It's taken six years and four Robins for it to work @Crazybeelady I started by whistling and calling when putting food out ( the neighbours must have thought I'd lost it 🤣) When he came I would throw food. Next I put sunflower hearts in my hand and stood with the hand on the fence post, so it was his choice to take food without standing on my hand. That is what he mostly does, but a couple of times he has stood on my hand. Now I have a blackbird, collared doves, and dunnocks that come when called too, but they wait for me to step back before feeding.😁
Maybe only a couple more years for me then! I've got one robin who sits around 10 inches away from me when food is out. Not in my garden unfortunately as I can't seem to get them in. I have to go out to this old bridge down the road and put seed out each morning! I just don't know if I'll manage to make the leap to hand feeding - especially as people walk past and scare him off/think I'm a nutter.
News of the "resident birds" in papi Jo's garden... Pics of the day.
Shy red robin
Not so shy blackbird (allowed me to walk up to one metre from him!)
Hi everyone!
Look, no head!
Hotel Restaurant 'chez Papi Jo'. Unfortunately the home-made hotel especially made for blue tits remains empty year after year. The hanging peanuts garland is a cunning device to entice tits to book into the hotel this seaso
Doyou think hanging your lovely terracotta nesting box up the other way would encourage someone to take up residence? The porch would then become a perch for hem sit on to look inside to check out facilities. It may also catch rain of course, I cannot see if there are any holes to act as drainagened around. I hung a brown teapot in my quince tree 5 years ago and that has never had any nests built in it. I have moved it to another tree nearby this year, it will beintersesting to see if it is used. The wooden boxes on a fence nearby have been used every year since being put up. No accounting for taste.
I'm wondering if that's far too hot a site for that terracotta nest box. A shaded site would be much better, especially as terra retains heat so effectively. Any birds would fry in there, let alone chicks, and they probably realise that.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I went out this morning, and removed the blocks of ice from the top of the bird baths. Our friendly crow family never come to the bird baths, but we saw them remove a piece of ice from an empty flower pot, break it up in pieces and carry them off. Never seen that before. I felt a bit guilty, so have put a shallow bowl of water down where they hang around.
Yes! OH thought they were pecking at a piece of the plastic tray I put the Badgers food out in, but it was definitely ice. One crow broke it into smaller pieces. I assumed they might be thirsty as it was so cold this morning.
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@fire are you still watching Winterwatch? Are you rooting for Ray the rat? 😁
I started by whistling and calling when putting food out ( the neighbours must have thought I'd lost it 🤣) When he came I would throw food. Next I put sunflower hearts in my hand and stood with the hand on the fence post, so it was his choice to take food without standing on my hand. That is what he mostly does, but a couple of times he has stood on my hand.
Now I have a blackbird, collared doves, and dunnocks that come when called too, but they wait for me to step back before feeding.😁
A shaded site would be much better, especially as terra retains heat so effectively.
Any birds would fry in there, let alone chicks, and they probably realise that.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...