NSC Springwatch. What are you doing ?

[Leekbrookgull]

Usual stuff like many no doubt,two fresh nesting boxes up and plenty of interest,however we have amazingly got a pair to Thrushs in the garden,i have always put out dried fruit cake mix most goes to the blackbirds,however about a two months ago the cock Thrush turned-up and over the weekend a Hen has appeared with him. Just wonderful stuff to watch.

 

[Fef]

I have a number of bird feeders in the back garden which have attracted a variety of species, but in particular a large family of collared doves. Currently I'm (or they're) getting through about 20kg of sunflower hearts each month - filling up the feeders every other day.

Our nesting boxes aren't attracting any residents though.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Feeders out...peanuts, fat balls and bread (plus something for the finches the name of which escapes me) ...some madeira cake today which a Robin was enjoying until a Rook carried away the whole lot!

Nesting Robins at bottom of garden ..one fledged today despite next doors cat taking an interest

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Watching the bats at dusk.

 

[BN9 BHA]

I put out fat balls and peanuts for the birds and I get lots of different types in my garden.

Thinking of getting this!!

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

We stopped feeding wild birds about a month ago. Plenty of worms around from the spreading and turning of compost, plentiful supply of insects as well as berries from some early fruiting shrubs.

Haven't ever needed to put out nesting boxes, the birds seem to cope just fine in our surrounding hedges. The downside is that I now can't trim these until they've fledged, our first pair of blackbirds seemed to have waved goodbye to the young offspring sometime during the previous 24hrs.
Daily we get visited by Blackbirds, Tits (blue, great and long-tailed), Wrens, Robins, Thrushes, Chaffinches and Goldfinches, Chiffchaffs; spotted a Yellowhammer today too. A Greater Spotted Woodpecker still pops in about once a week to check if we've put out any coconut halves and we hear a Green Woodpecker daily in some adjacent trees. Haven't seem many Starlings and there's been very few Sparrows. Don't have gulls this far north, just crows, jays snf magpies

 

[jevs]

Few butterflies around too at the moment.....Commas, Brimstones, Peacocks, Small Whites, Small Tortoiseshell, Common Blue and Speckled Woods have all been seen in the Rockery in the past few weeks. A young family also bought one of those DIY butterfly hatcheries in and released about a dozen Painted Ladies into the Rockery.

Im awaiting the first sighting of a Dragonfly....it might be a bit early still. The Frogs bred like mad and all the new marginal areas in the pond are full of large fat tadpoles. We have a new resident in the pond, a fairly large female Red Eared Terrapin which is perfectly harmless (we taken expert advice and also have a risk assessment on it !!!!)

Some wonderful birdlife around at the moment with all the usual species being represented. Had a Heron around last week and there's been a Sparrowhawk in the woodland area at the back of the garden. The was a pair of Buzzards too last week which were quickly seen off by the Gulls and Crows.

If anyone wants to check out the photos, have a look here https://www.facebook.com/PrestonRockGarden or better still, come and visit, the garden's looking superb at the moment.

 

[jevs]

Pair of Greater Spotted Woodpeckers spotted this week