Forum Topic

Please remember ...

The little birdies at this time of year.Put some grub out for them.

Keith Iddon ● 5346d16 Comments

"By the way..it's just so peaceful without the roar of Heathrow in the background."..... but that may change with the decision to lift the restriction on night flights for the next four days(and take-offs from the northern runway, if that is the only one operating, won't be fun for those who have previously benefitted from the "Cranford Agreement")

Tim Henderson ● 5344d

We have birdies with rarified palettes in Isleworth - there's posh!

Vanessa Smith ● 5345d

Pizza crusts ...ItalianPasta        ...ItalianParmesan Rind...ItalianCooking oil  ...Probably ItalianOnion nets  ...French!!!Poor little sodettos.

Tony Wood ● 5345d

We've been feeding the birdies with our patent bird food, which consists of scraps of bread, pizza crusts sometimes, pasta, bacon fat and some nuts, also Parmesan cheese rind on Saturday mixed with oil from cooking. They just totally ignored the commercial stuff we bought last year and it went mouldy! I save the nets that onions come in and use them, plus we've put a nut feeder out too. It's like canteen, we've had mostly Starlings, but have seen Tits and two Robins. Our big cat thinks it's live TV just for him as he gazes out of the window for ages with his teeth chattering, he is a very tormented soul!

Vanessa Smith ● 5345d

:0) yes we get lots of them too, they like eating putty from the roof windows?!I don't know if they're still there but prob.50+ years ago there was a large colony of crossbills in Kew Gardens,though thinking about it they probably competed and lost against the parakeets. They were in the pine trees running parallel to the Thames wall.Cameras...yes well,I spent about 5-7 minutes watching waxwing from about 8 feet with bins,thought I ought to take a picture,went and got 2 still and a video camera...I think if I'd joined all the batteries together I may have got half a volt out of them.

Tony Wood ● 5346d

Tony,  Saw the woodpecker feeding from one of the bird feeders in the garden a few times.Saw a sparrowhawk demolishing a pigeon too but no camera to hand.We don't live far from the canal and get quite a few sh***hawks from time to time.

Keith Iddon ● 5346d

Hi Keith  We don't see/hear many woodpeckers at all,maybe 3-4 a year,maybe the wrong type of trees (mostly pines). Mostly sea birds(blimmin noisy oyster catchers) and birds of prey along with the usual chaffinches,sparrows,dunnocks etc.

Tony Wood ● 5346d

Lol,Big robin was good boy today..he(she?) didn't eat the lot!Glad the magpies have stayed away. A single pigeon was the only other visitor.Two small foxes playing/wrestling in the road last night (2am).By the way..it's just so peaceful without the roar of Heathrow in the background.

Jim Lawes ● 5346d

Blimey,just seen the pic of the little porker!Makes the one I saw in my garden look like Twiggy(before breakfast!)

Keith Iddon ● 5346d

Lol.I don't think that pictured robin will realise what a local celebtity he has become.. 42 viewings already.. and that's cheery!

Jim Lawes ● 5346d

Tony,The waxwing s a lovely looking bird isn't it?Have you had the local woodpecker with the red cap at all during the summer?

Keith Iddon ● 5346d

Saw the chubbiest robin I've ever seen earlier.I hope that's a good sign.Real little fatty he was(my wife said he reminded her of someone not a million miles away...!)

Keith Iddon ● 5346d

http://twitpic.com/3hgicw/fullDelightful thread...I've just had a friendly visitor!.... a red breasted robin outside my kitchen window...snap!

Jim Lawes ● 5346d

We were really chuffed to bits this morning,we had a waxwing eating  berries from a rowan tree in the garden,stunning looking little bird,a first for us.  Yes we feed the birds year round,but we give them a "winter eating allowance". Mostly pheasants dodging gun barrels,collared doves dodging work,hooded crows,rooks and jackdaws dodging everything.

Tony Wood ● 5346d

The water is really important - and a hot kettleful on top of the snow in the birdbath soon freezes over at these minus temperatures!As I write a green woodpecker is visiting a tree on the road seagulls are flying low over the gardens and the Magpies are bullying the Crows for some cat biscuits I put next to the fresh water.

Sarah Felstead ● 5346d

Have just done that. 2 magpies, a pigeon and an unindentified big brown bird so far. I had to polish the window so that my other half could get his camera out. Don't forget to give some unfrozen water too.

Margaret Wittich ● 5346d