In our garden now the max. counts are at least 2 Greenfinches, 9 Chaffinches and 6 Reed Buntings (all counts of birds all together at once so bound to be more) but best of all this afternoon our first ever garden Brambling, a female, with the Chaffinches.
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Tuesday 19th of March 2024 04:16:06 PM
Currently have up to 6(3m) Reed Buntings and 5 Chaffinches in our Moulton garden, getting through lots of ground feed!! We are getting a couple of Greenfinches occasionally and up to 6 Goldfinches. All this in a small back garden that wasn't 'finch-ey' at all.
In my Moulton garden the wild-ing is paying dividends, even in our tiny plot. We planted 4 Hawthorns several years ago and these are now large and full of berries. At least 3 large hollies have berries too as well as pyracantha and cotoneaster providing yet more berries. The berries are attracting stuff currently, not the Waxwings (down) yet but who knows?! Today I recorded 8 Blackbirds and 2 Redwings feeding, the latter being a garden rarity and we have never had 8 Blackbirds at once. Just 2 days ago a Mistle Thrush was in one of the holly bushes feeding too, a garden tick. As I say, just the Waxwings to go now, or a Fieldfare perhaps, everything is crossed!
Fabulous day in the garden today. Just after filling the feeders and 'de-icing' the bird bath i had my first ever Waxwings for the garden when a small group of 10 Waxwings flew over north. Withing 5 minutes a large female Sparrowhawk appeared in the elder and stayed for a while until one of my indoor cats appeared at the window and spooked her. Also this morning two less than regular visitors were a male Greenfinch and a ringed Goldfinch.
A new species was seen in our Moulton garden this ween, in the tiny back garden too. A Common Whitethroat was in the large elder that is dripping with berries, lots of them ripe and being fed on by a range of species. It was a brief view but long enough for me to get Carys on it too, which pleased her especially as she is recording birds weekly and submitting to the BTO Garden Bird Study.
Tonight whilst out checking around the moth trap for settled moths I heard the very distinctive call of a Whimbrel overhead. The call was not loud so I assume the bird was quite high & I could not ascertain the direction of flight.
Wee update, still at least 1 male Reed Bunting visiting the hanging peanut tray in our back garden today (20th March). So now recorded for 51 days, thought it was worth celebrating the half century
Today (3rd March) a male Reed Bunting is present in our garden and using the hanging peanut tray for the 34th day. On Monday this week a Goldcrest was in the pine tree in the front garden.
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Wednesday 3rd of March 2021 01:21:52 PM
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Wednesday 3rd of March 2021 01:58:52 PM
Another garden surprise today when 2 male Reed Buntings turned up together in the garden
So in total we have had 2 males and 1 female Reed Bunting and had 25 consecutive days that at least 1 Reed Bunting has visited our garden feeders!! As I've said before, all this after no records of this species in our garden in 22 years before!!
Following on from Fridays male Reed Bunting in our Moulton garden, it spent nearly the whole of Saturday 30th in the garden again. It therefore guaranteed its addition to the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch sheet!! Today it returned this morning and then this afternoon it came back with a female Reed Bunting!! So like buses we wait 22 years and they start to turn up in multiples
The male Reed Bunting continues to visit daily, now for its 14th consecutive day, whilst the female makes the occasional appearance. A very small file size pic attached!
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Thursday 11th of February 2021 04:40:14 PM
Following on from Fridays male Reed Bunting in our Moulton garden, it spent nearly the whole of Saturday 30th in the garden again. It therefore guaranteed its addition to the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch sheet!! Today it returned this morning and then this afternoon it came back with a female Reed Bunting!! So like buses we wait 22 years and they start to turn up in multiples
Today I had a new bird species for the garden, and we've been here nearly 22 years! It was in our postage-stamp sized back garden feeding on a hanging seed tray and then resting up digesting in cover of our buddleia bush - a male Reed Bunting. I watched it for ages and even had time to go out to the car and get my digiscoping gear to get a few record shots through our double glazing. Maybe, now it has found a food resource, it will be back. A great start to the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch weekend
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Friday 29th of January 2021 10:21:08 PM
A bit late due to Lockdown, but a walk to get real milk from our local farm let me add Swallow to my yearlist. A single bird was seen but the farmer told me that a pair were back on his farm. Also on the walk we had Oystercatcher and Lapwing on a flooded field. Also on the flood were Moorhen and Coot, with a Grey Heron nearby. Further down the farm lane we had 1 or 2 Greenfinches, a real rarity here these days (could have been 1 bird moving or 2 birds in seperate areas!).
Down by the river directly by the track from Moulton there is a Cetti's Warbler singing at Newbridge Pool. Lots of Reed Warblers here too. This is a private fishing pool but the birds can be heard from the riverside path.
Had what may be a first for our garden in Moulton, a Chiffchaff, briefly in the back garden. Also present, as they have been for a fortnight or so, a pair of Goldcrests displaying.
Another great village sighting today, but not by me, by Carys my wife...... whilst I was at work lol !!
She had a Red Kite with 2 Buzzards over field to the south of Moulton at about 4.15pm. I got home at 4.35pm but despite a dash to the area that she had seen them in there were no raptors at all. So it's the one that got away for me, but still a fabulous local record
An even bigger surprise in our village today with news of 30 Waxwings just round the corner from our house, and with the bonus of me being at home A great find by young local birder Finlay Wilde
I hot-footed it round the corner and was soon watching the birds feeding on berries and flycatching. The kind man whose garden they were in invited the four observers in and we had fabulous views and managed a few piccies between us too. As we were watching I noticed a bird flyover and shouted Swallow A yeartick for all assembled there (8 folk at that stage!!).
Later I received a call that suggested 2 flocks may be in the vicinity. Brilliant bird illustrator, Dave Quinn, who lives near me too, rang to say he had had 2 flocks in widely spaced locations this morning. One is probably the flock I saw, the other flew off towards Whitegate (and nearer to my Newchurch patch!!). He also told me of two adult Mediterranean Gulls in field by the village the other day.
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Thursday 30th of March 2017 10:17:59 PM
A real surprise today in the shape of the male Blackcap again around the window feeders in our garden. Recent research has reported that the Blackcaps that we get wintering in the UK are from the german breeding poulation which after winter then return back to Germany and are replaced by our breeding birds arriving back from Africa. I would have thought that the German birds would have returned by now hence my surprise. Either this is a late returner, or do some of the UK breeders overwinter in the UK now too?
In the past week the male Blackcap has been seen again and possibly a female was briefly in the same tree but not seen by Carys well enough. Goldcrests are regular in the garden too, roll on the day that one of the crests is a Firecrest!!
Brilliant, as I was waiting to take my car to have a new tyre after a puncture the plus side was seeing the male Blackcap in our front garden. So I didn't miss it this winter after all Good to know he is still hanging around too. We now have daily visits to the fat feeders just a couple of feet from our front window by a group of Long-tailed Tits too which is always nice to see.
Just been messages by my wife to say that there's a male Blackcap in our front garden in Moulton. Miffed to be missing it & miffed it missed the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch by a day or two
A wierd sighting today of a cock Pheasant strolling down one of the main streets of our village
I put this down to the fact that there are two building projects going on on fields at the edge of the village, unfortunately houses are being built on geen belt and this Pheasant could be a small indicator of species being displaced
For a long time now we have had a mini Starling roost in our Leylandii in the garden, probably never numbering more than 50, but still nice to have & great to hear in the dark, all that chuntering & murmuring!! But on a larger scale tonight I saw a mini murmuration over our village of 400-500 Starlings, at 5.10pm. I'm not sure where they ended up as I lost sight of them over the houses but wonder whether they headed towards Northwich for the Neumann's/Ashton's/Marbury roost.
No repeat sightings today - probably moved off ahead of the rain. Just the usual fare of double figures of Goldfinches, at laest 4 Coal Tits and this evening a very low, very noisy flight of Canada Geese over the garden, numbering 60-80!! The racket even had the neighbours popping out to see what it was!!
Woke up this morning & looked out to see a small bird sheltering near the front feeding station. At first glance just thought Robin, as the feeders are quite distant & through double glazing, but something made me think it wasn't just a Robin so I went to fetch my bins to get a proper look. I was amazed to see a 1w male Redstart, a garden mega & the first Redstart I've had in any garden of any house I've ever lived in. The cheeky chappie stayed til dusk but was a b****r to photograph, butpatience produced several passable record shots. This follows on from the gardens first ever Nuthatches and the first Tawny Owl of the year sitting on the house!! All this in just 1 week
lol !!
A yeartick for all assembled there (8 folk at that stage!!).
