It is known that many birds only use gardens and feeders at certain time of the year, does anyone know if dunnocks and wrens are like this?
When we first started creating our wildlife garden we had a fiesty little wren nearly always about and one or maybe two dunnocks lurking around the edges. However we haven't seen either species for many months now, even though our bushes and shrubs are denser and there is more food around.
We live right in the middle of London, we have some small parks and a school nearby, but only our little row is houses with gardens, mostly nearby its blocks.
We have a lot more sparrows and blue tits than when we first arrived, they certainly seem to be benefitting from what we've done. We did have a pair sparrowhawks hunting around everyday for a few months around the time both species seemed to stop appearing, but the hawks have also gone now and I only ever saw them kill pigeons (I liked this - the pigeons are a pain) and blue tits.
Squirrel:
Have you checked your local experience against the regional results in the Big Garden Birdwatch? A friend of mine in Oxfordshire reckons all the LBJ numbers have declined since the spread of Red Kites in the Chilterns (M40 corridor) - could this affect you?
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
Squirrel, our sparrows were around alongside the starlings so no, I don't think your starlings are causing a problem. The sparrows tended to stick to the ground cleaning up the mess the pesky starlings made as a result of raiding the table and chucking the food all over the place.
Make the most of today because, unlike Sky+, there isn't a rewind button.
I doubt that red kites would have any impact on LBJs either in a garden or the wider countryside. The paths of the two simply do not cross enough. Have to say, though, a visiting red kite would be a great addition to a bird table...
House sparrows are very sedentary birds, and research has found that if they disappear from an area for whatever reason, it can take years to repopulate the area. Apparently, a house sparrow rarely travels further than two miles from its territory, and most chicks do not disperse much further either.
Hi again all... I certainly do have red kites - although not at the feeder table yet (sorry Trochilus). Never fear - you will hear my scream of delight the length and breadth of the country should that ever happen, quickly followed by the instruction to the red kites to "leave the birds alone and kill that cat" (next door's and a real pain in the posterior). None of the other birds seem that bothered by the red kites though - they simply do the same as when a thunderstorm is looming / in progress - stay quiet and in whatever cover is nearest. What I do have, nesting in the trees fairly close to me, are carrion crows. But the other birds don't seem in the slightest bit concerned about them - even to the point of sharing the feeder table with one on a regular basis.
The necessity of bird-watching is a really good reason for avoiding all forms of housework.
The dust will still be there tomorrow - the birds may not be!
Well, we don't seem to have found an answer, so maybe the sparrows in your area are so well fed naturally that they don't need you! Sorry! Or maybe there are so many bird feeders around, that they only visit selected ones near ther roosts/nests/habitual places.
Actually, I now remember that when we first came here we saw them in hedges over the road but never in our garden - and it took them about two years to discover the feeders!
We have a large stone wall behind our caravan covered in virgina creeper and the wrens seem to like this although i could not find the nest they made their presence known by their calls and at the bird feeder. the oddest nest was that of a wood pigeon we spent lots of time watching the males courtship and when it was on our roof first thing in the morning who needs an alarm clock!
Happily the dunnocks are back, at least 2 and I see them very easily every day, often in very visible places, like on the shed roof or out on the lawn. Its difficult to believe they were here all along, does anyone know what their home range sizes are? Or do they disperse far after fledging (these could be new birds).
No wrens still though.
I do notice the sparrows do dominate our feeders, they definitely put the goldfinches off the nyjer feeder. Not a problem though, I like sparrows as much as the next bird.
Its been interesting seeing changes in numbers over the last year or so. We were the first in our row to put up nyjer seed and for a long while it was always full of goldfinches, then 2 doors down put one up and the goldfinches seem to prefer that one. The sparrow numbers around here have boomed this last year and sparrows dominate all our feeders, but just 2 doors down I only ever see goldfinches on theirs, like gang boundaries... The only time the sparrows get booted off is when the occasional starling flocks storm in. Having said all that somehow in amongst all that the tits seem to do very nicely nipping in and around the squabbles.
We are getting all usual birds, but would like to pick on one point Marjus made and that is, 'there is a distinct lack of thrushes'. We always would see at least a couple of thrushes but not one now for quite some time.
original goldfinch Definitely. I think that even our less brilliant photos still act as "aides memoires" to what we saw with our eyes. I have one from before my 'scope, where three little white dots across the pond are actually the three spoonbills which visited Caerlaverock - and I know I saw then, and was very pleased I had!
Definitely. I think that even our less brilliant photos still act as "aides memoires" to what we saw with our eyes. I have one from before my 'scope, where three little white dots across the pond are actually the three spoonbills which visited Caerlaverock - and I know I saw then, and was very pleased I had!
This response from OG prompted me to post some pictures before and I think it's a very important point. It's good to take pictures and even to post the not-so-good ones because they always say something about the moment. I have recently been enjoying a pair of Dunnocks that regularly visit my garden around 10 AM and again about 4 PM. They seem to be staying around which is great because I've not seen them here in the last 25 years. So the point of all this is that here's my not-so-good picture taken through a steamy window, hand held, in low light with not a very long focus lens.......but I like it :-)
Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts - Henry David Thoreau
Hi FP, I'm confused now as I am sure I just replied to your posting and photo but it isn't showing!
Anyway, a great photo of a charming little bird. Mine always oblige for photocalls (unlike a lot of other birds I could mention!).
You're confused because I posted it in two places ;-) so sorry.
Frog Prince You're confused because I posted it in two places ;-) so sorry.
LOL! That explains it! Couldn't understand either why I read Squirrel's comment, then it seemed to go!!
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
That's a relief - thought the dementia was setting in!!!
Recently I've been seeing 4 dunnocks at a time around the garden, which is great because that's more than I ever saw before. I also saw one on a suet feeder I hide in a thorn bush at the front of the house, I'd not seen dunnocks out the front before.
And more good news, I have just now seen a wren darting about the patio, the first one in a long time. It gave me fantastic views of it bashing quite a large centipede on the plant pot before it ate it. Good to have them back.