Gardening for Wildlife and Wildlife in the Garden

[Bat Macdui]

They are migrating back to the Arctic, flying overnight. It'll be having a break before it gets back on track. Especially as the weather was bad the last couple of weeks, it could have got over tired or slightly blown off course. Autumn is brilliant on coasts and estuaries for migratory species popping down for a rest, occasionally they turn up on rivers as well.

[Ella77]

Do you think it’s probably ok then? I’m not sure what my plan is if you say no.

[Bat Macdui]

Absolutely fine. I mean, if it's close enough for you to feed it, then feed it, it is probably hungry and tired. But it's just going to chill and regroup then get flying again.

[Ella77]

Thanks. Should I offer it food? I have floating swan and duck food.

[Bat Macdui]

Yes, it'll give it a bit of help getting energy levels back up. Honestly, things turn up like this all (random birds in what seems to be the wrong place) over everywhere in migratory periods, have a breather and pop on. Ships in the north sea get all sorts of things hanging off their railings for a day having a rest. And it's what keeps twitchers batting all over the country.

[Ella77]

Ok, thanks. I do worry an awful lot about birds (like... a LOT). I tried to get some food to it earlier, but there were too many waves.


Fret, fret . Sorry!

[Bat Macdui]

I bet it's flown off again over to the cold bit for the winter now.

I forgot about this thread. I would like to let you all know that now the weather is colder, the greenfinches are back.

[Ella77]

I hope the little guy is ok.

Back for food?

[Bat Macdui]

Yes, I would think so. I get green finches, the occasional black cap and song thrushes in the winter. I assume there's enough about for them to fend for themselves in summer but once it's chillier they like a nice hit of sunflower hearts. And the thrushes like a chunk of chopped apple. If they can get to it before the rampaging squirrels have scoffed the lot.

[Ella77]

I’m still feeding the local waterfowl because the moorhens had a second clutch late in the year and I worried about them not having enough to eat. I’m only feeding them every few days now though, as the place has become a drop-in centre for an awful lot of snackish mallard boys and it’s costing me a fortune. Also the pigeons must have their peanuts still .

[Rebel Pebble]

Aww, hurrah for returning greenfinches and Ella's migrating duck having a quick rest stop. Things are slower here at the moment, except for the regular tit mob but even they aren't devouring the fatballs with quite such gusto.

I swear a load of geese flew over last night when it was late dusk, pretty much dark. They were making a huge racket. It took me a minute to place what the hell the noise was.

[Bat Macdui]

Oh, a couple of moorhen pairs on the canal had really late clutches this year as well. Babies in September. I meant to look up to see if this was common. I hope they manage to pack enough fat on to be ready for winter. I absolutely adore a moorhen chick. Fluffy black blobs on spindles.

I *still* have a little gang of feral pigeons who started coming by in March, presumably when town stopped having enough dropped pies to keep them all in Greggs lard. I've got quite fond of them and even though I have a policy of non-intervention (unless it's cat intervention) I will occasionally bang on the window to stop the wood pigeon bullying them.

[H1ppychick]

Where I am sitting in my study I get a great view of the back garden - I'm forever seeing small birds flitting in and out of the ceanothus, there was another which was pretty much hovering next to my neighbour's decking balcony yesterday (not sure why - maybe grabbing spiders). About half an hour ago I saw a robin staking a territorial claim in the ceanothus too.

There is a squirrel which regularly does a Mission Impossible assault course along the fence, leaping onto decking railings, scaling up and down decking balcony supports and so on.

I do need to get my windows cleaned so my view is a bit less blurry, though.

[Ella77]

I do like a pidge.

We have a number of local crows with whom I’m friendly (I helped one when it had a bad leg, and they remembered ) but when we were walking into town earlier, there was a group of about 30 of them all flying together. Why would crows all band together? (My immediate assumption was that an earthquake was coming .) And yes, they were all coming from the direction of the Tower .

[Pippedydeadeye]

I saw a green woodpecker in the garden at work this week. It was amazing, I got really close until done loud idiots burst out of the building next door.

There were a pair of jays in the trees near my house last Friday too.

[Bat Macdui]

I love green woodpeckers. They're rare in the north. I saw one on a limestone pavement walk in north Lancashire once, but before that I've only spotted them in Wales. And on Bake Off.

There's currently a bit of a goldfinch v nuthatch war going on here. The nuthatches are winning. Which is almost good to see, it's usually the goldfinches bullying everything else (and each other).

[Pippedydeadeye]

I’ve only ever seen one nuthatch.

[Duophonic]

We get one nuthatch at a time.

Exciting news this morning. Randomly a grey wagtail landed on my patio and hopped around for a while, there's one up at the nature reserve five minutes away from me and I think it was the same one.

THEN...the finches on my feeders suddenly took flight and a sparrowhawk burst through the trees, timing it perfectly to go straight through the cloud of finches spearing one along the way. It landed briefly at my roses then took off with its breakfast.

[Rebel Pebble]

Oh wow, Duo! What an amazing thing to witness.

[Rebel Pebble]

I'm getting a bit fed up with the BTO survey gaslighting me about seeing bumblebees, ever since we hit November. Look, you bastard thing, it's fat, furry, stripey and buzzy and bumps against the patio doors. It's a fucking bumblebee. I can't help the mild Autumn we're having can I?