Another terrible day in my garden, a lot of people working in their gardens around us at the moment, sadly didnāt even get a blackbird!
- Blue Tit x 1 ā heard only
- Coal Tit x 1
- Dunnock x 2
- Magpie x 2
- Woodpigeon x 1
Author: Gav
Bird list for April 11th, do any other birders collect or take interest in interest rates?
Iāve been busy with my parents here again but have been trying to watch the garden as much as possible. Ā Iāve also been doing a lot of DIY and work on the websites I do for actual work, now ISA Season is behind us a few banks and building societies are finally increasing interest rates for cash savings, best interest rates for term deposits and instant access for the UK can now be seen here: saverscene.co.uk/savings/Ā (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession) and for the highest interest rates in Australia: saverscene.com.au/finance/savings/Ā (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession) I personally find the interest rate differences between the countries fascinating, I donāt know if itās something with people interested in birds and collecting that find mathematical problems and things like interest rates interesting? Ā I know pretty much all birders I speak to collected stamps, cards or coins as a kid, many still collect things as adults, Iāve noticed Dr Who Figures, Star Wars Figures and other such things, or are obsessive list makers. Ā I donāt have the cash for collecting, but like to keep lists and updated pages for those sorts of things. Ā I like to see comparisons, graphs and charts, any other birds out there the same?
My garden bird list, and a few from just near Murrayfield, for April 11th 2013:
- Blackbird x 2 ā males fighting for territory
- Carrion crow x 1 in garden, 3 mobbing the common buzzard.
- Common Buzzard x 1 ā getting mobbed by a crow on the edge of the western approach near Murrayfield, Edinburgh
- Dunnock x 3
- Magpie x 2 ā not sure if it was the nesting pair Iāve seen around a bit
- Starlings x 2 ā and not the evening murmurationsĀ as usual.
- Woodpigeon x 5
Mating rituals of the Woodpigeonā¦ Also very few birds again.
Itās been a slow few days, itās got grey and cold again, the only highlight of bird watching today was getting to watch the mating behaviour of the woodpigeons, a fascinating dance that happens right under our noses and people donāt seem to even bother watching! Ā I added some notes as I watched the birds today.
- Blackbird x 1
- Carrion crow x 3 ā one was bouncing up and down on twigs at the tops of small trees, it looked as it was trying to break off branches for nesting.
- Coal Tit x 1
- Dunnock x 1
- Woodpigeon x 3 ā the mating rituals were funny today, a male was displaying to a female on top of some metal chimneys and the sound they were making it reminded me of tap dancers, absolutely fantastic!
Talking of mating behaviour you have to see the video footage of a Peacock spider from Australia.
I was hoping to write up a bit about the Fly On the Wall Wildlife CamerasĀ that I mentioned yesterday, but once again itās after 23.00 and Iāve been exhausted by a long day and very sore ankles. Ā Hopefully tomorrow will bring more information about these camera setups and their voucher code.Ā
Very small bird list, voucher code for Fly On The Wall wildlife cameras!
Feel really bad, didnāt have a lot of time bird watching today was in the garden a lot of the day, digging up dead trees and removing awful plastic under the soil. Ā Other than the LTTs everything else seemed scared to show itself. Ā If I wasnāt in the garden I was helping my Dad remove old pipe and cable work from under the house. Ā Very few birds seen today 
I may need to get a few wildlife cameras setup so I can see more of the birds, Iāve started looking into it and the guys at
Fly On The Wall ā security and wildlife cameras (sadly closed)Ā have given us an exclusive voucher code for April 2013 this is an exclusive code for a 12% discount on all wildlife and bird cameras, voucher code:Ā WBIST12
Iāll do a bit more about it in a post tomorrow.
- Blackbird x 1
- Dunnock x 1
- Long-tailed tit x 2
even the Woodpigeons didnāt show up!
Cold day in Edinburgh, ISA updates for new season, more DIY, and a few extra birds!
Itās Monday so that means a very busy day updating the best interest rates for ISAs, Savings Accounts and deals on Credit Cards, ISA season has started for the tax year of 2013/14 and thereās a new allowance, so do try and make the most of your ISA by getting in early, you can find the best interest rates here: saverscene.com/isa-individual-savings-accounts/Ā (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession) – hope that helps, if you do have any questions do feel free to ask!
Due to the changing of the tax year ISA season has beenĀ incrediblyĀ busy for me, very few birds were seen today, but I did notice that the female bullfinch was only around very briefly and that it was much skinnier (may have been a different bird) than the one I saw last week, the male continued to forage by itself. Ā Does anyone know; Do femaleās loose a lot of body size after laying eggs? Ā I sure hope theyāre nesting near by!
The Garden bird list was pretty much all the usual suspects, plus I saw a couple of Jackdaws from the car in Corstorphine Edinburgh, not far from the house, plus a pied wagtail when I was out at Hermiston Gait getting even more paint and other DIY tools, always feels odd when I donāt have the right tool as I had everything I needed back in Australia, but due to carpal tunnel Iāve not done as much mending as I would normally and my dad keeps asking whereās this or that and end up going to buy one, once again Iām rambling but hereās my garden bird list:
- Blackbird x 1
- Blue Tit x 3
- Bullfinch x 2 ā the female looked a lot smaller than last week! Hope that means sheās laid some eggs somewhere.
- Carrion crow x 4 fly overs
- Coal Tit x 1
- Dunnock x 3 ā really showing mating behaviour.
- Jackdaws x 2 ā from car in Corstorphine
- Long-tailed tit x 2
- Magpie x 2
- Pied Wagtail x 1 ā Car park Hermiston Gait ā West Edinburgh, once again back at B&Q for more DIY gear!
- Woodpigeon x 1
Sunday 7th of April Garden Bird list, went to see Chris Addison last night.
Another very busy Sunday with DIY and out to comedy last night, saw Chris Addison a regular on Mock the Week, good fun! Ā Was exhausted when I got home so hereās yesterdays list of birds:
- Blackbird x 1 ā singing from 5.30am today
- Blue Tit x 2 ā getting very territorial
- Carrion crow x 1
- Coal Tit x 1
- Dunnock x 3 ā also very territorial.
- Long-tailed tit x 2 ā thought I was going to miss the charming couple that visit the garden, but they showed up about 5pm
- Magpie x 2
- Woodpigeon x 3
Festival of the Spoken Nerd, Garden Bird list & night time visitor.
This first entry was from last night on the way to an Edinburgh to see a Science Festival show ā we went to see Festival of the Spoken NerdĀ and on the way there I spotted a common buzzard just near Murrayfield Stadium. Ā The show was excellent full of fun science ideas and a good amount of comedy.
- Common Buzzard ā seen on side of road.
Today wasnāt a great day for birdwatching instead a lot more DIY and when not doing that trying to stay off my feet as my ankle tendons are popping out a little too often, all very frustrating! Ā On arriving home last night I took chewie out for a final visit to the garden and heard the wonderful call of a tawny owl. Ā Hereās my garden bird list for today:
- Blackbird x 2
- Blue Tit x 2
- Carrion crow x 2 flying over
- Coal Tit x 1
- Dunnock x 3
- Long-tailed tit x 2 ā they were around almost every time I was outside today.
- Magpie x 2
- Tawny Owl x 1 -heard only
- Woodpigeon x 4
Garden bird list for the 5th of April, noticed the LTTs were getting bossed by the BTs
Finally back on form and getting my bird list up earlier today, once again itās from my garden, I really have to get out to a few places, my ankleās are slowly improving, hereās my Garden Bird List for April 5th:
- Blackbird x 1 ā was singing from 4am, but I was up anyway due to Chewie my dog being very ill. Poor guy!
- Blue Tit x 2
- Coal Tit x 1
- Dunnock x 3
- Long-tailed tit x 1, it was feeding on the RSPB Suet Cakes, I also noticed that the Blue Tits were chasing it off the fat.
- Woodpigeon x 3
Garden Bird list for 4th of April 2013. RSPB Ā£4 off Suet Cakes.
Iāve beenĀ incrediblyĀ busy, the Edinburgh Science festival is on and a few friends have been up from England for it and keeping me out late at night when I normally get my bird updates done. Ā I had great sightings of the Long-tailed tits, Iām pretty sure theyāre nesting in the hedge, or in the neighbours garden, I saw them collecting nesting materials and were back and forth through the hedge very quickly! Ā If you do have Long-tailed tits visiting they love RSPB suet cakes, thereās currently Ā£4 off them for the next few days, Iāve done a post about them here:Ā RSPB Ā£4 off Suet cakes – check the latest RSPB Sales they just love them!
Also had much better views of a Common Buzzard, one was much lower today, still getting mobbed by gulls, also pretty sure blackbirds are nesting in the garden! Ā Nothingās taken up the nest box Iāve put up yet.
In sadder news I was getting the greenhouse ready for some plants, was left by previous owner of the house, very helpful for salad growth over the winter! Ā However as I was looking around I found a frog had baked in there from the heat, I have started checking it every time Iām outside and going to try and find a way to get a bit of regular water in there!
Now for the Garden bird list for the 4th of April ā sorry itās a bit late, again!
- Blackbird x 1
- Blue Tit x 2
- Carrion crow x 2 ā flyovers.
- Coal Tit x 1
- Common Buzzard x 1
- Dunnock x 3
- Long-tailed tit x 2
- Magpie x 2
- Woodpigeon x 3
Bird list for April 3rd 2013, and British Bees need help!
Sorry my bird list is a day late, been very hectic with my parents over from Australia, theyāve been wanting to see a fair few things, and Ā get a lot done around the house, also with UK ISA season happening at the moment Iāve been answering a lot of emails trying to help people save and make the most they can out of ISAs (itās not great out there at the moment!), as well as keeping up to date with the Australian finance pages:Ā Saver Scene Australia: FinanceĀ (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession) so far just got the savings done for this week, but about to start on credit cards and best bank accounts. Ā These websites will hopefully only be something I run while Iām injured, as I really want Ā to Ā get back to photography, but had to do something to earn money as I couldnāt get into any jobs with my ankle tendons and the carpal tunnel strikes bad at times, I wouldnāt feel right asking an employer to pay me when I knew I couldnāt do the work at 100%!
My parents are enjoying the UK, have already ducked off to Paris where they said it was freezing cold, worse than Edinburgh! Theyāre looking forward to more travel and Iāve been trying to teach them the UK birds that visit my garden, thankfully a few of them have been very obliging and 2 long-tailed tits landed less than a foot away from my dadās face while he was in the garden yesterday, they sang for a bit and then moved on quickly, as LTTs always do!
Garden Bird list for April 3rd:
- Blackbird x 1
- Blue Tit x 1
- Bullfinch x 1, 1xF
- Carrion crow x 2
- Coal Tit x 1
- Common Buzzard x 1 ā very high overhead, once again gulls mobbing it
- Dunnock x 1
- Long-tailed tit x 2
- Magpie x 2, looks to be the same pair collecting twigs off the front trees for their nest, theyāve pretty much stripped the top of one tree of itās leaves.
- Robin x 1 ā great to see the robin back!
- Woodpigeon x 1
This was posting on the Lothian Birds News yahoo group:
British Bees need help:
āThereās mounting evidence that some pesticides are killing bees. But the UK Environment Minister recently refused to support a European vote to stop the pesticides being usedā There is just a few weeks to change the Ministers mind before he votes again
85,000 people have already signed a petition to demand that he protects our bees. The target is to reach 100,000 signatories. You can get involved @ https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/save-our-bees.
Bees and other insects pollinate about three quarters of our food so are incredibly important. Bees are dying in great numbers.
