ust a quick one with my bird list today:
- Blackbird x 2
- Black-headed Gull x 3
- Blue Tit x 2
- Carrion crow x 1
- Dunnock x 2
- House Sparrow x 3
- Magpie x 2
- Woodpigeon x 1
Author: Gav
Garden Bird List, Scottish Birdfair 2 for 1 tickets and Wexford Starling Murmuration!
A very quiet day in the garden, a couple of magpies back and 1 female bullfinch which was a delight to see, but the weatherās turned cold again and the birds are back to feeding rapidly and not showing much in the way of breeding behaviour.
If youāre thinking of going to the Scottish Birdfair āĀ www.scottishbirdfair.org.ukĀ ā thereās currently an offer on until the 17th of March 2013 where you can get early bird 2 for 1 tickets! Ā You just have to use the voucher codes: Day tickets ā 241RSPBDay or Weekend tickets ā 241RSPBWeekendĀ Iām hoping to go for the weekend this year, I enjoyed last year but only got a day ticket and went on the wet Saturday where there were 2 hour lines for food, hopefully food tents are better prepared this year!
Hereās my garden bird list for today:
- Blackbird x 2
- Blue Tit x 2
- Bullfinch x 1 ā female
- Coal Tit x 1
- Dunnock x 2
- Great Tit x 2
- House Sparrow x 3
- Magpie x 2
- Woodpigeon x 1
you may have noticed thereās still no Starlings, Iāve been watching the Monkey Puzzle tree opposite to see if they roost in there each evening and all Iāve seen in the last few 2 days is woodpigeon and magpies, however the tree does make for a great silhouette.
Monkey Puzzle tree silhouette ā you can also see the silhouette of a woodpigeon just to the left.
although Iāve not seen any starlings about thereās some great scenes in Wexford Ireland:
Wexford StarlingĀ Murmuration
Thanks to BirdGuides Ireland & Edward DelaneyĀ for this video.
Starlings gathering together at at roost site in one of natureās most amazing spectacles, a murmuration. And what makes it even more amazing is that no-one really understands why they perform these amazing aerobatics. Enjoy!
If you want to try and see a starling murmuration yourself BBC Winterwatch have put this list together:Ā Where to experience a starling murmuration this winter.
Dunnocks really into full Spring behaviour!
The Dunnocks were really into spring mood today, lots of flitting and mating behaviour, I hope that theyāll nest somewhere in the garden, obviously the new wildlife hedge: Getting ready for the RSPB hedge*.Ā which was planted in January and looks more like sticks coming out of the ground than trees, but weāve got a niceĀ privetĀ hedge running the whole length of the garden and I know birds have nested there before, hope to see more! Ā Been very busy today so no new photos, but hereās my garden bird list:
- Blackbird x 2
- Blue Tit x 2
- Carrion crow x 2
- Coal Tit x 1
- Dunnock x 4
- House Sparrow x 2
- Woodpigeon x 1
I donāt know where all the Magpies of the last few days have go to.
* Hedge plants that were added to attract garden birds:
This Bird Friendly hedge pack is a bundle of RSPB approved 50 plants.
- 10 x Hawthorn – Crataegus monogyna – frothy white, may flowers in spring and bright red haws in autumn
- 5 x Wild Privet – Ligustrum vulgare – white flowers, black berries
- 5 x Hazel – Corylus avellana – catkins in February, fresh green leaves, nuts in autumn
- 5 x Wild Damson – Prunus domestica – white blossom on black twigs
- 5 x Guelder Rose – Viburnum opulus – lacecap flowers, redcurrant looking berries
- 5 x Blackthorn – Prunus spinosa – fluffy white blossom, black autumn berries
- 5 x Dog Rose – Rosa canina – single white roses, red rose hips in autumn
- 5 x Elderflower – Sambucus nigra – lacy white flowers, maroon berries
- 5 x Crabapple – Malus sylvestris – stunning pink blossom, crabapples in autumn.
First bee of the year, garden bird list, Edinburgh Sunset.
Another great sign of spring for me happened today; my first bee of the year! Ā Very exciting, I was taking a break in the sun, I couldnāt resist it, the light had been streaming in through the windows while I worked on the finance pages forĀ (UPDATE: saverscene now CLOSED due to moving to carer in horticulture hope to have my gardening website up early 2019) & updating the best interest rates for ISAs, Savings and deals on credit cards was nowhere near as interesting as being outside in the sun, so I had to take that break and whilst outside soaking up a few rays of light a bee flew past and settle on a plant in flower, a beautiful blossom tree but sadly Iām unsure what type Iāll try and photos soon and see if anyone can recognise it as the bee seemed to really enjoy it.
Sadly my bird list hasnāt been as exciting as seeing the first bee of the year, there was a lot of noise and many magpies around chasing each other from tree top to tree top around the neighbourhood, was great to watch but more to hear. Ā I also think thereās a small flock of starlings roosting in the monkey puzzle tree opposite my house I was taking photos of the sunset and wasnāt 100% on my birding game but Iāll keep an eye out tomorrow and hopefully be able to add starlings to my local list.
My Garden bird list:
- Blackbird x 2
- Blue Tit x 2
- Carrion crow x 1
- Chaffinch x 1
- Dunnock x 2
- House Sparrow x 2
- Magpie x 16
- Woodpigeon x 1
And as I said before I was photographing the sunsets yesterday, and today, hereās the first picture Iāve had time to look at and size for web from yesterday:
The start of Spring, sound of lawnmowers & a common buzzard.
Many birders and others think of the sound the Cukoo makes as the first sign of spring in the UK, for me it has to be the lawnmower and today a very very sunny day in Edinburgh, in fact t-shirt weather, the suburban streets rang with the sounds of people desperate to remove that 1mm of extra grass that has grown since the final cut in October/November last year. Ā August for my back garden as I wanted places for insects to hide over winter and when snow lay on the lawn, it looked like an icy tundra, thereās a photo of the ice crystals below my garden bird list today. Ā Itāll be a few more weeks before my back garden gets mown.
Todayās bird list includes what Iām pretty sure is a new bird for the year, the common buzzard, it wasnāt in my garden but soaring high above, hereās the list for today:
- Blackbird x 1
- Blue Tit x 1
- Carrion crow x 1 ā looked to have pale wings.
- Common Buzzard x 1
- Dunnock x 3
- House Sparrow x 2
- Magpie x 5
- Woodpigeon x 3
National Nest Box Week & my garden bird list.
Been pretty busy today so didnāt get a great lot of time for bird watching, did get to see 5 MagpiesĀ squabblingĀ and making loads of noise which was exciting and entertaining, also the coal tits seemed flightier and more suspicious of activity in the garden, not sure if it was a cat in the garden or it theyāre starting to breed, I hope not the later as Iāve not finished cutting back the hedges and unsure if the weather will turn again, Iāve also not got my sparrow nestbox up yet! Ā Will try to have them up very soon as it is currently NationalĀ nest box week.
Hereās my garden bird list for today:
- Blackbird x 2
- Blue Tit x 1
- Carrion crow x 1 ā flyover
- Coal Tit x 2
- Dunnock x 1
- Magpie x 5
- Woodpigeon x 1
Getting ready for nesting season!
A very sunny day here in Edinburgh, spring feels really in full swing and we were cutting back a privet hedge today to make sure itās done before the birds start nesting. Ā Found an old nest in the hedge from last year, which hopefully gives promising signs that there maybe nest building and young birds in the garden later this year. Ā Hopefully Iāll be out with the camera a bit more soon, my hands are starting to feel slightly better, hereās the list for today:
- Blackbird x 1
- Blue Tit x 1
- Carrion Crow x 1 ā flyover
- Coal Tit x 1
- Dunnock x 1
- House Sparrow x 3
- Magpie x 1
- Woodpigeon x 1
Lovely sunny day in Edinburgh Scotland, great for a garden bird list.
A very sunny and beautiful day in Edinburgh which produced a decent garden bird list including the 3 main tits, only 1 of each but I was still happy with that!
- Blackbird x 1
- Blue Tit x 1
- Coal Tit x 1
- Dunnock x 1
- Great Tit x 1
- House Sparrow x 6
- Magpie x 1
- Woodpigeon x 1
This weeks Bird Guides photo of the week is a great pic of a crested tit ā Bird Guides ā Crested TitĀ ā a fantastic shot of a very startled looking bird.
Small amounts of snow brings out a few birds. Plus photo of a Robin.
Today started off slightly white, pretty sure itās the first snow for just over 2 weeks and then finished very wet. Ā The birds were loving a left over vegan pancake from yesterday. Ā The bad weather brought out the birds today and one of the longest lists Iāve had in a few days:
- Blackbird x 4
- Blue Tit x 1
- Carrion crow x 4 ā fly overs
- Chaffinch x 1
- Coal Tit x 1
- Dunnock x 1
- Feral Pigeon x 1
- House Sparrow x 3
- Robin x 1
- Woodpigeon x 3
Hopefully get Robins nesting in the garden this year, below is a photo of one that was collecting my hair that Iād had cut and put out for the birds:
Robin collecting hair for nest building
Not sure why but colours have washed out a lot on export.
The Tesco Robin is back and a new species for my year list.
The other day I added the Robin in Corstorphine Tesco ā 4th of February 2013Ā ā I was down there last night, not sure if it was after midnight but my guess is it would have been or very close so Iāve added it to todayās list. Ā In good news I have finally managed to add Starlings to my list for the year.
- Blackbird x 1
- Chaffinch x 2
- Dunnock x 1
- House Sparrow x 3
- Magpie x 1
- Starlings x 5 ā fly overs
- Woodpigeon x 3
At Tesco Corstorphine:
- Robin x 1
Hopefully the starlings will start to show in the garden rather than just flying over, and I get chances to photograph them like this:
Starlings feeding time
