Published on 12, July, 2020
Sharing this on here because I know there are other birdwatchers around, just had a great spotted woodpecker on my bird feeders in my back garden! Had my binoculars next to me so got a good look
Love both of them! We have a nature reserve with lakes not too far from our house so I do see and hear them flying over sometimes.
They haven't visited my garden because they aren't garden birds, but I hear lapwings and curlews this time of year
Hi. I am wondering if they were starlings as they come in flocks and eat bugs in the grass. Blackbirds are very territorial and tend to see others off unless their own recent fledglings.
They're some of my favourite garden visitors, we have a couple of local pairs and I love watching them hop about.
They really have, stable, sizeable populations through a large portion of the Midlands down through Oxfordshire and further south, as well as a good population back in Scotland, plus the Welsh population is now much larger and has recovered well from the genetic bottleneck caused by the tiny population size of mid 20th Century. I think at one point DNA analysis showed that the entire Welsh population was descendants of a single female bird.
Yes, absolutely. Although if you'd asked me 20 years ago if I'd be excited to see starlings in the garden I'd probably have sworn at you, they were a bit of a pest then, going through all the food in one fell swoop.
Their wee orange beaks are so vibrant
I like blackbirds. They look spooky especially when they are in and on old buildings.
I had a flock of blackbirds (about four and twenty I think) descend onto my garden the other evening.
The grass was at just the right length - recently cut but with enough regrowth to give them a good tradeoff between visibility and cover, and I think that's what they liked. I watched them do their thing for ages - hopping about between the grass, the ivy covered bordering wall, and the apple tree. It felt nice to have been chosen. Well, that my garden was.
Oh neat, so they have made a real comeback then.
At least it's always a pleasant surprise though when old birds suddenly fly in to your garden. It always leaves me feeling in a happy mood.
I was talking to my mum about it earlier, we used to have flocks of starlings visiting the garden but it's now a rarity for me to see any at all in the garden. I had a lone one visit yesterday and it was such a surprise to see it.
There's not a lot of pigeons here anymore I've noticed.
It's strange how over time some birds disappear and new regulars occur.
Does it?! I must watch, I hadn't realised. I know there's a push for #30dayswild from the Wildlife Trusts for June, I posted about it a few days ago.
They're one of the big success stories for conservation in the UK. They were down to a really small population in the mid-60's in Wales having become extinct in England and Scotland, but through conservation and increased legislation on pesticides they slowly started to increase before the millennium, then had a population boom after. They kind of one of my special interests.
I think they have had a bit of conservation success locally here because I see loads of Red kites now compared to a decade ago.
Here in the countryside I see a lot of birds of prey.
Incredible to watch them suddenly dive for their prey, usually a rabbit. Poor rabbits though.
I think birds look very graceful and almost prehistoric in a way.
I have just discovered Spring watch starts tonight. I recall visiting the reserve as a child and seeing a Dartford Warbler.
I prefer the sound of the collared dove too. They are also smaller and I think more attractive.
Yes, red kites are amazing. So agile. We get buzzards and sparrowhawks round here too. Seeing birds really makes me happy.