ChatterBank4 mins ago
Wild Birds
Do you get any rare visitors to your garden during the winter?
After several years of not seeing a single thrush (Derbyshire) & recently asking about them on here we had one yesterday!! He sat & sang for 15 minutes in a tall tree - beautiful!!
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.He flew a long way noddy, because oddly enough I saw a Mistle Thrush yesterday as well - and he was singing his heart out.
We were on our way to a RSPB reserve in Weymouth and thumbing through next years diary I found a bit where it said that on mild days in winter Mistle Thrushes can be heard singing. Mind you it wasn't in our garden - does that count?
We have Redwings, Fieldfares and a few Golfinches, but the bird I would love to see most of all in the winter is the Waxwing, but in Dorset there's no chance.
Apricot it's funny how some people say they have no sparrows but lots of thrushes - it's the opposite for me. We used to have an owl too but unfortunately lots of people cut their trees down nowadays & he's disappeared.
Corky I know what you mean about cats - I've had to make my bird table a maximum security unit to stop them jumping on it!
Cetti - glad you spotted my progress report & I hope you enjoyed the bird reserve!
sdd, it's great to have so many wild birds - since extending the menu in my garden I get lots of lovely ones too. Occasionally I get a really unusual (for this area) visitor. A couple of years ago a new road was being built & I think it forced a lot of the birds into local gardens - I'm pretty sure we had reed buntings for a while, but I'm no expert! Have a hawk too who usually goes for the collared doves, probably because they're a bit dopey!
Fp - I would have gladly swapped your quacking ducks for the foul-mouthed rowing young couple that I could hear in the street at that very same time!! (Glad the Boa's are still around!)
Dom I used to think that wild birds were a great cheap entertainment but when I worked it out it actually costs more to feed them than my little dog. Well worth it tho'!
Gypsy - you bake especially for the birds?! Wow that's real dedication - hope they can still get off the ground after such a lovely feast!
By the way, has anybody seen my nut feeder? That thieving little squirrel has taken it!!
Amazes me that they know their way from Africa to our house in Norfolk! As you say, they usually arrive on bank holiday weekend and then spend a good few weeks circling around before nest building. The babes roosted on a shelf that can be seen from my front door window. One day I opened the front door and the four babies all flew in! What fun we had rounding them all up. Two days later they did it again! If anyone knows whether they will use last year's nests please let me know. If they prefer a 'new build' I will take the old nests down.
Our house martins never returned after we changed the windows - obviously didn't approve of double glazing! I miss them!
Oh noddy, just returned to your post to see if anyone has garden rarities, and spotted a question from my 'Boa sisters'! Hope it's not too late.
Swallows generally do return to their old nests, but need to do repair jobs, so this will happen if there has been a rainy spell as wet mud is required for the 'cement'.
Sadly a lot of nests are blown down and destroyed during the winter due to heavy winds and rain, so if possible FP, leave them until the spring and then remove them if they are too badly damaged.