New visitor to garden

Whilst tidying my kitchen this morning I have been kept amused by a new visitor to the garden...a lovely little Nuthatch. He has been stabbing the peanut feeder like crazy...looks like a little woodpecker at work...and is so acrobatic, he walks down the pole with the feeders on head first, but the thing that has amused me the most is that when he gets a whole nut or seed he brings it over to the tree by the kitchen window, wedges it under a piece of flaking bark and whacks the hell out of it, then takes the little fragments out one by one. What a clever little bird. I guess you could say he was using the bark like a vice. So often you see this kind of thing on wildlife programmes but to actually see it in action is amazing.

If he continues to come every morning I will try and get his photo taken, at the moment I am too mesmerised by his presence to take my eyes off him let alone run off to get a camera. ;o)

In addition to this newbie we have a coach load ( well maybe a minibus load ) of baby Blue Tits coming each day...infact they seem to stay all day, they are there first thing and still there at dusk when you'd imagine that all good little Blue Tits should be in bed. None of them have the blue yet and some are teeny but they all seem very confident and capable of feeding themselves, unlike the petits Moineaux who still seem to rely on their parents until they are quite big.

Am I imagining this or...

...can this really be the case? I have observed that in the back garden the last few days there are just girl baby birds being fed by their Mums and the boys appear to congregate out in the front garden. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this behaviour. When they were very young, as in still quite fluffy they all seemed to join in together...now they are still young enough to be fed but have split into groups.

Either way there will be enough food to go around as I bought a 20kg bag today, I am hoping it will last a good way through the summer.

Doxie

How small was the chick?

We found a little egg shell in the garden, I think it's a robin's perhaps...just imagine how tiny that baby chick was! Just look at the size!

Hello Mr Bluetit

I found this so amusing, When Ds came back from a walk this morning he said " Nothing to report I'm afraid." I usually quiz him to see who was out and about etc.

Later when we were sat down together for a cuppa he told me a Bluetit had landed on him when he was out!!!!! Nothing to report???? How often does that happen?

He was crouching down to tie up his shoe lace, felt something hit his shoulder and turned his head to see what it was...there was said Bluetit perched on his shoulder, he looked him in the eye, went cheep cheep and flew off! How odd!

Woodpigeons are not stupid.

Woody has now realised that even though he can't get his head through the new feeder he can cling on the side and swing wildly until the contents empty onto the flower bed below. He then has a lovely time tramping all over the bedding plants and having a good peck around.

Let the battle commence. I guess the next step is finding somewhere too confined for him to feel comfortable swinging but where the little birdies will still find it.

Doxie in need of a cunning plan.

New bird feeder

We bought a new bird feeder yesterday. Woody the ( yes you guessed ) Wood pigeon is so cheeky just lately. He used to come and sit on the garden screen near the kitchen window and peer in until I was persuaded to go and put some grain on the bird table...now however he just ignores the rules, which means if he gets to the bird table before me, meaning it is empty on his arrival, he doesn't hang around and wait to be fed... he goes to the small bird feeders hanging from the tree and noshes up from them. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge him a bit of seed, it is just that he finishes it all up and there is none left for the little birds who patiently wait their turn.

The solution is we HOPE...one of those feeders incased in a large wire ball, so only the little birds can get to the food. Woody still has the same choices, I just hope the little birdies realise that they have a new choice.

I wonder how long it will take them to realise there is a new food source out there...we will see...

Doxie twitching through the window.

Update: The finches and Tits have found the new feeder already! I wish the sparrows would cotton on to it though...Even Woody found it, but luckily it worked and he couldn't get his head through the holes.

Les Petits Moineaux

We have had real petits moineaux in the garden. It is funny but I never think of them as being babies, as soon as they get their colouring they look old. We have been very amused this week watching a family of 3 baby boys and 1 girl playing on the Acers by the kitchen window. I am not sure what they are up to on there because there doesn't appear to be any bugs, buds or seeds. The boys look really funny as they are not quite fully feathered on their bonces and look like they only have half a head, if you have ever seen them in this state you'll know exactly what I mean. Come next week we probably won't be able to tell them apart from their parents...for now it is a nice distraction whilst doing the washing up. :o)

We also have a darling baby robin. I hope he will become as tame as his Mum and Dad who like to follow me around the garden when I am working out there.

Doxie the twitcher