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[CLKD]

Where Taz?   that's nope.

Been weeding.  Lots.  Accompanied by various wild birds for meal worms ........

More damsel flies have left the pond 

[Two hoots]

Last nights springwatch saw the woodpecker taking a tree creeper chick, I hope the others escaped 

[CLKD]

Ah - didn't watch. 

[Cazikins]

I think your hearing must be great, to hear a beetle in another room, there are only two beetles I'd hear in the house, one had Paul McCartney in it and the other is made by Volkswagen 

  I forgot to mention Two Hoots...... he had a drum kit with him.   

No the noise I heard was him trying to climb over the plastic double glazed door frame, & because of his huge pincers he couldn't quite manage it.

[Two hoots]

Yuk, good thing you did hear it before it got in 

If I leave the back door open I will have squirrels in the kitchen, I'm naughty and feed them but they are just so fluffy and cute and the nearest thing to a pet I want, a couple of summers ago one pushed over and smashed a vase I had on the windowsill, I don't know who had the biggest fright the squirrel or me 

[Krystal]

We have three bird feeding stations in the garden one like a little house, one as an open round tray and a tubular one with a cage around the outside to stop the squirrels and other larger creatures helping themselves. The pigeons and magpies appear to work in tandem getting seed from the open tray and even manage to swing the tubular feeder thus knocking the seeds onto the ground. The little house is used by the robin and little blue/green birds without too much bother.

However there are cheeky blue tits who approach the tubular feeder with stealth get into the safe area between the inside of the cage wire and outside of the tube. They then throw half of the food onto the floor. I did not believe my husband when he said some of the birds are very selective with the peanuts they take from the tubular feeder. I have now seen this for myself on several occasions and when the blue tits have gone I pick up the rejected peanuts put them into the little house feeder where they are taken by those birds who use it no problem. Recently we started purchasing the bird food from a supermarket as it is much cheaper(no pun intended) than the local garden centre which charges ridiculous prices for the same thing. So much for the starving bird population.
This will not stop us from feeding them. Has anyone else encountered fussy eaters amongst the bird population? xx

[CLKD]

Yep.   As for the cost of bird seed, the more we pay the better mix it is.  I try not to have wheat as it grows under the feeders, as does the nyger seed.  I have grass everywhere  .  Also it may not be 'the same' .......... I have added 'trill' recently for the smaller birds.  Hopefully they will 'bounce with health' 

The starlings work together.  They will rock the feeder for live meal worms which they then pick off the ground, joined by the male blackbird.  They can smell if peanuts are 'off', I have thrown lots away this Winter as they got wet and the birds simply didn't visit the feeders.  I feed seed/sun flowers over the earth so that every few days I can dig in any food that remains un-eaten, one thing is, we don't have a rat!   As for grey squirrels - tree rats  .  They are causing the demise of our Native reds 

Welcome to our thread Krystal. 

[Taz2]

It's not just the grey squirrel which has led to the demise of the red squirrels though - it's a mixture of things http://www.grey-squirrel.org.uk/reds.php

I've also found, like you CLKD, that the more expensive bird seed is of much higher quality and actually includes the seed they eat rather than fillers which just gets left behind. Peanuts do go off quickly and need clearing from the feeders as the mould is highly toxic to birds.

Taz x

[CLKD]

Our birds avoid any peanuts which alerts me to clean the feeders 

[Taz2]

Do you put them out this time of year? I tend to stop feeding nuts during the nesting season due to advice some years ago now. My hungry lot seem to do ok with what I feed. The crow is so greedy though - he swoops down to the bird table and seems to scoop up half the contents in one beak full. Not the starlings favourite!

Taz x

[CLKD]

The advice now is to feed year round as the parents need a quick top-up.  I have seen blue-tit parents pecking off very small pieces of nut to feed to the fledglings 1 day, the next they were helping themselves.   

[Krystal]

Thank you for your helpful tips. The peanuts do disappear VERY quickly but the sun flower seeds are not to everyone's taste here. The birds seem to eat the sunflower seeds when mixed with other bird seed but not if put out as a sole food. We did have a problem with a squirrel and tried to deter it. The neighbourhood cat left this at our back door one morning last year and no further visits from other squirrels have taken place. The same goes for field mice. He is frightened of any bird so maybe the crow chased him.

The birds are very busy feeding their young in the hedgerows and I hope all their babies survive. It has been very cold here in the Midlands until about three weeks ago. Close to us is a nesting swan. We think one member of the pair at least spent its time as a young cygnet here. The swans have been visiting for at least six years but this is the first time a nest has been built. Some years ago I rang the Police as the swans were sitting in the middle of the road and ignorant drivers were sounding their horns and speeding around the poor birds who were obviously stunned by what was going on. The RSPCA did not want to know. Surprisingly the Police did come hours later and were accompanied by someone who appeared to know what to do. The swans were safely removed. Will wait and see what happens with the nesting swans. The ducks who live in the same water have had babies who are about six weeks old now. It has been known for the ducks to have another brood in July. I am not an ornithologist so excuse my ramblings.  xx

[Two hoots]

My sister has twice called the RSPCA for help and they have refused twice, they are not a charity that I would give my money to 

[jillydoll]

Have you heard about the flies in Wales?
Apparently, it's horrendous, people can't eat, sleep, or do anything
Because of the swarms. People are having to eat in their cars, just to
get away from them.
No one knows where they're coming from, some people are blaming
the local tip, some are blaming the sewage that flows into the sea,
But still no one knows, don't know how long they've had it for, but
it sounds horrible.

[Two hoots]

It's in my local town  , it's not in the village I live in but it's not far.  I'd heard people talking about it but didn't realise how bad it was until I saw it on the news, apparently it started a week ago.  The council can't find out where they are coming from but are advising residents not to open windows, it's soooo humid it's impossible to have windows closed, I really feel sorry for the locals