Tag: Bullfinch

Gardening, burning to get carbon and a very small bird list.

After being away and having internet problems in the hotel, I get home and I try to do a post and my netā€™s down.Ā  A bit annoying, back now so I can get my very small garden bird list up for the day, I was outside a fair bit today trying to get rid of horsetail weed and due to the internet being down in the afternoon, managed a few updates on saverscene UK and the Australian version such as a very helpful one for people that travel: travel insurance check that your credit card doesnā€™t already offer it:Ā You may already have travel insurance on your credit card, no point paying an insurance company (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession) . Ā Also spent the evening trying to burn cuttings from the garden due to getting rid of a lot of old wood and the council missing my green waste bin twice in the past month.Ā  Iā€™d prefer to have the carbon back in the soil anyway, I would normally leave piles of branches to rot down naturally, however there were far too many due to the garden being neglected for years before we moved in. Ā Weā€™ve also not set up a good open compost for garden waste and only have a closed one for food scraps, once Iā€™ve got that setup I hope not to need the council green collection and to get all the goodness back into the garden without resorting to burning it.

Anyway. Hereā€™s my bird list for the day, sadly a bit short, but great to see the LTTs and the Bullfinch back:

  1. Blue Tit x 1
  2. Bullfinch x 1 ā€“ Male
  3. Carrion crow x 2
  4. Coal Tit x 2
  5. Dunnock x 3
  6. Long-tailed tit x 2
  7. Magpie x 1
  8. Woodpigeon x 1

Bird List for Monday 15th of April 2013

Great news everyone! Ā The RSPB Sparrow Terrace Nest BoxĀ that I put up earlier in the year is now in use! Ā Not by sparrows, but a blue tit has started using the middle box, was a bit worried nothing was going to, but very excited to see a blue tit bringing nesting material into the box yesterday!

Sorry my bird list is a day late again, a lot happening with my parents being here! Ā I also was updating all the finance pages for www.SaverScene.co.uk yesterday, which during ISA season takes a bit longer due to a lot of changes. If you havenā€™t taken advantage of the tax free cash ISA you can find theĀ best ISA ratesĀ here: SaverScene:Ā Highest ISA interest rates (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession), obviously if you have any questions about that feel free to ask on the forums or drop me an email.

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Blue Tit x 1 ā€“ I only saw one going in and out of the nest box.
  3. Bullfinch x 1 ā€“ Male
  4. Carrion crow x 2
  5. Coal Tit x 1
  6. Dunnock x 3
  7. Greenfinch x 1
  8. Kestrel x 3 ā€“ 1 was chasing another one off, a couple seemed to be creating aĀ territory.
  9. Magpie x 2
  10. Woodpigeon x 1

Cold day in Edinburgh, ISA updates for new season, more DIY, and a few extra birds!

Itā€™s 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 thereā€™s 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 femaleā€™s loose a lot of body size after laying eggs? Ā I sure hope theyā€™re 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 donā€™t have the right tool as I had everything I needed back in Australia, but due to carpal tunnel Iā€™ve not done as much mending as I would normally and my dad keeps asking whereā€™s this or that and end up going to buy one, once again Iā€™m rambling but hereā€™s my garden bird list:

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Blue Tit x 3
  3. Bullfinch x 2 ā€“ the female looked a lot smaller than last week! Hope that means sheā€™s laid some eggs somewhere.
  4. Carrion crow x 4 fly overs
  5. Coal Tit x 1
  6. Dunnock x 3 ā€“ really showing mating behaviour.
  7. Jackdaws x 2 ā€“ from car in Corstorphine
  8. Long-tailed tit x 2
  9. Magpie x 2
  10. Pied Wagtail x 1 ā€“ Car park Hermiston Gait ā€“ West Edinburgh, once again back at B&Q for more DIY gear!
  11. Woodpigeon x 1

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, theyā€™ve 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 Iā€™ve been answering a lot of emails trying to help people save and make the most they can out of ISAs (itā€™s 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 Iā€™m injured, as I really want Ā to Ā get back to photography, but had to do something to earn money as I couldnā€™t get into any jobs with my ankle tendons and the carpal tunnel strikes bad at times, I wouldnā€™t feel right asking an employer to pay me when I knew I couldnā€™t 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! Theyā€™re looking forward to more travel and Iā€™ve 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 dadā€™s 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:

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Bullfinch x 1, 1xF
  4. Carrion crow x 2
  5. Coal Tit x 1
  6. Common Buzzard x 1 ā€“ very high overhead, once again gulls mobbing it
  7. Dunnock x 1
  8. Long-tailed tit x 2
  9. Magpie x 2, looks to be the same pair collecting twigs off the front trees for their nest, theyā€™ve pretty much stripped the top of one tree of itā€™s leaves.
  10. Robin x 1 ā€“ great to see the robin back!
  11. Woodpigeon x 1

This was posting on the Lothian Birds News yahoo group:

British Bees need help:
ā€œThereā€™s 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.

Nice and sunny in Edinburgh today, birds were out enjoying it!

Had a good chance to be in the garden today, nice and sunny, although snow was on the ground to start it thawed very quickly and there was actually some warmth in the sun! Ā Flying high over head I could hear geese and got a short glimpse of 6, but not sure what type and once again a common buzzard being mobbed by gulls, I wish I could identify the gulls better as thereā€™s been a few overhead of late, look like herring, common or lesser black backed, but not 100% sure, the black-headed ones are thankfully easy to identify! Ā Will get my bins out soon to get a better view, Iā€™ve let my neighbours know that Iā€™m a keen birder in case they wonder what Iā€™m up to ;)

Hereā€™s my garden bird list for today:

  1. Blackbird x 2
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Bullfinch x 1, male ā€“ hoping the femaleā€™s sitting on eggs somewhere!
  4. Carrion crow x 1 in garden ā€“ about 15 flying over.
  5. Common Buzzard x 1 ā€“ flying high!
  6. Dunnock x 2
  7. Long-tailed tit x 1 ā€“ pretty sure I could hear more flying past.
  8. Magpie x 1
  9. Starlings x 6
  10. Woodpigeon x 2

Another new bird for the year! More snow!

Woohoo finally saw a wren, Iā€™d been missing them for my year list and I know they visit my garden, but today finally in the snow I spotted one. Ā All my tits seem to haveĀ disappearedĀ though, really do wonder where theyā€™ve gone off to, that said I was working on the Saver Scene Australian financeĀ (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession) pages, although Iā€™m KiwiGav I was brought up in Australia and thatā€™s why I know more about Aussie deals, savings, bank accounts and credit cards than I do about NZ ones. Ā Iā€™ve actually spent more time in the UK now than the country I was born in! Ā All 3 places have fantastic birds, you just have to pay a little more attention to the UK ones to see their beauty!

Hereā€™s my garden bird list:

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Bullfinch x 2, 1xm, 1xf they were eating the buds of new growth on the trees.
  3. Carrion crow x 4 ā€“ flyovers
  4. Dunnock x 1
  5. Magpie x 1
  6. Woodpigeon x 2
  7. Wren x 1

I should say I kept an eye out for the gold crest but sadly no show today, it was the weather Iā€™d seen it in before, Iā€™ll try and get my 1 and only photo Iā€™ve ever managed to take of a goldcrest tomorrow.

Spring finally on the way in Edinburgh?

The Long-tailed tits were so close to me today, it was fantastic! Ā Maybe less than a foot away, great views for a few seconds, then they were on their way again. Ā The Magpie I did see was once again collecting nesting material, this time it looked like moss so maybe close to finishing their nest. Ā 2 of the woodpigeons were mating, another great sign of spring, weā€™ve missed most of the snow, hope for a few fine days soon! Ā My garden bird list and 1 feral pigeon that I spotted from the car:

  1. Black-headed Gull x 3 ā€“ flyovers.
  2. Bullfinch x 2, 1xm, 1xf
  3. Dunnock x 2
  4. Feral Pigeon x 1 ā€“ not in my garden, on Ballgreen Road.
  5. Long-tailed tit x 2
  6. Magpie x 1
  7. Starlings x 9
  8. Woodpigeon x 3

Another new species for the year, not in the garden though.

Mondayā€™s are always busy as I do the finance updates on the best ISAs, Savings & Credit cards on www.saverscene.co.ukĀ (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession) and everything in the Individual Savings Accounts have pretty much changed as we come to the end of theĀ financialĀ year.Ā  But today I had a appointment for my carpal tunnel, then I got home to find that my mum just over from Australia had a freezing cold shower, she thought sheā€™d done something wrong but it seems that the new boiler installed a week and a bit ago had stopped workingā€¦ Ā My Dad an electrician decided to have a look and found one of our fuses (probably from the 1950s) had burnt out, but that wasnā€™t affecting the boiler.

Deciding to try and find the old style gear to fix it; we wandered into a industrial estate near The Gyle Edinburgh and saw my firstĀ Rook of the year! Ā We managed to find a few parts and then bodge some of the older ones together, he looked at the state of the rest of the fuse box and said itā€™d last another 50 years compared to the new ones in the electronic stores which he gave maybe 10. Ā  So itā€™s almost all working and the boilerā€™s back up and going, after all this we get a letter Ā saying the plumbers want an extra Ā£720 for the work took longer than they estimated, when I got the estimate I was told 5 days, it took 5 daysā€¦ So hmmm not happy! Ā Anyway I got a good look at a rook digging around in the ground, fantastic looking birds, I guess most people probably donā€™t feel that way about Rooks, but I like them.

Sorry to go on, just like to keep people up to date on how much time I have to watch birds, today was very little but I still got a decent list:

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Bullfinch x 2, 1xm, 1xf
  4. Carrion crow x 1
  5. Coal Tit x 1
  6. Dunnock x 3
  7. Magpie x 1
  8. Rook x 1 ā€“ not in my garden, between The Gyle Edinburgh and Corstorphine.
  9. Starlings x 11
  10. Woodpigeon x 2

A new species for the garden today! Rain, Rain, some sun, Rain!

Finally my current profile picture matches the day with my pint of Guiness and St Patrickā€™s Day hat,Ā Happy St Patrickā€™s day!

A new bird has shown up in the garden today, 2 siskin 1 male and 1 female, very pleased with that! Ā Also 4 bullfinches and the males were looking superb! Ā Even with the rain they shone brightly in what light there was this morning.

The DIY is almost complete, a bit late as my parents arrived today, great to see them over from Australia been about 18 months since I last saw them and 5 years since they last saw my wife. Ā  Now onto the birds:

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Bullfinch x 4, 2 x m, 2 x f
  4. Coal Tit x 1
  5. Dunnock x 3
  6. Great Tit x 1
  7. Robin x 1
  8. Siskin x 2 ā€“ 1 x m, 1 x f
  9. Woodpigeon x 1

I donā€™t know if this will be of interest to anyone but a user on the Australian Saver Scene has put out a challenge:Ā (UPDATE: saverscene now CLOSED due to moving to carer in horticulture hope to have my gardening website up early 2019) thereā€™s already a few good money saving ideas, so if you have one feel free to add it over there, I always feel money saved means more bird seed and when I can walk better more money for petrol to go birding and camera gear photographing (Iā€™m hooked on wildlife! Ā But hope to be back doing landscapes soon), so try hard to do a lot of the saving ideas.

2 Bullfinches showed for a bit, plus the usual garden birds.

Interestingly no Long-tailed tits, that I saw today, but I did get the 3 others that visit the garden. Ā Once again it was a busy day of DIY and trying to get a fair bit done on other websites in particular www.saverscene.com.auĀ (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession) that ones about bargains and finance in Australia, very similar to the UK one, a few friends asked me to set it up as itā€™s often hard to find info on finance, deals & bargains on websites in Oz. Ā Ā Just new so taking up a fair bit of time finding resources, meaning little time for bird watching again.

I did get outside a few times to take Chewie (my dog) out and a trip to B&Q, I noticed that theĀ crocuses are now pushing through the snow and flowering which was great to see! Ā Thereā€™s also 1Ā daffodil ready to come show, itā€™s sitting all bright and yellow amongst the snow.

Hereā€™s my garden bird list for today, great to see Bullfinches back:

  1. Blackbird x 4, 3xM 1xF
  2. Black-headed Gull x 1
  3. Blue Tit x 1
  4. Bullfinch x 2 ā€“ male and female
  5. Coal Tit x 1
  6. Dunnock x 2
  7. Great Tit x 1
  8. Magpie x 1
  9. Woodpigeon x 4