During the weekend of January 30th, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is running a nationwide Birdwatch. This is an annual event and millions of people take part in counting and naming the birds that visit their gardens.
I'm always fascinated to see photos of what I think are exotic birds on blogs belonging to people who live far away. Probably humming birds are your everyday birds...but we certainly don't have them here.
Our bird feeders are hung outside my husband's room, so that he can enjoy seeing the different varieties. We spend a lot of time just watching.
Just lately we have had Goldfinches visit, their bright red heads glowing as they peck at the Sunflower seeds.
A Blackcap came to visit but could only peck on the ground. We have also seen the Great tit, which has not the same blue colour as the Blue tit, and unusually, a pair of Long Tailed tits. They always come together. The last one on the left is a Coal tit, smaller than the others, and a regular visitor also.
Poor example of photography here, but taken through a window so a bit misty.
I wanted to capture the Blackbird who comes and chomps away at the fat balls that I leave for him in the bulb pots. He can't hang on the feeders so this is his way of sharing. I don't know if the photo would be easier to see if you enlarge it.
I'm looking forward to our Bird Watch weekend.
30 comments:
It is such a joy to see your lovely photographs again!
I'd always thought of the sparrow as my commonest bird and the first time I did the RSPB birdwatch at my previous house I was amazed to realise just how many goldfinches came to my garden, probably because I fed them niger seed. I once had a hen pheasant which would actually land on my bird table despite the fact that it was tiny. I named her Amy as she was an ace flyer. I occasionally had green woodpeckers feeding on my lawn - they love ants' eggs which were always in plentiful supply there. I felt very honoured when they came although I could often hear spotted woodpeckers in the trees around.
Hello Eliabeth,
We also enjoy the birds in the garden. We have a colony of sparrows here, blue tits, coal tits, the pigeons, finches, an occasional wren, nuthatch and family blackbird. The blackbirds are very keen on the apple (sliced in two parts)I give them every day!
Have a nice Sunday!
Such lovely photos! You have much more interesting and prettier birds there than we do here in North Texas. We have sparrows, blue jays, cardinals and some other little bird that I can't remember -- has yellow on it -- and of course things like hawks and owls. I will try to capture some on the camera and post.
I so enjoyed your post this morning. I too enjoy feeding and watching our birds in our garden. We have sparrows, finches, doves and just recently a bluebird came to visit....that was unusual :) I must admit that the hummingbirds are my favorite and we have one that stays year round now and when his food is low he flies in place outside our backdoor to let me know it is time to make more. Birds bring such joy....Have a good day and happy bird watching.
Thank you Jenny, and thank you also for following my little blog. I came to see yours and was amazed by the wonderful stitchery there!
Oh Barbara, birds are just so delightful to watch. Here in the cottage, we get quiet a bit and they are always so much fun to watch and listen to their song :0) mari
We have a little robin who appears regularly in the back garden - and lots of blue tits come to the cherry tree in the front. I suspect that the big black cat which prowls around here is a deterrent to many birds though. [none of my neighbours knows who owns the cat] I missed the bullfinches we used to get in Leicestershire
During the winter, most of the birds I have seen here are woodpeckers, and chickadees. I loved hearing about the birds you see in your region, and how fun that your husband can watch the birds where he sits! I have our bird feeder right out my window right where I can see them too. Now, we have a much bigger bird that visits... and that is the wild turkeys, they have taken to hanging out in our yard, lol... Enjoyed your post, and hope you are having a wonderful day :)
I THINK I saw a V of snow geese glittering in the sky! I just rehung the feeder so I hope the birds find it before the fat squirrel. I'm happy that you have a goldfinch visitor.
Elizabeth, how lucky you are to have such pretty little birds visiting your garden, even in January. Over here in NYC, it's now really just pigeons and sparrows. Any other bird sighting is truly exotic.
I saw a few snow flurries this afternoon while waiting for a bus on Sixth Avenue (aka Avenue of the Americas) after a quick visit to The Museum of Modern Art. It was grand to finally see just a bit of gentle snow. After all, it is mid-winter.
xo
Hi Elizabeth, you have some beautiful birds there. I just love watching the birds. I have a feeder outside my kitchen window and I'm constantly peaking out to see who is visiting next. It's so nice that your husband can enjoy watching them also.
I enjoy watching the birds too, we get a variety from the woods, two wood pigeons come, blackbird, robin, blue tits, I hear an owl every night and would love to see him - when the ground gets hard I may venture out at dusk to look for him.
It looks like spring is just outside your window! Still snow here. We will do the bird count in February and nothing exciting or exotic. Not until the spring migration from South America begins then we will have warblers and perhaps some other song birds. Watching birds at feeds is a great pass time for anyone, but especially for those who don't get out as much anymore. And just so you know, I picked up a handful of daffodils at the super market last week after reading your blog. Certainly not Cornwall, but daffodils on the dining table none the less.
We have a birdwatch week-end in Brittany as well, but I don't know when it is this year, I'm going to check.
I love the birds in the spring and summer. Enjoyed your post.
Hi Elizabeth! I have started to really love bird-watching since we put up a bird feeder a few years ago. Of course, it's beastly cold now, so all we see are sparrows.
Love the blue heads of the tits. I can imagine it can be such a great sight for your husband to see each day. Even the big Blackbird chomping on the fat balls is fun!
I hope your husband is doing well. Happy Tuesday!
Ceil
Hey Barbara, We rarely see Hummingbirds at our NC home, but my MIL lives about 40 minutes away and has them all summer long! Weird. Mostly we see Tufted Titmouse, Sparrows, Chickadees, Yellow Finches and Cardinals.
Still praying for you and your husband. I'm going to buy you that other book on Kindle and send it to you. Still the same address as last time? Just email me, if not.
{{hugs}}
Anne, how kind of you. Sending an email.
Bird are such sweet creatures and quite fascinating to watch. Our hummingbirds usually arrive the first part of May, but it's the sweet robins that I love to see :) They start coming arriving in March or April.
Thanks for joining Roses of Inspiration. Love and hugs!
I enjoy bird watching also, there are a couple of doves that live in the trees where I live, I love to hear them coo!
Thanks for your sweet comment on my blog and following it. I am now following yours.
We also get blue tits, great tits and coal tits at our feeders, and occasionally bullfinches. There are a lot of buzzards here, and sea eagles, although we only see them rarely, and they definitely don't land! My children are much better at identifying the birds than me!We are also doing the garden birdwatch this month. Thank you for sharing your photos :-)
I like watching the birds too. That little tree with the two feeders I recently posted about is right outside my dining/kitchen window, so I can watch them while at the table. We can see them from the living room too. They are so interesting to watch. I think you may have that little Blackbird trained. :-)
Enjoy your day ♥
What sweet birds! My favorite is the blue one. I love to watch birds. It's been so cold lately that I rarely see them. Spring will be here soon enough. Thank you for commenting and following my blog. I'm following yours too!
Thank you so much for mentioning your new blog in the comment you left on my post. I may have known about this, but in all that is happening I seem to have let the knowledge leak out! So....I am your newest follower, following, as I have been, for nearly nine years now!
Me too, I found you now! I am not sure if we have a bird counting initiative here but I feed since many years the birds in winter. I found out that a homemade mixture of vegetable fat (melted in the microwave and then let for cooling a bit) then adding sultanas, linseed, sunflower seeds, oatflakes, peanuts and other slightly ground nuts is what they like best. I put special bowls on the floor for the blackbirds, robins, turtle doves and chaffinches. This year I filled mugs with the fat mixture, adding a landing stick and hung up. All your sort of tits are seen here as well, the long tailed tit however, is rare.
Isn't it a joy to watch the sweet birds! We feed sunflower seed, some other seed, and suet. They need the suet in this cold weather.
I'm hoping to get to Cornwall someday... Sigh.
Watching birds is a lovely pastime. The blue tits are so pretty. We have lots of Bewick's wrens and chickadees just now. Soon I expect to see robins poking about the garden. The bird count sounds like fun.
I'm so glad to have found you again Barbara (via Pondside) - had no idea you'd started a new blog, but glad you have as we have followed along through our blogs for many, many years now!
I hope things are going better - my thoughts are with you and hubby this new year and I wish you both peace and happiness. Looking forward to seeing more of your lovely Cornish garden and the beautiful birds - love the bluetits which we don't have here.
Readying for snow and ice tomorrow - could be bad but we're ready to cozy up and get through it - winter has been quite mild until now!
Have a blessed new year - wishing you good things.
Hugs - Mary
I love little birds and it's a very happy moment to me when Goldfinches visit the tree near my window. I wish I could see Blue tits too.
Thanks for sharing this photos.
Have a fabulous weekend!
Hugs and love from Portugal,
Ana Love Craft
www.lovecraft2012.blogspot.com
I've seen this advertised so will just look out and order the pack. I wonder if they have an albino sparrow on there? We have one that regularly pops in and is quite a confident little fellow!! Have a wonderful and warm weekend xx
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