Tag: Greenfinch

Back at home watching my garden birds.

It is nice to be back to see the changes that haveĀ occurredĀ in just one week of being away, shocked by the amount ofĀ DaffodilsĀ in my garden, which can be great for attracting finches and I encourage to grow in the right spots in the garden.
This is the first spring Iā€™ve been in the garden and Iā€™m impressed by whatā€™s coming up so far.Ā  As for the birds, not a great deal around, I did see 2 Coal Tits mating, but not sure if the blue tit has continued with the nest at the end of the garden, didnā€™t see any activity about it at all today. Ā However that was the same last year in the previous garden, frantic activity for about 4 to 5 days, then nothing for almost 2 weeks, time to sit on eggs maybe? Ā Then frantic activity for about 16 days, and 4 young eventually fledged.

Hereā€™s the list for today:

  1. Blackbird x 1 ā€“ heard only
  2. Blue Tit x 1 ā€“ think itā€™s the one nesting in the nest box, but havenā€™t seen any birds in the box.
  3. Carrion crow x 1
  4. Coal Tit x 2 ā€“ saw them mating.
  5. Dunnock x 3
  6. Greenfinch x 2 ā€“ my mum who is visiting from Australia felt these looked like Budgies! Ā Guess she doesnā€™t notice theĀ parrotĀ beak to the finch beak, she was a little away from them, so Iā€™ll forgive her.
  7. Magpie x 2
  8. Woodpigeon x 2

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

Wow the wind in Edinburgh had the birds in hiding!

I couldnā€™t believe how windy it was here, I saw very few small birds at all today, and only heard a blue tit briefly, hope Spring starts properly soon!

My garden bird list for today, and I was outside a lot, although windy it was pretty sunny in the afternoon:

  1. Blue Tit x 1 ā€“ heard only
  2. Dunnock x 2
  3. Greenfinch x 1

Not in my garden, but on a walk around Corstorphine Edinburgh:

  1. Jackdaw x 6
  2. Magpie x 1 ā€“ collecting nesting material
  3. Rook x 1
  4. Starlings x 2
  5. Woodpigeon x 1

If you happen to be in Edinburgh over the next few days/week The Royal Yacht is celebrating her 60th birthday, even for non-royal fans itā€™s worth having a look, I wasnā€™t sure when I went, but the engine room is a great museum piece and the tearoom is lovely, also at this time of year thereā€™s often Eiders off the side, as well as a few different divers, shags andĀ cormorants. Find out more about the 60th birthday here: 60 years of Britannia.

Where have all my house sparrows gone?

Wow the snow really came down hard over night and most of today, I only had brief chances to look outside as I was doing DIY projects trying to get a room ready for when my parents come over from Australia on Sunday!!! Ā Hopefully weā€™ll make it in time, and between DIY and watching birds I was doing the finance updates for ISAs, credit cards and saving accounts over onĀ www.saverscene.co.ukĀ (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession) ā€“ I try to find the best rates to help everyone, itā€™s tough time for savers!

I did a great list of birds even for the short time I managed to look outside, the blackbird count was fantastic, interesting to note that it was 4 male and 1 female. Ā Iā€™m pretty sure there was a Black-headed gull and it looked as if the summer plumage had really come in and looked fantastic:

  1. Blackbird x 5
  2. Black-headed Gull x 1
  3. Blue Tit x 2
  4. Coal Tit x 1
  5. Dunnock x 2
  6. Greenfinch x 2
  7. Long-tailed tit x 1
  8. Magpie x 1
  9. Woodpigeon x 2

Itā€™s weird that pretty much after I put up a RSPB terraced nestbox for house sparrows and about that time they allĀ disappeared! Ā Not seen them for over 2 weeks.

Where have all my house sparrows gone?

Wow the snow really came down hard over night and most of today, I only had brief chances to look outside as I was doing DIY projects trying to get a room ready for when my parents come over from Australia on Sunday!!! Ā Hopefully weā€™ll make it in time, and between DIY and watching birds I was doing the finance updates for ISAs, credit cards and saving accounts over on (UPDATE: saverscene now CLOSED due to moving to carer in horticulture hope to have my gardening website up early 2019) – I try to find the best rates to help everyone, itā€™s tough time for savers!

I did a great list of birds even for the short time I managed to look outside, the blackbird count was fantastic, interesting to note that it was 4 male and 1 female. Ā Iā€™m pretty sure there was a Black-headed gull and it looked as if the summer plumage had really come in and looked fantastic:

  1. Blackbird x 5
  2. Black-headed Gull x 1
  3. Blue Tit x 2
  4. Coal Tit x 1
  5. Dunnock x 2
  6. Greenfinch x 2
  7. Long-tailed tit x 1
  8. Magpie x 1
  9. Woodpigeon x 2

Itā€™s weird that pretty much after I put up a RSPB terraced nestbox for house sparrows and about that time they allĀ disappeared! Ā Not seen them for over 2 weeks.

Gust of wind blows a flock of gulls over my garden.

A very quiet day in the garden today, didnā€™t get to see a lot of birds at all, but nice to see the Coal tit back, there were about 70 gulls flying overhead but I couldnā€™t tell you what type they were as they were caught in a massive gust of wind and went by very fast. Ā Would love to be out seeing cracking birds such as the Water Rail that was photo of the week on Bird Guides –Ā Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus)Ā – Hereā€™s my list of birds I saw today:

  1. Blackbird x 2
  2. Blue Tit x 2
  3. Coal Tit x 1
  4. Greenfinch x 2
  5. Woodpigeon x 2

On the gust of wind –Ā about 70 gulls, but not sure what type.Ā 

Lots of insects about in very windy conditions.

The wind has really picked up here in Edinburgh, even with the massive amount of wind about there were a lot of insects in the air today and few birds, I gather the insect prey is too great of an attraction than the seed I put out for them. Ā Strangely not a single coal tit, thatā€™s a very rare situation! Ā Hereā€™s the bird list for today:

  1. Blackbird x 3
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Chaffinch x 1
  4. Feral Pigeon x 1
  5. Greenfinch x 2
  6. House Sparrow x 3
  7. Woodpigeon x 2

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch ā€“ Day 1.

Hi all, Iā€™ve been busy getting ready for Australia day celebrations and I only got an hour of straight birdwatching for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, normally I look out the window when getting lunch, breakfast etc. Ā I hope to get a better count tomorrow for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, todayā€™s list wasnā€™t as full as my usual list of garden birds:

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Coal Tit x 2
  4. Fieldfare x 1 ā€“ this one was later than the hour I did, once again my dog alerted me to the fact there was a different bird that he doesnā€™t recognise the call.
  5. Greenfinch x 1
  6. House Sparrow x 2
  7. Magpie x 9
  8. Robin x 1

Donā€™t forget the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch this weekend!

The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is starting tomorrow so make sure you count your birds and submit it, more here: Big Garden Birdwatch AdĀ andĀ The RSPB: Big Garden Birdwatch. Ā I had another first for the year, anĀ Oystercatcher, not in my garden although I have seen one in the past during the very wet July of 2012 and we live on a hill! Ā It was on a field on Carrington Road Edinburgh.

Hereā€™s my Garden List:

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Bullfinch x 1
  4. Coal Tit x 3
  5. Greenfinch x 4
  6. House Sparrow x 2
  7. Long-Tailed Tit x 2
  8. Woodpigeon x 3

And the 1 Oystercatcher:

  1. Oystercatcher