Determined Magpie

Where there's a will there's a way!
If you can't cling on to a vertical surface to get at the peanut butter, use the battering ram technique:



Video processed at half speed.

Friday at the Flicks - Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tits

A few birds have now started to use the peanut butter feeder I bought from CJ Wildlife - Starlings and House Sparrows have to hover as they can't get a grip on the metal. Blue Tits do manage to stand on the lip:



Long Tailed Tits are rare visitors to my garden so I was very lucky to get these shots a few days ago. It was a pity they used the peanut feeder which was hidden behind the log feeder but they can still be see. As usual they move around in groups and are the only birds I have never seen squabble as they cluster together. Yes, that is the first of the snow you can see falling:



Most amusing to watch, but too short to be filmed, have been attempts made by a couple of Magpies trying to get at the log peanut butter feeder. The fly at it and try to snatch a beak full before they fall back down to earth. As the morning started with a temperature of -2.5C and a layer of snow all the feeders were in great demand. The Winter gathering of Blackbirds in the garden has started which is guaranteed to spark of squabbles when one invades another's private space. Spotted yesterday was a Mistle Thrush which was too timid to stay very long.

Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

Blue Tit at the Peanut Butter Feeder

A regular visitor to the home made feeder.
I have also seen them use the commercial feeder as well.



Really pleased today when I spotted a whole bunch of Long Tailed Tits descend on a peanut feeder. No photo though there may be some video for Friday.

Secret Thoughts of a Hungry Greyhound

Macro on Monday - Guess What

A brilliant week for last Monday's Guess What. All eight guesses were correct. My congratulations and a virtual gold star to Bonnie, Jopan, Adrian, Glo, Wilma, ImaBurdie, TexWisGirl and Shirl. It was indeed a clothes peg / pin:

I wonder how many will be able to identify this week's puzzle photo.

Guess What:

Clue: Could be bad news if you were a fly.

No prizes. Just for fun. Answer and any guesses will be revealed next Monday.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

The Great Spotted Woodpecker visited later in the day than I expected. So far it doesn't seem to have sampled the peanut butter, just the peanuts. That gave a Blue Tit a chance to visit the log feeder:



So far Blue Tits, Great Tits and Starlings have tried out the log feeder.

Home Made Peanut Butter Feeder

A short while ago I saw a peanut butter feeder made from a thin log. The idea being to attract Woodpeckers. As I recently cut down a small tree which was far from healthy I had some bits of branch to try out. Choosing a reasonable thickness of branch I cut off a length, drilled a hole through near the top to put a wire for hanging, then drilled three large holes which I could fill with peanut butter.

 

I am using peanut butter marketed for feeding to birds, it not having the added salt which is found in the varieties for human consumption. At first I wondered whether the butter would be soft enough to manipulate as the jars are meant to be put up horizontally and the peanut butter is fairly solid. As it turned out it was easy to scrape out with a round ended knife and pack in the holes in the log.

After a short trial with the log hanging on a hook I soon found out that Starlings could stand on the top and reach down so I hastily adder a 'roof' to the log. This does not stop them but makes it much harder work as they have to cling to the vertical wood and don't stay very long.

This is a very short first visit (slowed down to half speed) by a Blue Tit so it looks as though the log will attract some visitors.



Here's hoping for a few visits from the Woodpecker which occasionally visits the garden.