Friday at the Flicks

While there is an absence of feeders at the Birdy Bistro the Greenfinches have taken advantage of the Sunflower seed heads I had cut off and placed where I could see who eats the seeds. In the past I have always missed this activity. Some of the sounds on the recording are actually of heavy raindrops.



For weeks I have been trying to build up a video of birds visiting the bird bath which has been frustrating as each bird spends very little time there but here are a couple of short clips of a Robin (slowed down to half speed as it was only 10 seconds) and Goldfinches.






Have a great weekend watching the wildlife antics near you.

Birdy Visitors

Yesterday morning the usual multitude arrived for their early morning snack and sat around trying to work out where their feeders had gone. Some, like this Greenfinch, were enterprising and found there was food to be found if you worked at it. When I cut off the ripe Sunflower heads I had placed them where I could see which birds would eat the ripe seeds but up till now there had been easier pickings.



I have been scattering the batch of dried mealworms which the Hedgehogs  turned their noses up at on the grass. Normally it has been slow to be chosen but yesterday a group of Starlings make short work of them.



The rain had started overnight and persisted almost continuously through yesterday and on through most of last night. This Blackbird was scouring the lawn for any easy pickings and in spite of the rain there are only a few drops to be seen on its feathers.



I kept watch on the birds on and off through the day and was pleased that I did not see any sickly looking ones. I can but hope that using Ark-Klens spray disinfectant and a reduction in crowding will bring the outbreak to a speedy end.

Birdy Bistro Temporarily Closed

Over the past week I have seen a growing number of ill and dying birds in the garden. From the symptoms it would appear to be trichomoniasis caused by the dreaded trichomonad parasite. This has been reported in the UK since 2005 and mainly affects finches during late Summer and the Autumn. It can also be passed on to Sparrows. Here it was first noticable among the Greenfinches and now seems to be affecting the Goldfinches as well.

There is no cure for this but as the parasite does not survive for long outside the host the best method of slowing down the spread is by stopping feeding the birds for up to two weeks in the hope they will not gather closely in large numbers.

To this end I have removed all the feeders which the finches use. There is just a peanut feeder, a fat ball feeder and some Sunflower seeds on the table. It is safe to carry on feeding the tit family so that should help keep those going. In effect the Birdy Bistro has had to close down temporarily - for a couple of weeks or until no more ill or dead birds are seen. I had also, as recommended, emptied the bird bath but that was full again this morning after last nights rain so I think I will have to cover it up.

The trichomonad parasite causes a horrible death for those birds affected. More information can be found HERE on the RSPB website.

Where do Birds keep their Camera Detector?

Wouldn't you just Adam and Eve it! Three days with the wildlife camera by the pond - nothing. This morning I didn't fix it up as I was contemplating moving the post which holds it in place to avoid the Sun glinting on the water. Just glanced across to the pond through the kitchen window (11.15 a.m.) and there was Mr(s) Grey Heron stood in the middle of the water. It spotted me almost immediately but I did manage a few shots as it beat a hasty retreat. They are somewhat grainy as the Canon was set to 1000 ISO and there was no time to adjust it.



I am sure that many birds have their own radar to detect the presence of a camera. There is little doubt it will be back so I must make sure the wildlife camera is ready at all times in future.

Worms, Sheep and Creativity

Lovely sunny afternoon yesterday so managed to mow the grass. I wonder how many more times it will need cutting this year. Was someone laughing at me heaving the mower about.



All day there were three Crane Flies on the outside of the kitchen window. They hardly moved at all. I have always know these as Daddy Long Legs for obvious reasons. When a nipper I was terrified of them as dozens (so it seemed)  flitted round the bedroom light. I am assuming these are Crane Flies though they seemed smaller than those normally seen.




Jan of ShySongbird's Twitterings has come to the rescue again. Jan identified the insect as a Folded Wing Crane Fly (Limonia nubeculosa). Thanks Jan.


A regular job here is dropping any uncooked kitchen waste into the wormery. My worms exist on  potato peelings, tea bags and banana skins as their main diet with other bits as they come to hand. Citrous fruit cannot be used but they seem to like Papaya and Melon skins. Damp torn or shredded paper can also be put in, but not the shiny type.

Tiger Worms (Eisenia fetida) are used as they tend to live nearer  the surface and do a great job of turning waste food into a rich compost with the added benefit of producing a liquid which can be diluted to make a useful liquid fertiliser.

Tiger Worms get their name from the pale bands around their reddish bodies. They are smaller and sleeker than your average earthworm. They breed readily and can often be found in compost heaps.



 On our expeditions to the field at the end of the lane I see the sheep in the neighbouring field have been serviced so the Spring lamb production has started. Unfortunately I didn't manage a photo of the ram with his bag of dye tied round his chest but the patches of dye on the rumps of the ewes show that he has finished his part of the process. The ewes seem to look to the ram for protection. Normally if they sense danger they go though a gate into a further field but when the ram was there they gathered round him.



A few days ago Glo of Porcelain Rose left a link to this in a comment. Somebody's creative juices were working overtime again. I do admire people who can think up things like this.





Thank you Glo. Brilliant! Also Glo has left a link to a picture of a sleepy hedgehog HERE. There are many fabulous nature photos on the site.

Last night I got round to watching Autumn Watch and enjoyed the piece about Hedgehogs. Interesting that hibernating animals have to wake up every so often to get rid of waste products, then need a short normal sleep before going back into hibernation.

Another Winter Garden Visitor Returns.

Such a kerfuffle this morning in the bushes just over the fence near the feeders. At first I thought it was just the House Sparrows catching up on the morning gossip. A short while later I spied a couple of Long Tailed Tits flitting near one of the feeders apparently having an argument with the Goldfinches. For quite a while after that I could see a group of about six LTTs dashing about the branches. Never staying in one place for more than a couple of seconds. All the time they were there the other small birds had to keep shuffling about to get out of the way. The Goldies sat on the highest branches keeping well out of it. While the LTTs were there not one bird came down to the feeders though there were many hanging about waiting for their breakfast.



This time I only managed a few grainy shots of the LTTs but now they have returned there should be more opportunities in the future and hopefully some video of them later in the year.

I don't know whether the Heron still visits the pond but I have set up a wildlife camera which I hope will capture a shot of anything which does. The pond is hard to see from the kitchen and the few visitors I have seen are away as soon as they spot any movement. The camera works on movement detection day or night and uses IR flash at night to take b/w photos.

Here the camera is temporarily set up while I find the best position for it and work out how to make it secure enough to leave out all the time. It is battery operated and should run for 30 days before they need changing.



It does detect movement, even some distance away as this capture of Bobby shows. Also interesting are the reflections in the windows. Now I understand why so many birds fly into them at certain times of day.



No doubt it will capture some strange creatures but hopefully not too many like this. ;)

Friday at the Flicks

There are usually a couple of Goldfinches which insist in eating upside-down. I think they found that they don't get involved in squabbles quite so often when they avoid the perches.



I had temporarily taken down one of the feeders while I was cutting down the Sunflower. By the lunch time rush I had forgotten to put it back up so there were six perches less than normal and a sudden influx of House Sparrows.



Have a great weekend everyone.