profile reintroduction program here. I went to a talk about them late last year as well. 

Both kingfisher and bittern would be lifers for me. I have tried to see kingfishers basically forever and never have. There was a bittern reported in a reserve not too far from me but I went and never saw it. And I haven't seen a reed bunting in some time- I think they are sweet. All the buntings have such cute bills. 

I honestly don't know what my pick would be. My heart still leaps for bullfinches. I just find them exquisite but I see them daily so.... hmmn.... oh lesser redpoll. That is probably my personal best because I never thought I'd get them in the garden (along with siskin) so I was just over the moon with that.


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## Cleo38 (Jan 22, 2010)

jenniferx said:


> I'd be pleased with any of these! I last saw a red kite last year- they are all tagged in NI. They have had a pretty high profile reintroduction program here. I went to a talk about them late last year as well.
> 
> Both kingfisher and bittern would be lifers for me. I have tried to see kingfishers basically forever and never have. There was a bittern reported in a reserve not too far from me but I went and never saw it. And I haven't seen a reed bunting in some time- I think they are sweet. All the buntings have such cute bills.
> 
> I honestly don't know what my pick would be. My heart still leaps for bullfinches. I just find them exquisite but I see them daily so.... hmmn.... oh lesser redpoll. That is probably my personal best because I never thought I'd get them in the garden (along with siskin) so I was just over the moon with that.


It's funny as we have so many reed buntings that I don't give them a second thought or look now 

Now bullfinches, I haven't seen one for years. I saw one when I was on a site visit for work & it made my day. I used to see so many of them when I was young but have literally seen a handful in the last 5yrs


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

That's a really good thing about wildlife - you get so much local variation, and what is common in one part is rare somewhere else. I haven't seen a bittern, last saw a reed bunting a *long* time ago, and while I have seen kingfishers, 5 pairs in one day must have been amazing. But recently I have been up hills more than watery places.

Changing the subject a bit - the sun yesterday brought out a lot of Red Admiral butterflies here , so it really must be Spring.


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

Funny, my other half hardly ever see's bullfinches where he is, yet he remembers them from childhood. This winter I had eight of them in my garden at once- they are just the finest creatures. I'm lucky enough to have them still visit everyday but it is getting less frequent now because everyone is dispersing and seeking out nest sites. 

I saw my first willow warbler/chiff chaff of 2013 yesterday! I was at a parade and saw it skipping about the trees. I wasn't close enough to tell which it was unfortunately and it wasn't singing so- it is anybodys guess! I also saw my first swallow on Friday, which is early for us. It's usually towards the end of April they get back. 

There was an osprey reported at a resevoir about 8 miles from me yesterday so I think if I have the afternoon to myself I'll maybe go up there and see if it is still hanging around.


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

Any luck with the osprey?

It is very quiet here, just blackbirds with beaks full of nest material today. The plum blossom came out over the weekend, and so did some bluebells down the road. I have to get up really early tomorrow and the day after so am hoping to see a bit more then.


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

Nope! No osprey. 

My garden is the same you know. I am still getting some of my winter regulars (bullfinches, greenfinches) but by and large it is terribly quiet. I'm expecting to all kick into gear again when we really get into the breeding season! I hope it isn't a wet summer again. We lost an entire starling brood to one bad weekend.

I had forgotten how stressful spring is though. The sparrowhawk continues to make it's presence felt and I find clumps of feathers and remains daily now- if not in my own garden but in the land surrounding it. Not a lot I can do about that. And at the bottom of my gate there was also the innards and a foot of what looked like a baby woodpigeon. Gross. Last year we had a greenfinch fledging in the conservatory and a chaffinch fledging hit the window (and died). 

I suppose it is what is going to happen if you encourage large local populations! 

In other nature news I am also looking forward to the RSPB/Birdwatch Ireland annual conference in May, it's over three days. I was too ill for last year so I'm excited to be going to this one as I had a great time in 2011.


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

We haven't got to the traumatic bit of spring yet. That comes for us when the blackbirds hatch - they fall in the pond, stay out all night and freeze to death, and generally seem not very good at staying alive. Therre is a nest in the hedge at the moment, so we will have to see.

This week's star sighting was two green woodpeckers on the grass eating ants in the sunshine. There is a big house converted to a factory near here and they keep acres of grass well mown all round it. It is a haven for all sorts of wildlife because nobody actually uses it except the people cutting the grass from time to time. It is between the road and the factory so cars speed past and I am sure only 1 in 20 will see anything in the field.

I love green woodpeckers, they are like two different birds - almost parrot bright in flight and then like oversized thrushes on the grass. 

What happens at the RSPB conference? 3 days seems quite a long time to debate motions so I hope you get some birds in too.


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

Saw some baby Blackbirds in one of my clients gardens yesterday :thumbsup:
Also a small family group of Starlings waddling around the grass verge near home. :thumbsup:
We don't get a lot of Starlings around here these days


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## wind1 (Oct 24, 2010)

I saw a green woodpecker the other day just standing on a large grassy area alongside the road. We used to get one in one of my neighbours gardens all the time but I haven't seen it for a couple of years now. On my walk to work I walk past a pond and last year I regularly saw a grey wagtail. The first time I saw it I was very excited as I thought it was quite rare but reading up on it I discovered it's not. I saw it for the first time this year the other day. I think it must nest under the bridge thats there because that's where I see it flying in and out


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## Lunabuma (Dec 12, 2011)

I saw blue tits going in and out of a bird box today which was nice. 

We also have some wood pigeons that seem to like to make hay in the face of danger, just on the other side of the cat proofing with Ziggy and Luna chattering at them on the lawn


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

Jonescat said:


> What happens at the RSPB conference? 3 days seems quite a long time to debate motions so I hope you get some birds in too.


The last conference I was at was very much along the lines of an academic conference- so you had various professionals deliver papers and then take questions on their subjects. It can be quite dry and I imagine a bit boring for members of the general public- but I am an academic (in a totally different field!) so research is my bread and butter 
There are also some speakers, field trips and a gala dinner.

In fairness the agenda for this year looks a lot less academic and I will have already attended a lot of the talks on offer because I know a bunch of the speakers but it should still be good 

On an unrelated note- I had a garden warbler in my garden yesterday! And only heard my returning ChiffChaff's on Sunday, almost a full month later than last year.

If anyone is following the BTO's Cuckoo's I also see Chris has returned to the UK. What a bird!

And Springwatch put out a press release about this years scheduling. It looks really good. I enjoy it every year with the Chelsea Flower Show!
BBC - Blogs - SPRINGWATCH - Springwatch returns and announcing Springwatch in the Afternoon


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## Nonnie (Apr 15, 2009)

Seeing loads of woodcock and a lovely pair of mandarins on a daily basis.


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

I think I've found a Buzzard nest in the woods. Gorgeous location, so I think the dog and myself, may be taking the odd picnic there over the next 2-3 weeks


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

Well! Bird Conference this weekend has been cancelled. I am so disappointed, I'd been looking forward to it for ages. Lack of sufficient interest  What a terrible shame- there were loads of people last time (150+). I think it's a fail on the part of the RSPBNI's marketing and PR team to be honest- if it wasn't for a letter I received as a previous delegate I wouldn't have known about it myself unless I went out of my way to find details. With large social networking sites now there's really no excuse to promote events cheaply, widely and frequently well in advance. 

It's the same with their other talks throughout the year. Really poorly advertised. 

Oh well!


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

That's a shame about the conference 

A few weeks ago I put down a couple of Reptile refuges on a field that has been put aside by a local farmer for butterflies. They have only just really bedded in, but this morning under one of them was a small snake skin  Someone found it useful :thumbsup:


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

rona said:


> That's a shame about the conference
> 
> A few weeks ago I put down a couple of Reptile refuges on a field that has been put aside by a local farmer for butterflies. They have only just really bedded in, but this morning under one of them was a small snake skin  Someone found it useful :thumbsup:


Not a snake


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## wind1 (Oct 24, 2010)

Yesterday on my walk to work I saw the first baby Canada geese on the pond. Parent at the front, six babies swimming behind, then other parent at the back. Lovely sight


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

rona said:


> Not a snake


Think that makes it possible to classify as an SSSI if you need to. Very exciting. Baby ones are like liquid metal.


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

Jonescat said:


> Think that makes it possible to classify as an SSSI if you need to. Very exciting. Baby ones are like liquid metal.


Really!!! Means a lot of gardens with compost heaps can be SSSIs 
Yes I saw a baby one fairly near to there last summer


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

Great picture Rona. We only have one native reptile in NI- common lizards!

The big news in NI nature this week is that a tawny owl has been seen/heard/photographed in Castle Ward in Co.Down. The species is absent from here so it has caused a bit of a stir, even made the news!
BBC News - 'First sighting' of wild tawny owl in Ireland at Castleward

And my own personal news it that my bats are back! I have literally just seen them. I am so relieved I can't tell you. They are very late this year and I feared the worst but alas here they are


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## Valanita (Apr 13, 2010)

We have a hedgehog visiting at night & boy does he/she make a noise.
Pipistrelle bats fly round the garden & sometimes get close to the windows in the living room. Having a split level house our living room is on the top floor.
We also have several Slow Worms living in the garden, though they aren't often seen. Last year we had a Grass snake that took up residence under the bottom step that divides the bottom patio from the bottom of the garden. He/she used to sun itself on the step & I nearly trod on it one day. When the food, insects, froglets & newts, in the pond ran out the snake went. Thought it had got all the newts, but a few went into the green house where the snake couldn't get them & we still have some.
Not a single frog here this year though.:sad:


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

Found 2 slowworms in the compost bin at the allotment today. The whole site is famous locally for them and we are lucky enough to have a neighbour with a bad back so she has covered her entire plot in tarp and carpet while she recovers. This means that you only have to lift it up a little to see lots of slowworms and a few toads, and huge spiders.

There are also a pair of pheasants nesting I think. The cock is very protective and almost aggressive towards the allotment cat. I am dreading all the little pheasants stalking the veg though - will have to research effective barriers. 

Also buzzards calling overhead, a few sleepy bees and the comfrey is nearly out. Then there will be loads of bees I hope. There is a lot of speedwell in flower and the dandelion clocks are blowing all over the place (it is quite a wild set of allotments, not a pristine one).

At home, the sparrows first brood is nearly fledged - they are pooking their heads out from the eaves when parents come home, and the blackbird family were down by the pond getting fed. 

Sorry to hear about your bird conference jenniferx - really hard when you are looking forward to something and it doesn't happen. Nonnie -did you know that to some people mandarin ducks represent marital bliss? Hope it's working for you!


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## Valanita (Apr 13, 2010)

Blue Tits are nesting in one of our nest boxes.


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## ameliajane (Mar 26, 2011)

I moved last November from a city centre 14th floor tower block to a surburban house with a long, narrow, very overgrown garden. 

I've been amazed by the number of birds i see in the garden. During the winter I counted 17 different species! I only ever used to see feral pigeons and the odd seagull in my old flat.

I was especially pleased with a Blackcap that spent the whole winter in my garden, a Goldcrest that came regularly to feed from the home-made fatballs and two Longtailed tits that loved to pick the seeds from Buddlea or hang upside down on a twig from one foot whilst eating a piece of pink suet from the other!

After 25 years in tower blocks every day here is a sheer delight...


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

Amelia- you should definitely do the big garden bird watch next year if you didn't this year. I think you'd enjoy it 

I have just seen my first fledglings of the year! Starlings  The gardener did the grass today and I had a flock of 20 feeding- including 3 very obviously newly fledged babies. Parents are still feeding them, which was fantastic to watch.


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

It's gone up to six! They are beautiful. So full of energy and youthful joie de vivre. I put out some new fat cakes tonight and they've all lost their avian minds over it.

Oh I forgot to say- a really brilliant tip for getting birds through the breeding season and it makes a *massive* difference, suet pellets. I get them in the pound shop and they are made out of suet and mealworm. Tits, starlings and corvids will feed them to their young in the nest. I've been told before that parents won't feed table food to nestlings but I have seen it myself with these pellets and I am sure it has been a huge help to lots of parent birds that visit my garden.

It really surprised me to learn a few years ago that a wet weekend in the early days can readily kill an entire brood in the nest due to lack of available food. So I'm going through the suet/mealworm like nobodies business right now. For the corvids I am also feeding them these:
Peckish Daily Goodness Nuggets 1kg | Pets at Home
They are quite large- about an inch by 1.5cm and there are actually quite a lot in a bag. So it just makes it easier that they come and take those instead of gobbling up all the smaller pellets and everyone is happy!


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## Toby Tyler (Feb 17, 2013)

What a lovely thread. The first hummingbirds have arrived, will take pics and post later. One year there was a leucistic Rufous hummer. 

Favorite wildlife this year has been the gorgeous black fox hanging around these parts....


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## Valanita (Apr 13, 2010)

You are so lucky to get Hummingbirds in your garden Toby, they don't live in Britian.
That black Fox is gorgeous as well.


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## ameliajane (Mar 26, 2011)

I did take part in the January Bird Watch this year for the first time and was lucky enough to have the Blackcap, a Wren and the Long Tailed Tits turn up in the last 5 minutes of my watch! 

Am now looking forward to the summer Butterfly Count - trying to plant as many nectar flowers as i can!

I've been feeding the pink berry suet pellets - which were very popular during the winter but don't seem to be taken so keenly now, perhaps a switch to the mealworm ones will put me back in the birds Good Gourmet Guide...


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

Oh wow, you know I have never even seen a hummingbird in the flesh. How amazing it must be to have them in your garden! And the fox is stunning too. 

Well. What a day for the starlings. I went from six to.... 22 babies. Can you believe that? The parents basically creched them here whilst splitting their time with others obviously still in the nest and the fledglings. They have completely demolished the food today. Two packets of mealworm suet, two fat cakes split between two different suet cake feeders. And a load of cheese. And all the grubs they were pulling out of the ground. The amount of poop all over the place is wild and I also had my first window strike of the season- thankfully unharmed. 

This the biggest collective brood I have ever seen here. Here is a pic of some of them hanging out earlier. The noise was incredibly loud!


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## Lunabuma (Dec 12, 2011)

I know this is sort of cheating a bit as I work at a wildlife hospital. There's the cutest baby Tawny Owl there, its the funniest looking chick I've ever seen.


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

When is the butterfly watch? That sounds fun.


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## Lunabuma (Dec 12, 2011)

Toby Tyler said:


> What a lovely thread. The first hummingbirds have arrived, will take pics and post later. One year there was a leucistic Rufous hummer.
> 
> Favorite wildlife this year has been the gorgeous black fox hanging around these parts....


Oh wow, you are very lucky to get humming birds.

On the first holiday I went on with my OH, we went to California and he found it really funny when I was massively excited about spotting a humming bird at Sea World and took loads of photos of it. He didn't know then that I'm an animal/wildlife nerd!


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

rona said:


> That's a shame about the conference
> 
> A few weeks ago I put down a couple of Reptile refuges on a field that has been put aside by a local farmer for butterflies. They have only just really bedded in, but this morning under one of them was a small snake skin  Someone found it useful :thumbsup:





rona said:


> Not a snake


There was another Slow Worm under the second refuge today :thumbup:


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## Leanne77 (Oct 18, 2011)

I think my best sighting so far this year has been a couple of kingfishers territorially chasing each other up and down the river. I've been keeping my eye open for bullfinches which I saw on one of our regular walks last year, such beautiful birds, but no luck yet this year.

Edited to say i've just remembered I saw a red crested pochard a couple of weeks ago.


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## ameliajane (Mar 26, 2011)

The Big Butterfly Count is organised by Butterfly Conservation. They ask you to record the number/type of butterflies you see in 15 minutes. You can do the count anywhere. It runs from 20th of July until August 11th. I'm not good at posting links - I wonder if anyone else would be kind enough to find and post the link?

I love the starling creche! I rarely get even one in the garden although there are loads locally - they seem to prefer hanging about outside the takeaways or gathering to probe for worms on the roadside verges. 

I was however, very excited to see a heron land on my garden fence a short time ago, just a few feet from my window! I've never seen one close up before - so strange looking - almost like some prehistoric dinosaur!


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

Big Butterfly Count

I don't mind counting but I refuse to tell any of the "conservation" bodies where I've seen anything...........


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

The butterfly count is one I usually sit out...... they are my only phobia! Can't explain it, there is no good reason for it but I can't be within about 4 feet of one without getting very uncomfortable! And heaven help me if one gets closer than that!

Bizzarely I am not as bothered by moths and I assist with regional recording of micro moths for BCNI! 

Rant: My neighbours who decide during the very peak of the breeding season to chop back/down their tree's/hedges/shrubs. It absolutely drives me nuts. I know it is their own property and they can do what they want but why right this minute when it is destroying valuable habitat for nesting birds? Do it either before things get going, or after, but not when so much of our wildlife depends so dearly on it right now. 

Obviously it's an offence to destroy the nest of any wild bird but I bet *so* many are ruined without anyone being any the wiser.

Sigh- anyway. It is a beautiful day and I saw so many wildflowers. Loads of very pungent ransoms, bugle and speedwell in Crawfordsburn Country Park. And I am really enjoying Springwatch so far. Learning plenty! That's what I love about the natural world- there is always something new to learn, even about the most familiar of plants/animals/habitats.


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

I have just looked at the Butterfly Conservation site and realised there is a local-ish reserve listed there that I never knew existed! I hope we get a dry day at the weekend.


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

I was *sure* I had written a big update post but ...obviously not!

The flock of starling fledglings grew to c.60, which was incredible! And a real assault on the eardrums!  I cannot believe just how lucky they were this year. Timed to perfection. Now two weeks on they have all mostly left the area save for a few late breeding families that are hanging around.

Other garden fledglings = a robin and a jackdaw. I'm holding out for the finches in a few weeks time.

Last weekend I took wee Henri and my sister away to the Mournes for a few days. It was beautiful. I didn't get to hear the cuckoo, in spite of lapping Murlough twice but I did see a brood of young stonechat + the male, which was lovely. Loads of wildflowers out as well. Particular favourites included the wild pansies and common vetch.

I'm still loving Springwatch -and Chris Packham. If he was 20 years younger I would be all on it like a car bonnet..... or something like that. The water rail chicks have been something special and the jackdaws being attacked have had me on the edge!

I did a wee drive of the Mournes on the Sat. night (picture)


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

+2 more fledgling species today. Woodpigeon and Dunnock. Young birds are so sweet. 

However, the big drama is that there has been- what looks to be- a murder. Of what and by whom I do not know, I just noticed when I was restocking the bird station this morning there was a not inconsiderable amount of blood on the ground vegetation. My first thought was that the sparrowhawk had paid us a visit but there were no feathers and there are always feathers (and usually no blood) with the sprawk attacks. 

I have a horrible feeling it might be a cat. For the last couple of days a seriously knackered, poor, old thing has turned up in the garden. It wouldn't let me get anywhere near it but from what I saw it was either seriously geriatric or seriously ill. I normally can't abide cats in the garden but I took pity on him/her and gave it some food. I have (many) foxes (and badgers) that visit/travel through most nights with dens only yards away and sadly cats don't really last long around here. I can't think of a single one owned by my neighbours that hasn't disappeared or simply been found run over (including several of my own) after a few years. 

I'll just have to keep an eye out to see if it shows up again.


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

A red kite has just moved in to our area. OH was reputedly the first person to see it, but I haven't yet. They do seem to be very much on the increase across England at the mo - I have seen them all along the M4 corridor, across to Oxford, and up the M5 - presumably spreading from Wales? There were three around Didcot station yesterday. Gorgeous birds but how will they get along with our longstanding buzzard population? Are they compatible - they look like they might eat the same food to me, and I would hate to lose one lot for the very glamourous newcomers!


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## Valanita (Apr 13, 2010)

The Buzzard & Red Kite feed in different ways. Kites on the wing, Buzzards land on the ground. If you've been to Gigrin farm in Wales, you can see them both together, there doesn't seem to be conflict, the Buzzards are there freeloading & the Kites are the attraction. It's an amazing sight! At one stage we counted over 200 birds.

Pics are pretty rubbish as my camera was too, but it was a record for me of the day we went. The fellow RSPB member next to me in the hide had a lens as long as your arm, his pics were very good.


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

Thanks for the reassurance - I am very fond of our buzzards and know where to look for them individually now. When I am at the allotment they are often thermalling overhead. Not sure if the kite is passing through or thinking of moving in somewhere locally - it has caused a bit of a stir locally. 

I think our pigeon babies must be due to fledge soon. There is a lot of noise in the tree now, and the sparrows are also very noisy in the hedge and eaves. Can't believe it is midsummer already. Lots of bees at the allotment on the comfrey, and a good few in the garden.


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

Well today was the day. The hallowed bird, the avian messiah, blessed are we by the visitation it bestows upon us.....

Baby Bullfinch. Just the one which is a tiny bit disappointing from the parents perspective I am sure but I was just thrilled all the same. I know it isn't something a lot of people don't get to enjoy. It was a highlight of 2012 and this year it is the same. I didn't get any pictures today but I have one from last year. 

I'm hoping that from the numbers of adults that I get visiting regularly that I will see another 2-3 broods. Fingers crossed anyway!


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

It's very cute. I haven't seen one of them for real but I love the baby pinkness.

Early purple orchids out here now, but no photos yet as it is raining and they look a bit bruised even though they are very new.


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## cat burglar (Jun 9, 2013)

jenniferx said:


> Well today was the day. The hallowed bird, the avian messiah, blessed are we by the visitation it bestows upon us.....
> 
> Baby Bullfinch. Just the one which is a tiny bit disappointing from the parents perspective I am sure but I was just thrilled all the same. I know it isn't something a lot of people don't get to enjoy. It was a highlight of 2012 and this year it is the same. I didn't get any pictures today but I have one from last year.
> 
> I'm hoping that from the numbers of adults that I get visiting regularly that I will see another 2-3 broods. Fingers crossed anyway!


Great photo  

I'm blessed to get Bullfinches (and their offspring) feeding in my garden too.

These (blurry!) pics were taken through my kitchen window a couple of years ago.....

Siblings:

http://www.petforums.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=117291&stc=1&d=1372613731

Being fed by Dad:

http://www.petforums.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=117292&stc=1&d=1372613753

EDIT: I haven't mastered how to attach photos properly!!!!


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## Valanita (Apr 13, 2010)

jenniferx said:


> Well today was the day. The hallowed bird, the avian messiah, blessed are we by the visitation it bestows upon us.....
> 
> Baby Bullfinch. Just the one which is a tiny bit disappointing from the parents perspective I am sure but I was just thrilled all the same. I know it isn't something a lot of people don't get to enjoy. It was a highlight of 2012 and this year it is the same. I didn't get any pictures today but I have one from last year.
> 
> I'm hoping that from the numbers of adults that I get visiting regularly that I will see another 2-3 broods. Fingers crossed anyway!


oH! Lucky you, we don't even get adult Bullfinches here.


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

Saw the most beautiful Garden Tiger in the rhubarb today - no camera with meunfortunately. Lots of tortoiseshell butterflies too. Ladybird larvae on the raspberries too. Seems to have been a very orangey-red sort of day


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

It's butterfly heaven In the two fields I visit that a local farmer has put aside for them :thumbup:

The Burnet moths have taken the place of the Cinnabar moths, but the caterpillars are now about in their thousands!


IMG_8518 by ronaalfie, on Flickr


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

Quick little garden update- still very busy considering the time of year! A fair number of the birds are obviously in moult now so I think they are laying low and hanging around my bird station till they are back in full feathers. 

I had another baby bullfinch today from a different brood, quite a few baby greenfinches over the last few weeks as well... Other than that no new species. All are making good use of the water tub as well. I'm having to clean and refill x3 a day at the minute.

But I have just heard the most awful sound from outside to spoil the afternoon. The sparrowhawk has returned and helped him/herself to a starling. At least it was not in my garden on this occasion. I hate sometimes that nature is a numbers game, I know I personalise it too much. The screams are just pure horror, even if the rational side of me understands it (obviously) my stomach is knots when I hear those cries


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

Devastated. Window strike , dead fledgling bullfinch.  I've put it in a box in the conservatory willing it to come back to life but I know it has gone


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

It is hard when you are watching them grow and then a bad thing happens. We have a sparrowhawk too, fortunately only occasional.


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

That's really sad 

A friend of mine had a baby woodpecker die after flying into his window the other day


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

The way our sparrowhawk works is - shows up, takes 4-5 birds over the course of about a week or so and then moves on. I suppose it makes sense really in so much as they need to maintain the element of surprise when they attempt to make a kill. 

Window strike is so depressing. It feels so needless. I always think in my head about everything that they had to go through to get from egg to fledgling only to get snuffed out by a stupid accident with a pane of glass. I'd rather the sparrowhawk took them than that. 

I put the body out that night to be scavenged- which it was, so not a total waste. 

I've noticed something today.... my little wild area where I feed the birds has come up with a variety of wildflowers. The birds must have seeded them through their droppings because it is only in this one corner- what a lovely return for feeding them! 

I'm going away next week for a bit of a nature themed holiday with my OH- nothing fancy just down to the Mournes again. Hopefully I'll see some good birds/mammals


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

I've had some great sightings this last week....

A just fledged cuckoo being fed by meadow pipits- which was just incredible. The cuckoo was massive- it seems utterly incongruous to have these tiny little things feeding it up! It was something special. 

I saw a couple of red kites- untagged which is interesting because the majority of RK in NI have very obvious wing tagging. 

The usual seabirds- gannets, manx shearwater, sandwhich terns, common guillemot, black guillemot...

A peregrine.

But the piece de resistance ... a hummingbird hawkmoth! In my own garden! Never seen one before in my life. Stunning creature.


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

Checked out one of my Reptile refuges the other evening, they are only about 15" x 15" but it had 5 slow worms and a small grass snake underneath :thumbsup:


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## ameliajane (Mar 26, 2011)

Wow, a Hummingbird Hawk moth! Would love to see one of these! Can i ask what sort of flowers it was feeding on? I read that they like Rosebay Willowherb and I have some of this growing wild in my garden and lots of it on a grassy track at the back of the garden, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Not sure whether they ever get as far as Birmingham though? 

And Slow Worms too - never seen these either. I've read they visit most gardens at some point - don't know how true this is but i'm going to make some refuges for them and keep my fingers crossed for these too!

So far i've counted 18 different species of bird in my garden and 11 butterfly species. There are also Grasshoppers in the long grass and frogs. And I put in three big wood piles and Wood mice have moved in to at least one of the piles. And last week I watched my Grey squirrel mother leading her youngster round the garden - she was clearly showing her baby all the best feeding spots! 

It's so exciting having a garden and slowly discovering all the wildlife that lives on my doorstep and trying to find ways to encourage more wildlife. I lived in high-rise flats for 25 years until last November. Now every day I see something new. I amazed just how much there is considering I live in a densly populated area of Birmingham. 

Project for the winter is to build a large pond, plant a wildlife hedge and create refuges for amphibians and reptiles


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

Wonderful isn't it?

All for free too


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## Valanita (Apr 13, 2010)

The Hummingbird Hawk moths we get here feed on the Buddleia.
Having a wild life garden is a lovely pastime.


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## ameliajane (Mar 26, 2011)

Valanita said:


> The Hummingbird Hawk moths we get here feed on the Buddleia.
> Having a wild life garden is a lovely pastime.


That's great, I have loads of Buddleia! There's one right outside my dining room and bedroom windows. I didn't cut it down last winter because i'd just moved in and had loads to do and the Long-tailed tits and Blue tits came regularly all winter to feed on the seeds - right outside my windows. So i'll be leaving all the Buddleia this year until spring.

Wildlife gardens are wonderful and so interesting. Lots of my neighbours have quite large gardens that are 90% beautifully manacured lawn. They spend hours mowing them and watering them and, as far as I can see, all they end up with is a big, boring, flat, empty space - never understand it!


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## Valanita (Apr 13, 2010)

Our garden wasn't supposed to be wild, but as OH hasn't been able to do much in it due to a disability, it has gone rather wild. Son strims the grass but the rest had been left for some time & the brambles are gradually taking over.


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

Valanita said:


> The Hummingbird Hawk moths we get here feed on the Buddleia.
> Having a wild life garden is a lovely pastime.





ameliajane said:


> That's great, I have loads of Buddleia! There's one right outside my dining room and bedroom windows. I didn't cut it down last winter because i'd just moved in and had loads to do and the Long-tailed tits and Blue tits came regularly all winter to feed on the seeds - right outside my windows. So i'll be leaving all the Buddleia this year until spring.
> 
> Wildlife gardens are wonderful and so interesting. Lots of my neighbours have quite large gardens that are 90% beautifully manacured lawn. They spend hours mowing them and watering them and, as far as I can see, all they end up with is a big, boring, flat, empty space - never understand it!


The one I saw was also feeding on Buddleia 

The area I have wildlife in my garden is an absolute tip- but it is teaming with life. 
.........................................................................................

Is anyone else having a real resurgence in their gardens over the last week or so? It would seem the starlings from the first big brood in April have returned and they are clearing us out like a plague of locusts every day! They actually wait for me in the morning. On a daily basis they are eating 8 fatballs by the afternoon. Which given the numbers wouldn't even feed most of them! I have to scale it back or I will be the one without any food!

Now that breeding season is largely concluding my little summary would be:

Brilliant Year for-
Greenfinches (loads of 'em. Maybe 5 or 6 broods)
Great Tits (ever present and doing well)
Starlings (insane numbers- plump and healthy)

Poor Year for-
Coal Tits (numbers way down on last year)
Goldcrest (had no breeders this year)
Bullfinches (considering I had so many pairs I saw only two broods, disappointing)

Average for everything else.


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## Valanita (Apr 13, 2010)

We have lots of young birds. Blue Tits. Blackbirds. Robins. Goldfinches. All the Corvids. House Sparrows & Dunnock.


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

Just got back from hols - a week walking near Cardigan and saw so much. Most of it wasn't rare but not what we get at home either - linnets, stone chat, meadow pipit, family of wrens in the garden (we do have those but so cute), hare, baby rabbit in the garden, chough, seal, bottlenose dolphin, adder, common blues, orchids (not sure, looked like early purple but so late?), gorse in the sun (love the smell so worth a mention), and loads of young birds that look nothing like their parents and so were not identified(!).

Then came home, went to the allotment for tea and found a Buff Ermine caterpillar on the rhubarb (ginger hairy guy) and a slowworm in the compost 

Can't wait to get back to work


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## Toby Tyler (Feb 17, 2013)

Valanita said:


> Our garden wasn't supposed to be wild, but as OH hasn't been able to do much in it due to a disability, it has gone rather wild. .


This year I retired the mower and weed whacker. Look what's taken over...


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

I guess a weed whacker is what I'd call a strimmer?


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

Anyone noticing autumn sneaking up on us? The spiders are starting to come out- the thistles are shedding their airborne white fluffy seeds, nights are drawing in! I'm looking forward to it. Autumn is one of the best times of year I think. 

On a slightly sad and concerning note also representative of the end of summer- I saw a chaffinch today with what looked awfully like trichomonosis.


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

Yes, all the berries are ripening.


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## Toby Tyler (Feb 17, 2013)

Aspen are just starting to turn gold. The brambles of wild raspberries are full of ripe berries. Hummingbirds are starting to dwindle. Autumn is definitely at my doorstep.

Does anyone know anything about mushrooms? They are popping up everywhere here.


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

Toby Tyler said:


> Aspen are just starting to turn gold. The brambles of wild raspberries are full of ripe berries. Hummingbirds are starting to dwindle. Autumn is definitely at my doorstep.
> 
> Does anyone know anything about mushrooms? They are popping up everywhere here.


No, but I'd love to. It's one of those things I think I need guidance on, as so many look similar.
I might treat myself to a course once the old dog is gone


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## Valanita (Apr 13, 2010)

jenniferx said:


> Anyone noticing autumn sneaking up on us? The spiders are starting to come out- the thistles are shedding their airborne white fluffy seeds, nights are drawing in! I'm looking forward to it. Autumn is one of the best times of year I think.
> 
> *On a slightly sad and concerning note also representative of the end of summer- I saw a chaffinch today with what looked awfully like trichomonosis.*


Oh! Gods! Not again. Though the weather hasn't really been wet enough to transmit it, well, not here anyway. There could be something else wrong with that bird, there are other viruses than start the same way, but aren't usually fatal.


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## Valanita (Apr 13, 2010)

Toby Tyler said:


> Aspen are just starting to turn gold. The brambles of wild raspberries are full of ripe berries. Hummingbirds are starting to dwindle. Autumn is definitely at my doorstep.
> 
> Does anyone know anything about mushrooms? They are popping up everywhere here.


I know the last ones an Inkcap.
Try this site.....
http://americanmushrooms.com/


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## Valanita (Apr 13, 2010)

I am over the moon, why you ask, because I have seen, in our pond, the first frog we've had for years. I do hope it gets a mate & next Spring we have spawn & tadpoles.


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

Brilliant :thumbsup:

Looks a nice fat healthy specimen too


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## Valanita (Apr 13, 2010)

Can't tell if male or female, but I hope it stays.


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

rona said:


> Yes, all the berries are ripening.


All my rowan berries have already been consumed!



Valanita said:


> Oh! Gods! Not again. Though the weather hasn't really been wet enough to transmit it, well, not here anyway. There could be something else wrong with that bird, there are other viruses than start the same way, but aren't usually fatal.


I hope it is something else  No way of knowing. It just had that characteristic "look" about it. The wet head/face- massive puffing out, hunchbacked sort of look.

I don't know if anyone remembers about the conference being cancelled earlier this year- I got a call from the RSPB checking demand for another substitute type event to be held in October. I told them absolutely on my part, hopefully something will go ahead but I think whatever it is, it would only be one day.


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## Valanita (Apr 13, 2010)

Valanita said:


> I am over the moon, why you ask, because I have seen, in our pond, the first frog we've had for years. I do hope it gets a mate & next Spring we have spawn & tadpoles.


Yay! We have another frog in the pond!!!


I think the first was female & this ones a male. I sure do hope so & they stay.


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## jenniferx (Jan 23, 2009)

jenniferx said:


> On a slightly sad and concerning note also representative of the end of summer- *I saw a chaffinch today with what looked awfully like trichomonosis.*


Found it dead today. Thought that was coming, sad nonetheless. I may submit the body for testing but I'll have to seek advice as it isn't that freshly dead (maybe a few days old) and with the bank holiday that will delay it further.


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