Even though the weather is bitterly cold, windy and wet, The little birds seem to survive. I put out seed, nuts, fat balls and grapes ( for the blackbird) and within a couple of minutes I spotted a robin, blackbird, 3 different kinds of tits including long-tailed which are so pretty, chaffinches, goldfinch. Then there are daffodils and crocus in surrounding gardens. I just love the way nature adjusts. I can't wait for the weather to improve to get out into the countryside to do "proper" birdwatching. All these pleasures are free. Lifts my spirits 
Garden Birds.: Even though the weather... - Lung Conditions C...
Garden Birds.
Written by
teabag333
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35 Replies
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We too love the birds and we feed a wide variety of food to them. We have a lot of finches, green, gold, chaffinch etc.
It's such a hard time of year for them.
Lynne xx
We also feed the birds all year round , its great to see them all in the garden , the chaffinches and black birds are very busy at the moment and lots of blue tits on the nuts , and its fun watching the sparrows and lots of others in and out of the yew bush , dont forget to make sure they always have fresh water , not seen the woodpeckers yet though .
Hullo, teabag, that was such a positive lovely blog you wrote. Looking at my small back garden, we have a feeding table, bird bath and a nesting box in the nut tree. And lots of daffodils longing to burst forth and flower. And, during the last few minutes the sun is OUT as I write.
teabag333 in reply to
Hello annie. My garden is only small but shrubs and small trees round the edge keep them happy, somewhere safe to run to when the cat is out. Nice to share the positive things in life as well as the lowdowns.
I also get a lot of pleasure from the garden birds. For a couple of winters we had a woodpecker, he was beautiful, but didn't come back this year. My favourites are the "blueys" but love them all. I have a new bird in the garden just now, well there are a little flock of them. I have just been looking them up on the RSPB and can't make my mind up if they are willow tits or marsh tits, but most likely willows as marsh ones rarely come to scotland. Yes it is a hard time for them. They should nearly be thinking of nesting and they are still struggling for food. Costs me more to feed the birds than the dog hahaha, but get so much entertainment.
ingrid x
Thanks for that ingy.I've just been looking in my RSPB field guide and it says those two are very hard to distinguish. The willow paler the further north it is which doesn't help really. Worth the cost of the food for the pleasure they give. I have mine delivered in 7 Kilo bags now. Marina x
I've noticed our blackbirds are very quiet, not alot to sing about, they must be very confused (just like us)
Lib x
the birds in my garden seemed to have gone silent,then I noticed a cat sheltering in my greenhouse after she had gone I noticed bird marks in the snow, even though its so cold.The mini daffodils started to fall but with a little bit of sunshine they are now standing erect again far more resillient than us humans, to be marvelled at how they survive in such winter conditions. My purple crocus are just a colour in the snow., what an assortment of natural wonders.
Isn't it wonderful. Nature never fails to excite me. A few years ago when I was walking in the park one January and feeling alone and depressed, I came across one single snowdrop. I will never forget that feeling I got from such a small thing. Just that made me feel life was worth living.
My neighbours cat makes a bird table impossible so the bird feeders hang from a climbing rose that climbs the back wall in view from the bedroom window. Watching the comings and goings is so much better than daytime television on the days when activity is halted.
teabag333 in reply to
I seem to have one or two cats that visit and even have a cat of my own. They can't get up to the table because of the design. Also have a feeding station with various feeders hanging. Cats can't get up there because it is metal tubing. As you say it's a pleasure to watch their antics.
We seem to get loads of pigeons in the back garden, which is a shame as they scare the smaller birds off. The bird table is successful once we got rid of a visiting rat.
teabag333 in reply to
Yes they are bullies. So are the starlings as they come in "Gangs"
aren't the birds a blessing when we cant get get out i could sit & watch them all day like many here i feed them & often buy a bag of apples just for the blackbirds, hubby would sulk if i put his grapes out to often!
I buy a small punnet of grapes every week only £1-50 and put out a few each day. I cut them in half if they are big.
annie80, I curse the pidgeons for a different reason they damage the plants when they land on them because of their weight. We don't get rats but we do get the odd mouse now and then but once again nature steps in, the local cat chases them away.I have a frog that breeds and comes and goes each year but theres no water in my garden only damp undergrowth from the bushes isn't nature amazing?
How wonderful to have a frog in the garden. Yes, nature is wonderful.
OH THANK YOU, all of you, - just what I needed.
Chris
teabag333 in reply to
Thank you too. I appreciate everyone who has commented
Great to hear that so many of us get pleasure from our garden birds
I've fed them for years now, and with a good mixture of feeding areas and types of food have attracted many unusual birds to the garden.
I photograph them as well. I wish it were possible to show photographs on here,
I have a few stunning shots of a Yellowhammer currently visiting the feeders.
Would love to see the photos. Is it a digital camera. If so, it may be possible to copy and paste. I photograph my birds and got them on the laptop but technically that's as far as I've got. Also a lot are taken from inside through the window as I don't want to disturb them by getting too near.
Yes it is a digital camera. A canon 7D. I post the images very easily on other sites/forums, but here they never show.
I'm not so popular with the bird population this year as I have made it impossible for them to nest in the eaves as we have now gone uPVC. So I make my apologies here and hope they find somewhere comfortable to nest.
So, poor things are homeless. LOL
I went to Sandy RSPB bird sanctuary some years and really enjoyed it. But not a bird in sight. I could hear them twittering but no sightings --- until I returned home and looked at the bird table.
I had a similar experience at our RSPB reserve, Leighton Moss. All I could see and hear were hundreds of squawking gulls. Winter is the best time to go though. Lots of winter visitors.Geese, swans etc. I think I went in July or August and nothing exciting happening then.
Glad to see you're keeping your spirit up Marina. What a lovely post you've written and lovely responses.
The sun is shining here in South West London, hope it's out where you are. All the best xxP
Wow Toonap, how fantastic. That picture of the yellowhammer deserves an award. The details on the feathers! Puts all my pics to shame. I post mine on Flickr but I'm only an amateur. I like to photograph flowers as they don't move ( Only if it's windy )
Thank you for sharing.
Hello peeg, yes we have had some sun today but still bitterly cold out. Surely can't last much longer.
Marina x
We had a good 1 hours sun today ( NE London ) and it reached into the conservatory which is too cold to use right now, except with guests.
I love this discussion about birds and nature it cheers me up. We too try to look after our blackbirds and blue tits and we have a nesting woodpecker but I have not see it for a while the pigeons here are huge ..... and I know who is blo*dy feeding them a friend of a v good friend. What to do ? Adrian
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