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We humans are constantly bombarded with messages that Fat Is Bad. It's less lard, more olive oil these days. And rightly so, much of the time. Now that many of us live rather sedentary lives, sitting around in heated offices and houses, fat isn't as important for us as it once was. For birds...
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It’s been a washout of a summer – for humans anyway. My barbecue has stayed under wraps for the third year running, the patio table is a permanent fixture in the utility room and the hammock has not felt the weight of a human body since I brought it out in May. (Though it’s provided...
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Feeding the ducks on the Lagan... besides white bread, what else is there? Kerplunk! So the ducks don’t start a feeding frenzy the minute your toddler’s chunk of five day old sliced pan hits the water? It doesn’t mean they’re picky/overfed/ungrateful. Could be they’re just...
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Hi! How did you get on with Big Garden Birdwatch ? Hope you had time to sit down for an hour, grab a cuppa, a bacon butty, a few biscuits or maybe a slice of cake, depending on the time of day... Here are my results: Chaffinch , 8 Jackdaw , 5 Blackbird , 3 Dunnock , 3 Great tit , 3 Starling , 3 Blue...
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It’s a big weekend this one. Whilst I may be heading to London on Saturday, hoping for some magic in the cup, you might be looking out of your window, hoping for some magic on your bird table. It’s F.A. Cup fourth round weekend, but I’m sure there is something even bigger going on this...
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As you may have read, this year sees the 30th Big Garden Birdwatch . To mark this special anniversary, I'm already putting together a cunning plan for my best Birdwatch ever... Strictly speaking, you don't need to do any special preparation for Big Garden Birdwatch. It's fine not to put out...
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This week, you've got to keep your eyes and ears open. Be alert at all times, wherever you are - especially if you're out shopping. Waxwings are here! Whatwings? Waxwings . They breed in Scandinavia, snapping up mosquitos in the northern forests, but in winter it's berries they crave - especially...
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So our brief summer has been and gone (yes, sorry guys, that was it) and it's edging ever closer to that dreaded page in your diary that says 'British Summer Time Ends'. Great! But it's not all doom and gloo m... Autumn is without a doubt my favourite time of year. Along with the change...
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As I look out of the office window, there's a constant stream of birds, especially coal tits , visiting the webcam bird feeder here at The Lodge . Where have they come from and what are they doing? It's been noticeable for the past two weeks. Are the birds migrants, newly-arrived here and need...
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In the past few weeks, as summer has finally got into its stride, I've had reason to visit various beer gardens. After a 'hard' day in the office, what's nicer than a beer garden with a glass of your favourite beverage and some good company? It just happens that beer gardens can be great...
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Over the weekend, I was one of the hundreds of thousands of people in the UK who sat down for an hour, grabbed a cup of tea and a biscuit, and watched the birds in my garden . Were you? My bird-feeding strategy paid off reasonably well. Here's what I saw on Saturday morning: Greenfinches : 12 at...
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Today, I've been doing some preparation for Big Garden Birdwatch , which takes place this weekend, 26-27 January. My masterplan involves the strategic deployment of an arsenal of bird foodstuffs. I bought some tasty fat cake which I'm hoping will pull in a great spotted woodpecker , but I'll...
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Regular Notes on Nature readers will probably be building up quite a good picture of the birds we see from our window here, with the webcam feeder stationed outside. Great spotted woodpeckers , magpies and grey wagtails have all featured recently, however today it’s more a case of what we didn’t...
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‘Had a good weekend?' is the usual question when you get into work on a Monday morning. However, no sooner was this uttered today when it was interrupted as I peered out the window and caught a glimpse of a black, white and red bird swooping onto our feeder . We’re pretty lucky here that...