Wildlife - wot you got?

[smallblueplanet]

Clean water is really important to birds all year round. And watching birds drink and bathe is fascinating (well I think).

My next door neighbours have two washing lines - one for all the peanut feeders, they've put a frisbee at either end to keep the squirrels off!

We've got a nyjer feeder on ours and two peanut feeders hanging from a metal pole (they look like enlarged double-headed shepards crooks), also bought one of those plastic domed feeders to give our robins a chance (don't have a bird table and am wary about feeding on the ground because of vermin).

Oh, except there is a tea plate on the ground that we feed 'value sultanas' to our blackbird 'Spot' on. He's called Spot cos he's got a white spot on his chest, which makes him easy to spot! He has trained us now and when the sultanas run out (very frequently ) he sets up a singing & chacking sound to let us know. Sometimes he actually comes right up to the patio windows and 'seems' to look in at us!

[SueA]

Jennie, that giant caterpillar episode made me heave! She nearly pulled the poor little baby's head off trying to get it back out.
Slug, you could try one of those sonic cat scarers in your garden until it gets established but you'll never completely keep them away from the birds. You could feed the birds on the ground in the centre of your garden if it is quite large so the birds will see any cats coming but not if you only have a tiny lawn as they will be cat food!
Squirrel you're lucky to get Tawny owls, I think I have heard owls once or twice at night in the gardens around here in the past & caught glimpses, they seem to be quite small, don't know which kind they are, but not heard any recently.
SBP., we have a blackbird who eats all the grapes off the vine over our arch & defends it against any other birds trying to get any, he's had scraps with lots of starlings in the past! Yours will be knocking on the door next demanding food.

[sewer rat]

I just get the usual culprits in the garden withthe occassional oddity passing through but whilst at work on the various farms and crofts in Easter Ross, I have had the chance to see a lot of wildlife - from dolphins and seals to harriers, ospreys and falcons and lots in between. Have seen barn owls regularly - there is one who sits on a fencepost at the entrance / exit from the town most mornings about 6:30 am. Have also released a Tawny owl from a humane rabbit trap - that was fun

[Squirrel]

Put up a home made bird box about I suppose two or three weeks ago - this afternoon I heard cheeping coming from it! Anyone know what the sitting time is for blue tits? Seems awfully fast!

[JennieAtkinson]

Reminds me that last year we had an oyster catcher who built a nest in a fence post alongside the B9078 (Tingwall to Scalloway Road). Wasn't bothered about cars, but hated people coming close!

[sewer rat]

Oystercatchers don't care where they nest / scrape to lay their eggs - we also had a strange one last year - on the verge of the A9 (the main route to the North of Scotland from Perth) about two ft from the traffic - had two chicks who both survived and also made the county papers

[pigletwillie]

Two boxes of blue tits on the plots have just fledged but no action at home in the boxes there. We also have a wrens nest under one 1000litre water container and a "site" pheasant

[Alice]

Had a spotted wood pecker today. We don't usually have them here so will be interesting to see if it sticks around.

[valmarg]

Yesterday. I had Mr and Mrs Blackbird feeding a juvenile in the greenhouse while I was watering the tomatoes, cucumbers etc. Mr and Mrs carried on as if I wasn't there, running about amongst the pots, but junior got a bit fractious when it couldn't get through a pane of glass.

valmarg

[JennieAtkinson]

Two broody whooper swans who did not like being chased by my dog. She obviously ruined their pillow talk!

Oyster catchers are in abundance at the moment and obviously protecting nests. They even dive bomb us, although I am fairly certain we are not in nest areas. (Birdie Wife - can you tell me, do they try and put you off where their nests are? I try and keep away from where I think the nests are, but they follow us on our walk. We walk the same area every day.)

BBc Cameramen - hope I wasn't filmed disturbing a nest!

[Birdie Wife]

Oystercatchers are among those really annoying birds that shout at you even if you're quite far from the nest. When I was working in Orkney on a tiny reserve up on Papa Westray I counted 83 pairs of oystercatchers , so you couldn't walk anywhere without at least one round your head going "cleep cleep cleep cleep cleep..." - you get the picture. Maybe it's because they are so well marked that they shout when a potential predator is still a fair way off. More crytically coloured birds like golden plovers and snipe can afford to sit tight for a while and see if you just wander off again, but if you get too close they tend to get off the nest very quietly and move away, then start calling from the opposite direction to try and draw you away . If that doesn't work, sometimes they try the broken wing distraction technique that's in all the text books.

BBC filming us too, not for Springwatch but for a Titchmarsh programme coming out in 2007. Watch out for great diving beetles, short-eared owls and block throated divers with chicks!

[JennieAtkinson]

Thanks BW. Let us know nearer the date when your programme is on. Sounds interesting!

[Slug]

Thanks SBP and SueA for the useful info! I like the sound of your peanut bird feeders SBP - and since it's on a metal pole, they should be safe from the cats! 'Spot' sounds like a right character!

I have a reasonably large lawn, so by putting the bird food in the centre of the lawn, the birds should have some safety from the cats. I have tried that before, but the rooks and the jackdaws clean up in about 2 minutes (and fight on the lawn with each other) before the 'nice' little birds get a look in!

Something like an enclosed peanut feeder sounds like it might do the trick - and I like the sound of the sonic cat scarers - will keep you posted if I get any more wildlife!

[Alice]

Definately got wood peckers ! We have sometimes had them passing through in the past but last few days cock, hen and chick feeding at the bird feeder
Took this pic of the chick sitting on a fence. Sorry the colour is not too good. The cock is bright red underneath and the chick has a bright red head. So pied wood peckers are new ones for our collection

[fruit&vegvirgin]

found a frog in the frisee last night!!! was just scissoring off a few leaves for salad, and there it was, bless its little (well, actually quite big) heart. obviously I washed the salad thoroughly before we ate it.