Patch and Garden

17/03/12

Garden

A flock of 12 Lesser Redpoll had taken over in the garden, and that included a 'Ginger'/Yellow Polled Redpoll

Also 3 Siskin

After abit, i decided to see if the BARNACLE GOOSE was still around, and it was, showing well agian near the lake with Canada's:

While watching the is bird, i saw a Chiffchaff amongst some trees.

MB

More Garden stuff

3/02/12 (or around that date)
I'll let the images and videos do the talking

The local pest! Should be shot!

MB

Patch and Garden

19/02/12

A 4 hour stomp of the patch was quite unrewarding, with very little to get even slightly exited about, A Goldcrest here, A Nuthatch there:

The Garden has been more interesting, with now daily flocks of varying sizes of both Lesser redpoll and Siskin:

MB

Insane Patch First!

10/02/11

As i have said many Many MANY times before, patch biridng can sometimes be really awsome!

There are just some days when everything is good in the world of patch birding!

I have had many days like that over the last couple of years!

Class of Red-Throated Diver Whooper Swan, Smew, Dipper, Goldeneye and Waxwings spring to mind, a list of birds that isnt too bad for any midlands site where they arnt regualar!

However, sometimes, a bird that may be common just down the road may be an insane rarity elsewhere, and that is a huge thing about patch working! Shenstone Birder just on the other side of Stourport has a range of Farmland birds on his patch, and i dont have any, even Linnet is quite uncommon! And our patches are only a few miles apart!

Anyway, Ive gone off on a tangent here.

The reason for my waffling!

Drake SHELDUCK!

Insane patch first!

Ive seen litterally thousands of these birds in my birding 'career' but one on my patch, that has very little open water is just totally bizzare!

However, i have a theiry!

As can be seen within my photo's/video's, the thin layer of patchy snow seems to resemble a partially, shallowly flooded field, habitat that Shelduck feed in, and as this stunning duck flew over it saw this 'habitat' and decided to land!

Another patch first that i wasnt expecting!

Any Duck besides Mallards, Goosanders and Mandarins are a huge patch rarity, so the 'run' of ducks ive had in the last few years is quite an unexpected turn up!

It always seems that this cold snowy weather brings something good to the patch!

There was a flock of 8 Goosander on the river (2 drk)

Also, a large flock of Redwings were showing well!

Back in the garden there was the usual flock of Finches, 5 Siskin, 2 Lesser Redpoll, but i also had a landed first in the garden, when a female PIED WAGTAIL decided to land on the patio briefly before being flushed by a Blackbird!

On 11/02/12 the Finch flock had again increased.

8 LESSER REDPOLL (5m) was a substancial increase and there was still 5 Siskin (2m). 6 Chaffinch, 15c Goldfinch and a single male Greenfinch!

MB

Garden Birding

4/02/12

Sometimes garden birding can be insane!

Sometimes a bird which you see in a million other places can suddenly become a Mega rarity, and nothing is more sought after than a garden tick!

Before setting out for the day, i had a couple of hours to watch the feeders at my leasure, and dont you just love it when a cold front hits, birds flood to garden feeders like moths to a lighbulb!

It quickly became evident there was a few more Goldfinch today, with around 40c in the tree's and on the feeders, also in the tree's but unwilling to drop onto the feeders was a flock of 20c Greenfinch.

However, the main interest was around the 'scarcer' Finches.

4 female LESSER REDPOLL were visiting on and off throughout the morning, but 'our' male didnt land on the feeders (he was seen in the tree though)

However, one of my favorite Finches was about to make a comeback into the garden after a no-show all winter so far.

A female SISKIN dropped onto the seed feeder. The camera quickly came out and i was soon filming the bird.

However nice a female Siskin is, i still had that moment of exitement when the stunning adult male SISKIN dropped onto the feeders! What a Finch!

The bird spent some time on the niger feeder, accompanied by a female Lesserpoll.

However, the (By Far) highlight was a garden first! I was filming the above video, when an 'odd' finch dropped onto the fence, head on, 'odd face pattern i though'.It turned side on and flew onto one of the seed feeders.

LINNET!

female Linnet in the garden!

The white Pannel in the wing standing out like a sore thumb!

Linnet!

Bloody Linnet!

My dad quickly came in and saw the bird as it flew off the feeder, having only taken one seed. Despite being heard again a few times, i did not see the bird again, and am only left with memories of this first!

But that got me thinking, why is it we ignore birds in one place, and watch them intently at others?

Rarity value? a Linnet may be common on farmland, therefore undesirable, but quite hard to get in a garden context, therefore reaching a higer value?

Food for thought

MB

Garden.

22/01/12
Yes, Yes i know, Garden birds again!
But we had this stunning male Lesser Redpoll on our feeders!

Also, we are still getting visits from a smart Female Lesser Redpoll.

However, we have still to note a single Siskin on the Feeders! But there was an increase of them on the patch today, with around 20 seen, also the same number for Redpoll's, and a small flock of 4 Reed Bunting was at the Gadwall lake.

MB

Garden Pictures

14/01/12

21/01/12

MB

The Start to 2012!

1/01/12
The first bird on the year list was a Robin singing at 4:35am in the glow of a streetlamp

On 2/01/12 when i got back to my dad's, i was quite looking forward, due to my dad having reported some Goodies on the feeders over the last few days! I had a look in the garden for about an hour from first light untill we headed down to Slimbridge.
However, the Brambling my dad had seen did not come back in, only the flock of 10c Chaffinch, However, i was left bemused at around 9am when 2 'pigeons' flew into the garden, one a standard Woodpigeon, but the other a gorgeous adult STOCK DOVE! in the garden, i had my Digi-scoping setup by the window already (I'd been photographing redpolls earlier) but the bird flew off before i manadged to get anothing on it, only the 2nd Stock dove thats ever been in the garden!

I was happy that our finch flcok had started building up for the late winter (our finches usually come into the garden in late january-Early February), and with the 20c Goldfinch, 4 Greenfinch and 10 Chaffinch were a flock of 6 Lesser Redpoll's (although one was quite 'Grey'-The first photo- Idea's? Note Lesser redpoll also on feeder for comparison), The Redpoll's shown On/off in the early morning, but by the time some good light was shining onto the feeders the Redpoll's had done a dissapearing act!

MB

Garden Summary 2/04- 9/04

2/04/11


The pair of BRAMBLINGS remained, but the April Barrier hit, and there was a huge drop in Finch Numbers in both the wood and the Garden, Only 10c Siskin remained in the Garden, 5 Goldfinch and a single Lesser Redpoll.
3/04/11



A flock of 6 BRAMBLING were in a tree adjacent to the garden, a new record count, add to this the 8+ that was still in the birchwood and that makes 14+ over the site still.
A single Lesser Redpoll was still visiting the garden, and Siskin numbers had jumped to 20c again.
A gorgeous Chiffchaff sang and showed well in the garden.



9/04/11
Despite having douts over whether the bramblings would still be here i was proved wrong when a superb flock of 6 Birds were all together on the seed below the feeder and on the patio, a gorgeous sight, including some stunning looking males.
A flock of 15 Goldfinch remained although all our siskin had gone.











MB

Garden News again

12/03/11
13/03/11

Our regular Garden Birds were still attendence.
The 2 Brambling ( Ringed and non-Ringed Females) were still visiting On-Off throughout
5 Lesser Redpoll remained Over both days,as did the flock of 50c Siskin, But i only manadged decent Photos of this male bird..

(Male Lesser Redpoll)

(Our regular male Chaffinch 'Bigfoot', Note the fungus(?) growth on its right leg where it gets its nickname)

I also manadged to get some Video of the Bramblings and Redpoll's in the Garden.

(Lesser Redpoll)

(Non-Ringed Brambling)

(Ringed Brambling)

MB

Back to the patch!

5/03/11
I had to see if the Bramblings were still around, and luckilly they were.
A pair were still visiting the garden, however they were still being as flighty as ever, so here is a video of a siskin Instead..

So then it was for a walk into the Birchwood, which over the 2nd half of the winter has turned into my patch heaven!!

And what do you know

BRAMBLINGS.

8+ to be a little more spacific, and a very hard to observe flock as they were in the lower parts of the woodland in the hawthorn clumps and comuting to a nearby stream to drink and preen.I managed some videos at the stream.

The whole Finch flock was still in situ with:

10+ Brambling (8+ in Birchwood, 2 in Garden)

10c Lesser Redpoll

20c Chaffinch

70c Siskin

10c Goldfinch

6+ Greenfinch

10c LTT

5 Wren

and a single Green woodie on the adjacent moorhall meadow.

Still a Happy patcher

MB

Garden.... Again

26/02/11

With the Gardens first Brambling being in the garden a few days previous, and after having a few days away, i was up early in the morning to see if she was still visiting.

And after about an hour, the ringed female BRAMBLING dropped down onto the floor below the feeders, the light was shocking, and the bird was only down for about 5 secs so i didnt get any video of the bird, however this bird was quickly followed by another, a full adult male!!!!

Not yet in summer plumage but a gorgeous bird, like the female it also dissapeared quickly and i didnt get any photos or videos.

Also there was 25c Siskin

1 Lesser Redpoll

10c Goldfinch

3 Chaffinch

MB

Garden...

22/02/11

With the BRAMBLING in the wood i tried to get up early, but as usual, schools holidays and all, i was not in the mood, but at 10 Am ( quite early) i got a shout from my dad going 'BRAMBLING!!!', i was drifting in and out of consiousness but heard the cry from heaven, and on with my jeans, run to the window.

Garden tick in the bag..

A female BRAMBLING was pottering about below the feeders with the Siskin and Chaffinch.

I quickly grabbed the scope, placed it in the sink with the tripod on the lowest setting ( you can only view our feeders from the window at the sink). and aimed at the Bird.

A quick rushed video of the Brambling.

it was while filming the bird that i noticed on the moniter that the bird had a ring on its right leg, which i found quite interesting, of cause i couldnt read the ring, but it is a good visual clue to see hows many birds you see.

It was only when the bird flushed to the tree, i looked at the actual feeders, and there was a LESSER REDPOLL female feeding there, after a bit it was joined by another, then another, after a good 2 hours of frenzied feeding activity on the feeders, all the birds flew off into the birch wood at around 12 to feed 'natrually'.

i then had a look at the 150 of so photos i had taken of the birds, admitidly concentrated mostly on the Redpoll flock. but here is a selection....

and now videos...

The female BRAMBLING did drop down once more before the flock flew to the woodland, and as i was on garden watch, here is the video..

And all that in the garden in 2 hours, what a morning, and then it was onto the patch......

MB

feeders

29/12/09
a bit of late afternoon activity on the feeders around 3:30pm
a adult male LESSER REDPOLL briefly perched on the seed feeder took a few seeds then dissapeared for the night
the wintering MARSH TIT visited the trees around he garden before it too dissapeared, also a nuthatch in the same tree as the marsh tit, and 5 goldcrest, a flock of 20c LTT's briefly visited my peanut feeder and then also flew away(presumably to roost), the LTT's have visited the feeder every day since
MB