April 2011 - Easter Waxwings!

Saturday 23rd: After the success of seeing the Waxwings yesterday, I had arranged to re-visit Sandra's garden and this time take my scope and video camera. So at 7:15am, I drove the 300 yards to Sandra's house with a plethora of equipment. "Why drive?" I hear you say. Well, my back has been plaguing me these past few months and lugging all this equipment 300 yards would just aggravate it more! Having set up the scope and video camera on tripods...pikelets were kindly served by Sandra...that's crumpets to you and me! Indeed, as the minutes passed and an hour with no sign of them...Waxwings, that is, we were beginning to feel that they had finally departed back to their native country!





We sat in the garden and were soon rewarded with the local bird life. Amazingly, a Nuthatch visited the sunflower-heart feeder just 5 feet away! I couldn't move to get my camera but Sandra quietly snapped a photo. A pair of Great Tits kept visiting the nest box, two Goldfinches drank water on this warm morning, the odd Collard Dove and Wood Pigeon pecked at the ground and a pair of Robins were constantly around our feet. Yes, both Robins were very trusting and one even perched on one of my tripods not two feet away! But it got better...one of the Robins landed on my knee as I sat in the sun-chair! Sandra grabbed a photo and I hope to show it here soon! With time, I suspect that Sandra would be able to get at least one of the pair to eat from her hand, but it would require enormous patience. A Sparrowhawk slowly circled overhead against the blue sky and headed towards my garden.

Finally at 9:30am the Waxwings flew over and moments later came back and alighted in the same sycamore tree as yesterday. Now we would get much more detailed views and wow, what a view! Looking through the scope showed the pinkish colouring and yellow flashes of the birds' markings. I counted thirteen individuals, Sandra, fifteen. These must've been the same individuals as yesterday. The Waxwings stayed for around 20 minutes and then at some unknown signal they took to the air and away. Well that was well worth the time spent waiting.

What a great time to spend an Easter weekend, in the Sun watching the birds!

Postscript: That morning was the last that the Waxwings were seen in that sycamore or anywhere else around here. It is now about the time of the season that they should return to Scandinavia, maybe these have. But there are still plenty being seen around the country.

Friday 22nd: For the past few days, Sandra had noticed that Waxwings were flocking to a distant sycamore tree. Using binoculars from her kitchen/back garden, she can see these birds amongst the blossoming and unfolding leaves. So this morning at 8:30am, I joined her in the Waxwing-watch and I wasn't disappointed! For twenty minutes we watched as the birds, 15 of them ate the buds. Amazing, but I should've fetched my scope! After the show we walked over to Sandra's local patch; Church Wood Plantation. Quite a few Wrens were about calling, Robins and Blue/Great Tits. The Bluebells were also out and look like they had been for the past few days.

We wandered back down the road towards my local patch; Kirk Moor Plantation Wood. Here we saw my first Black Cap of the year - a male. A pair of mating Wrens were active with, I presume the male holding a small white ball of fluff or wool in it's beak. An unidentified warbler was flying around and harassing the Wrens. It kept flying to the undergrowth were we believe it had or was making a nest. Chiffchaffs were abundant, at least four and we even managed to see one after some astute tracking by Sandra! Like Church Wood, the Bluebells were out in here too but not as many as in previous years. I also managed to glimpse a couple of Jays amongst the blossoming leaves! That was a first in this wood for a few years for me!

Monday 11th: The two Blackbird chicks that hatched a few days ago, appear to be doing well thanks to the constant feeding by both the male and female adult Blackbirds. Unfortunately the third egg has failed to hatch. We left it in the nest for a few days to make sure it was an unfertilised egg and then removed it.

January 2011 - Sandra's Garden

Saturday 8th: A dry but cold and sometimes sunny day, I called round to Sandra's house on an errand and as she gets a good variety of birds, took my camera along... just in case. Well as I've said before on this blog, there must be something in the trees over there as Goldfinches, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Great Tits and Blue Tits are regular visitors to her garden.

This afternoon a few Goldfinches fed from the feeders, always a pleasing sight. A couple of Greenfinches provided competition for sunflower hearts while a couple of male Chaffinches alternated between the feeders and the ground.

Over on the other side of the garden, a Great Tit, Blue Tit, Dunnock and Robin were in the buddleia bush. Every now and then a Collard Dove or Wood Pigeon would touchdown, scattering the smaller birds to the neighbouring gardens.

October 2010 - Sparrowhawk visits Sandra!

Sunday 31st October: A Sparrowhawk alighted in Sandra's garden and she emailed me a couple of photos that she snapped of the bird prior to it taking a Goldfinch! Quite possibly this predator has moved into the area to supplement it's food intake during the autumn\winter. Gardens that attract numerous song birds through residents putting out seed etc, will provide an easy and abundant food source for falcons and other predators. It's just "one of those things", nature's "dark side". On a lighter note, Sandra also sent me a photo of a fledgling Robin taken earlier in the year... lovely photo Sandra! And would you believe it... a Nuthatch on one of her feeders too!

May 2010: Meanwhile....a Greenfinch!

Tuesday 4th: While the Blackbirds and House Sparrows have been the center of the action with their antics of flying into the kitchen (see previous posts), we have had a three visits in as many days from a male Greenfinch! As can be seen by the pics taken by Mel, he gorged himself on sunflower hearts. Greenfinches do tend to be messy feeders and you can quite clearly see the husks stuck to his beak! This Greenfinch has been today, last Sunday, Friday and last Thursday! Meanwhile all his mates will be around at "Sandra's Bird Cafe", just 200 yards around the corner! But we have also had a female chaffinch along with a male visiting on odd days. Unfortunately no images of these are available.

Since the Winter, we have had a steady number of Feral Pigeons visiting the bird table. It started with a couple and over the Winter, the numbers grew until we now have at least 8 or 9 regulars (all distinguishable by their colours\markings) that at specific times during the day, will visit the bird table. For instance, around 7am, a pair of white-come-brown Pigeons spend time on the table. As can be seen from the image below, they appear to be a pair as they always arrive and depart together. Of course the question arises: "are the Feral Pigeons, birds from the Town center, from someone's Pigeon loft in the local area..or are they countryside Feral Pigeons?" When out and about, I have only once seen a large congregation (apart from the town center), of Feral Pigeons, in the countryside and that was at North Cave.

October 2009 - Sandra's Bird Cafe!

Saturday 31st: An early morning start for me as I'd arranged to go over to view the exotic birds that visit her garden. Although Sandra's house is only 200 yards away, it is situated on a road lined with trees. Where you find mature trees you will also find a variety of song birds. The contrast between our garden which contains conifers but no trees lining the road - in fact the nearest trees being the wood some 500 yards distant - and the road where Sandra lives couldn't be more different! We tend to get House Sparrows, Starlings, Collard Doves and Wood Pigeons with the occasional Goldfinch or very rarely, Greenfinch while 200 yards away can be found more exotic birds such as Goldfinch, Greenfich, Chaffinch and Nuthatch. Crumpets (Pikelets!) and tea for breakfast... thanks Sandra. Will have to make another visit later this week to get some close-up shots. Below are the edited highlights from the video that I took through Sandra's kitchen window! Thanks Sandra!

APRIL 2009 - Sandra's Garden Birds!!

Monday 27th, a friend of ours, who lives about 200 yards away as the Crow flies, has sent us these photos of the birds in her garden. The garden gets visited by flocks of Goldfinches and Greenfinches at a time... and we get the odd solitary one! I believe that it is down to the type of trees that surround her street whereas our street has no trees and we only have conifers in the garden. The photo of the MISTLE THRUSH with the worms is, you'll agree, a very good image. She also managed to snap this Sparrowhawk female with a recent Wood Pigeon kill! Sandra gets such a wide diversity of birds, even a GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER visited her garden last week!!!!