Garden Feeders Update

The garden feeders are now a massive draw locally for local birds. I am now having to top up two medium seed feeders twice daily. I reckon I am getting through 2/3 kilos of peanuts and around 6/7 kilos of feeder seed a week. The feeders are occupied from dawn till dusk by a huge army of Blue, Great and Coal Tits. Last and first birds showing are Blackbirds are Robins which are usually still feeding after dusk and before first light in the morning.

I have two regular Robins in the garden which I assume are a pair. I did have three regular cock blackbirds but I think I am now down to just one individual. There were also three females, now sadly down to two since one got snaffled by a Sparrowhawk.I get the occasional Greenfinch on the peanut feeders, a Pair of Chaffinches are regulars just over the back garden wall in the woodland. I have been surprised that the Chaffies will not come into the garden to feed on the ground or the seed feeders. Nice surprise last week was a beautiful male siskin feeding on the usualy redudant nyjer feeder. A couple of Dunnock are around on and off most of day hopping around under the feeders looking for fallen seeds. I have been surprised that I have not had a single Wren or Long Tailed Tit down. Maybe as the weather has been very mild they have not been desperate enough.

Lesser Spotted pecker is a very infrequent visitor but Greater peckers are feeding on and off most of the day. Strangely enough although I think they are a pair they never feed together, its either the male or the female but never both together.Nuthatches are around most of the afternoon, only occasionally do they visit before lunchtime. They rarely use the feeders, much preferring to gather a beakful of broken peanuts or sunflower seeds before flying back into the wood to eat them. I know there are at least three indvidual Nutchatch coming to the garden, two males seen together but I have never seen more then one female at a time.

Sparrowhawks have obviously noticed the huge numbers of birds around and there is at least one attack daily. I have deliberately left the buddleia bushes uncut to provide a hiding place close to the feeders for the birds to fly to when the hawk comes in. I have only seen one successful attack by a Sparrowhawk on the unfortunate female Blackbird. Just watched another failed attack before I wrote this post. A female came in at great speed along the back gardens but the Tits obviously spotted it early as they were away before she even came over the garden. I watched one attack on Saturday morning where the Tits were not so alert and the hawk was almost amongst them before they spotted her. She just missed one Blue Tit on the seed feeders and almost grabbed a Great Tit as it fled into the buddleia. Its astonishing just how quick and manoeuvrable a Sparrowhawk is when hunting, its literally all over in the blink of an eye and it might have had a go at two birds in that time, absolutely amazing to watch.

Old "white wing" the cock Robin has obviously forgiven me for winding him up with the CD calls this morning as hes just popped down and taken the last few mealworms I had left from a dish in my hand. No joy with attracting Lesser Pecker down, although Great Spotted came and fed on the peanuts whilst the CD was playing and simply ignored the Lesser Pecker drumming which sound very similar to its own drumming to my ear. I am very pleased with the feeding station and its given Sue and I great enjoyment as well as boosting local birds through the winter, the only downside is the fact that I can never get enough work done when I keep getting up to look through the office window at whats happening !