That could well be, @Fairygirl , or it might be a juvenile that isn't doing well on its own...hard to tell.
The cardinal pair have been residents for quite some time. They nest somewhere behind the house and in the summer when their chicks fledge we get a real treat. Last year they had two male chicks and one female. The front bushes were a favorite spot for the young ones to practice flying from. I love watching them, but this is the first really clear photo I've been able to get in years!
New England, USA
Metacomet soil with hints of Woodbridge and Pillsbury
I wondered if it was a youngster. It certainly looks very young. Hope it's ok. It really is a lovely pic. Terrific that you get to see them nesting and learning the ropes
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Great pictures @CrankyYankee lovely to see. Sad to report I have withdrawn the insect fat blocks, so I won't be seeing the woodpecker for a while. Up to recently there was just one persistent parakeet, but yesterday a flock of 5-6 turned up, if I had left it the whole lot would be gone in a few minutes. 😢
@Allotment Boy that's a bummer, I'm glad we don't have those parakeets. We do get the occasional black bear wandering through, and they'll bend a metal shepherd's crook to the ground to get to the suet blocks.
Do you think if you drilled holes in a dead tree or piece of log and stuffed the fat inside them, then placed it well away from other feeders that it might go unnoticed by the parakeets? Or are they smart enough to find it no matter where you put it?
New England, USA
Metacomet soil with hints of Woodbridge and Pillsbury
What I find the worst is they shouldn't be here at all, they are escaped domestic ones that have adapted to our conditions. Our authorities should have eliminated them when it first happened instead they shrug and let these things take over. They are supposed to be tropical fruit eaters but obviously no one has told them the rules. I think they would sniff out any wherever I put it. There are some fat ball feeders with a cage the woodpeckers can reach into but parakeets appear not to be able to reach, but most fat balls available are all seeds not insects. We'll see.
What a shame @Allotment Boy. There's a flock of the parakeets resident in a park in Glasgow, and a few years ago, some were out this way, flying around. I think they've set up home in the little N. Trust garden across the way, as I hear the regularly, and see them quite often when I'm out. They've only been in my garden once or twice, so I'm hoping they don't realise there's a food source here.
On the plus side- at least we don't have @CrankyYankee's bears to deal with!
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I have just discovered a robin has found the "stuck on the window" feeder. It has visited several times while I have been sitting here, it was un-nervered by my presence but as most of the suet pellets have disappeared it has obviously been taking them.
Cut the fat block in half and put it in the squirrel proof feeder.
I have thought of that but the current set up deters squirrels, it's the parakeets that are the issue. I need something the small birds can get into, the woodpeckers can reach into but the parakeets can't. It's a tricky balance. I already have loads of different feeders bought over many years, it's getting a bit silly now.
The little Goldcrest came again today (probably does most days when I'm not looking!) and found the suet balls for the first time. Later there were 10 Long-tailed Tits crammed inside the fat feeder cage.
Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
Posts
It really is a lovely pic. Terrific that you get to see them nesting and learning the ropes
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Sad to report I have withdrawn the insect fat blocks, so I won't be seeing the woodpecker for a while. Up to recently there was just one persistent parakeet, but yesterday a flock of 5-6 turned up, if I had left it the whole lot would be gone in a few minutes. 😢
There's a flock of the parakeets resident in a park in Glasgow, and a few years ago, some were out this way, flying around. I think they've set up home in the little N. Trust garden across the way, as I hear the regularly, and see them quite often when I'm out. They've only been in my garden once or twice, so I'm hoping they don't realise there's a food source here.
On the plus side- at least we don't have @CrankyYankee's bears to deal with!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful