Done ... That'll keep them going for a while ... I'll give them some more oats and chopped apples a bit later when I defrost the birdbath and clear some ice from the edge of the pond.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Think my robin will be knocking on the door soon too Dove - I'll need to charge board if he eats any more cheese....
I'll do my birdbath too - hopefully the pond won't be too frozen - I'm ok as long as I put something better on my feet to break the edge of that. Wet socks aren't good....
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Fairy Don't get wet socks !!! I'm visiting son today - OH will be left in charge of the blackbirds and their porridge supplies - he thinks Waitrose will shortly be announcing a porridge shortage
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
So i took a bunch of advice on this forum and finally i have some more birds in my garden.
I went to the shed at the back of the garden early on Saturday morning and as i turned around I saw 2 blue tits on my bird feeder, they swooped down for a couple of seconds loaded up on sunflower hearts then went back to their tree perch.
I have also seen a robin having fun in the camomile.. Is there something there that he likes?..
Did the sparrow hawk land in your garden Aunty Rach? For the birdcount in think I am right in saying you can only include birds that actually land and not those that fly over. I is so difficult to decide when the best time to do the count is.
Yes the SparrowHawk was perched on my fig tree! I don't suppose I'll be lucky enough to spot him on "the day" but I'll be happy if I see the Jay again - he normally lands and stays for a few minutes.
Hi pokhim - now that you have a new garden, they'll be queueing up for the food
A good quality mix will have plenty for robins, but you can get a robin mix too. Sunflower hearts are very attractive to many birds and certainly robins will eat those. In cold weather, a bit of grated or finely chopped cheese, and also little bits of fruit - apple, raisins etc. They'll attract blackbirds and thrushes too. The moisture inthe fruit is helpful when water is frozen, but a bird bath or just a dish of water is really beneficial for all birds, adn if it's big enough for them to bathe, that's even better.
The no mess mixes are worth buying as anything that gets dropped is less likely to grow into anything! They're better value as the cheap mixes are bulked out with wheat or barley which just attracts pigeons, and they also tend to have whole sunflowers which create a lot of mess with the husks, and you also get less actual food. Most people like to use suet blocks or balls as well, which you can get in any Garden Centre or DIY store etc. You can get a different container for holding those, but you can also break them up and scatter pieces in a border, on a bird table or on the ground for ground feeding birds.
As time goes on you'll get to know what comes in the garden and you can add other things like Nyger seeds if you get goldfinches for instance.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Managed to get one chickadee to perch on my hand for a second at my back yard bird feeders. Will keep trying but it won't stop my hand feeding birds on my bike rides. Today along the river I was feeding my friends and I got a pic of a downy woodpecker on my hand. So on the other side of the river I spotted a huge golden eagle fly down the river and perch. This is as close as I could get to it, the snow was too deep. And an unusual sight in winter, while feeding the birds a bald eagle came flying very low over head. Of course my camera wasn't out yet. Most of them winter in central America.
Posts
Done ... That'll keep them going for a while ... I'll give them some more oats and chopped apples a bit later when I defrost the birdbath and clear some ice from the edge of the pond.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Think my robin will be knocking on the door soon too Dove - I'll need to charge board if he eats any more cheese....
I'll do my birdbath too - hopefully the pond won't be too frozen - I'm ok as long as I put something better on my feet to break the edge of that. Wet socks aren't good....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Fairy
Don't get wet socks !!! I'm visiting son today - OH will be left in charge of the blackbirds and their porridge supplies - he thinks Waitrose will shortly be announcing a porridge shortage 
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
So i took a bunch of advice on this forum and finally i have some more birds in my garden.
I went to the shed at the back of the garden early on Saturday morning and as i turned around I saw 2 blue tits on my bird feeder, they swooped down for a couple of seconds loaded up on sunflower hearts then went back to their tree perch.
I have also seen a robin having fun in the camomile.. Is there something there that he likes?..
The RSPB bird Watching pack arrived today. Saw the SparrowHawk at 09:30 today! Maybe I'll do my hour around then
Did the sparrow hawk land in your garden Aunty Rach? For the birdcount in think I am right in saying you can only include birds that actually land and not those that fly over. I is so difficult to decide when the best time to do the count is.
Yes the SparrowHawk was perched on my fig tree! I don't suppose I'll be lucky enough to spot him on "the day" but I'll be happy if I see the Jay again - he normally lands and stays for a few minutes.
Oh - just noticed that WinterWatch is on tonight! Excellent
Hi pokhim - now that you have a new garden, they'll be queueing up for the food
A good quality mix will have plenty for robins, but you can get a robin mix too. Sunflower hearts are very attractive to many birds and certainly robins will eat those. In cold weather, a bit of grated or finely chopped cheese, and also little bits of fruit - apple, raisins etc. They'll attract blackbirds and thrushes too. The moisture inthe fruit is helpful when water is frozen, but a bird bath or just a dish of water is really beneficial for all birds, adn if it's big enough for them to bathe, that's even better.
The no mess mixes are worth buying as anything that gets dropped is less likely to grow into anything! They're better value as the cheap mixes are bulked out with wheat or barley which just attracts pigeons, and they also tend to have whole sunflowers which create a lot of mess with the husks, and you also get less actual food. Most people like to use suet blocks or balls as well, which you can get in any Garden Centre or DIY store etc. You can get a different container for holding those, but you can also break them up and scatter pieces in a border, on a bird table or on the ground for ground feeding birds.
As time goes on you'll get to know what comes in the garden and you can add other things like Nyger seeds if you get goldfinches for instance.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Managed to get one chickadee to perch on my hand for a second at my back yard bird feeders. Will keep trying but it won't stop my hand feeding birds on my bike rides. Today along the river I was feeding my friends and I got a pic of a downy woodpecker on my hand. So on the other side of the river I spotted a huge golden eagle fly down the river and perch. This is as close as I could get to it, the snow was too deep. And an unusual sight in winter, while feeding the birds a bald eagle came flying very low over head. Of course my camera wasn't out yet. Most of them winter in central America.