Author Topic: Garden birds  (Read 6538 times)

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Offline Scunner

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Re: Garden birds
« Reply #10 on: August 08, 2014, 21:50:10 PM »
We had 14 magpies in our garden at the same time recently. Also a fairly regular dawn chorus of seagulls which is anything but pleasant.



Offline heather07

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Re: Garden birds
« Reply #11 on: August 09, 2014, 05:17:47 AM »
We had 14 magpies in our garden at the same time recently. Also a fairly regular dawn chorus of seagulls which is anything but pleasant.
I didn,t think we got magpies up here Keith.  Furthest north I have seen them is the road glasgow to edinburgh.


Offline heather07

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Re: Garden birds
« Reply #12 on: August 09, 2014, 05:18:56 AM »
Spring watch would be interested in the changes in birds that you have noted.  Site on the internet but not sure when they collect data.

Offline Colwyn

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Re: Garden birds
« Reply #13 on: August 09, 2014, 08:59:56 AM »
The RSPB carry out a Big Garden Birdwatch each year. This year nearly half a million people took part with over 7 million birds reported. The results can be found here: http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/


Offline Scunner

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Re: Garden birds
« Reply #14 on: August 09, 2014, 11:39:20 AM »

I didn,t think we got magpies up here Keith.  Furthest north I have seen them is the road glasgow to edinburgh.


I'll bring you a few over  :)

Every day without fail at least 2, over this side of the water :D

Offline heather07

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Re: Garden birds
« Reply #15 on: August 09, 2014, 12:36:50 PM »
They must be spreading.  You keep them I will keep the sparrows. They eat less!!

Offline kevin3

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Re: Garden birds
« Reply #16 on: August 09, 2014, 15:34:58 PM »
I took part in the RSPB Birdwatch but it was more of a census, a snapshot of one day in your garden.

which birds spotted,how many of each ect. I think if they asked people for a report of trends in their

areas over a couple of years it would give a better picture nationwide. i didn't appreciate the follow up

calls asking for money starting with " £160 and we can set up a direct debit " diminishing down to

" a one off donation of £20 sir.??". The RSPB do a lot of good work. Their sales team don't.

Offline Colwyn

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Re: Garden birds
« Reply #17 on: August 09, 2014, 16:29:30 PM »
The problem with people submitting a narrative of the last couple of years is that it is subjective - about their perceptions. For example, "I seem to seeing a lot more starlings" or "There aren't as many magpies as there used to be". Since so may people (0.5 million) join in The thing I'd like RSPB to is to have two birdwatches a year. Having just one in March doesn't tell us anything about our summer migrants. Where I am to absence of swallows, swifts and house martins is very - subjectively - noticable. But RSPB would have to trust people to identify birds flying over the garden rather than landing in them. Go on RSPB: trust people!

Offline sannyrut

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Re: Garden birds
« Reply #18 on: August 31, 2014, 12:02:19 PM »
Had a Robin's nest and Blackbird one too.Also Dunnock.Nesting boxes weren't used by the usual blue tits.Too many Magpies around here.I have seen them pulling Starling chicks out of a nest and eating them.Suppose they are doing that to other nests.Time for a Magpie cull I think.They are noisy,useless and predators.

Offline Jacqui Harvey

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Re: Garden birds
« Reply #19 on: August 31, 2014, 12:29:53 PM »
We have a lot of magpies around us and we are 25 miles north of Aberdeen.  The most I counted in the garden was 7 magpies.   They nest in the trees in the fields around us.  We had to get rid of the bird table and have hanging bird feeders with small openings in them to deter the magpies and the crows.
When we moved to our place 30 years ago there were hardly any trees.  The local farmers started to plant trees because they got grants, we got a grant and the local Forestry Organisation planted 300. Unfortunately, not a lot survived.  So, we bought 750 tiny trees really cheaply from the Forestry Commission and planted them ourselves, with the help of friends. Now we have lots of trees and the lovely thing is, we have seen woodpeckers at the bird feeders.  Gave me a real thrill when I first saw one.  The trees have brought lots of new wildlife including a pair of buzzards.   This morning we had our pheasant "Ginger" in our garden with two of his latest batch of kids and one of his wives.




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