[Misc] The Official NSC Bird Spotting Thread.

[smiler]

I used to see a peregrine falcon in the steelwork in the roof of the west stand. Has anyone else ever seen it?

Yes several times but not this season. I look for it every game

 

[Norman Potting]

Have you spotted an Oozlum bird on any of your twitching trips??

 

[1066familyman]

Have you spotted an Oozlum bird on any of your twitching trips??

Only the once, but as they're want to do, it disappeared up it's own backside

 

[Frankie]

 

[WATFORD zero]

Seen a couple of Red Kites (or maybe the same one twice) over Waterhall in the last week.

 

[Nobby]

I know it's not a bird but I regularly see this big ol guy on my wanders around where I live up here in Bedfordshire

Not Sussex though, wish it was

 

[portslade seagull]

A sparrowhawk has taken to resting in our apple tree which is all of 7ft tall

 

[jakarta]

A sparrowhawk has taken to resting in our apple tree which is all of 7ft tall

That is a MASSIVE Sparrowhawk, I would keep your cats and dogs indoors...

 

[GT49er]

I have a bird-feeding station in my garden, with all the goodies - fat-balls, seeds, nuts, mealworms - but I get hardly any visitors. Wish I knew why. No sparrows or starlings here at all! Much to my delight though, I had a brief visit from a goldfinch - a beautiful bird. Last time I saw one was on a summer day, when running back to school after going home for dinner, more than 60 years ago!

 

[MJsGhost]

I have a bird-feeding station in my garden, with all the goodies - fat-balls, seeds, nuts, mealworms - but I get hardly any visitors. Wish I knew why. No sparrows or starlings here at all! Much to my delight though, I had a brief visit from a goldfinch - a beautiful bird. Last time I saw one was on a summer day, when running back to school after going home for dinner, more than 60 years ago!

Is it a stand-alone feeding station, away from decent cover? You should get more interest if the feeders are hanging from a tree, or close enough to trees or shrubs so there's a bit of cover. An exposed position leaves the birds wary of predation.

We have flocks of goldfinches around us (just outside of Lewes) and they're suckers for the nigella seeds we put out for them.

My personal favourites that we get in the garden are long-tailed tits. We've very occasionally had bullfinches too.

Chaffinch numbers have noticeably declined.

 

[Monkey Man]

I have a bird-feeding station in my garden, with all the goodies - fat-balls, seeds, nuts, mealworms - but I get hardly any visitors. Wish I knew why. No sparrows or starlings here at all! Much to my delight though, I had a brief visit from a goldfinch - a beautiful bird. Last time I saw one was on a summer day, when running back to school after going home for dinner, more than 60 years ago!

We've got three feeding stations, with a mixture of fat balls, seeds and peanuts. But as MJsGhost says, best to position these things near cover. Ours are bracketed to a tall fence with trees immediately behind, or hanging from one of those trees, and we get a nice mix of blue tits, sparrows, robins etc plus bigger birds like jackdaws, magpies and pigeons that either try their luck or feed off what the others spill.

If the food remains untouched for some time it will start to go mouldy and you'll need to remove it, clean the feeder and start again. Eventually, if the positioning isn't too exposed, the birds will come. (So may rats, sadly.)

 

[GT49er]

It's in the lawn, just over 8 feet away (i.e. just above squirrel jumping range!) from a thick high hedge. There are large thick evergreen trees about 7-8 yards away. I have got other feeders - on the washing line, 2 or 3 feet from the hedge, with a 7 ft. hgh latel bush on the other side. No takers! Also blocks on hooks in fences - again, very little attraction to the birds. Too many magpies around probably desn't help.

Fortunately those lovely little long tailed tits are my third or fourth most regular small bird visitors (after the robin and a blackbird!)

 

[Weststander]

It's in the lawn, just over 8 feet away (i.e. just above squirrel jumping range!) from a thick high hedge. There are large thick evergreen trees about 7-8 yards away. I have got other feeders - on the washing line, 2 or 3 feet from the hedge, with a 7 ft. hgh latel bush on the other side. No takers! Also blocks on hooks in fences - again, very little attraction to the birds. Too many magpies around probably desn't help.

Fortunately those lovely little long tailed tits are my third or fourth most regular small bird visitors (after the robin and a blackbird!)

Are the feeders the type with a large mesh outer cage too?

The only way to beat squirrels and large birds.

 

[GT49er]

Are the feeders the type with a large mesh outer cage too?

The only way to beat squirrels and large birds.

Some are encased, but the fat-balls and blocks, and the nuts, are availabe to all.

 

[Gwylan]

One app I've downloaded that is really helpful is Merlin. It records bird song and identifies them. Just walking around Coldean with the dog the other day, it identified 14 birds - the usual robins, wrens, starlings, tits, pigeons etc but also picked up a reed bunting, a goldcrest, greenfinch, redwing, goldfinch - the trick is then to find them,

 

[BrightonCottager]

I buy birdseed from the local pet shop and have discovered that goldfinches love sunflower hearts. It takes them a while to find the feeder, but once they do, they'll flock to it.

I use the Birdnet app to identify birdsong

 

[BrightonCottager]

Large flock of black-backed gulls (unsure if Greater or Lesser) in Malaga Harbour & a Yellow-legged Gull - very similar to a Herring Gull



 

[MJsGhost]

One app I've downloaded that is really helpful is Merlin. It records bird song and identifies them. Just walking around Coldean with the dog the other day, it identified 14 birds - the usual robins, wrens, starlings, tits, pigeons etc but also picked up a reed bunting, a goldcrest, greenfinch, redwing, goldfinch - the trick is then to find them,

I use the Birdnet app to identify birdsong

I might give these apps a go. I've used the BirdSong ID UK app before, but it really wasn't great. I tried it out in several instances where I knew full well what the birds were (I could see them too) and it got very mixed up, to say the least.

I'm lucky enough to have a few reliable spots for nightingales near me, so I'm looking forward to them arriving in 6 weeks or so. I have found that recording their song with my phone and then playing it back makes them think there's a rival nearby, so they come closer and sing in an attempt to see me off. It adds to the joy of a springtime dog walk at dawn and dusk

 

[Weststander]

Some are encased, but the fat-balls and blocks, and the nuts, are availabe to all.

My Dad (a long time feeder of birds) found that small species are scared off by the Woodpigeons and Squirrels, also spooked by Sparrowhawks.

The outer cage type of feeder really helped.

 

[HAILSHAM SEAGULL]

I have a bird-feeding station in my garden, with all the goodies - fat-balls, seeds, nuts, mealworms - but I get hardly any visitors. Wish I knew why. No sparrows or starlings here at all! Much to my delight though, I had a brief visit from a goldfinch - a beautiful bird. Last time I saw one was on a summer day, when running back to school after going home for dinner, more than 60 years ago!

Birds are wary of feeding in wide open spaces because they are sitting ducks for hawks and birds of prey. If your feeders are near to trees and bushes, they are close to areas where they can hide .