Small things that give immense satisfaction?

[jefmcg]

To echo many of the comments above, having a bird feeder within easy sight of the house is such a joy. But it does make me want to shoot every grey squirrel on sight !

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQc0alPNmiw


(only watch if you don't mind seeing warm blooded tetrapods killed for no reason)

 

[summerdays]

To echo many of the comments above, having a bird feeder within easy sight of the house is such a joy. But it does make me want to shoot every grey squirrel on sight !

I wouldn't have such a problem with grey squirrels if they didn't do damage to houses, in our last one the used to get into the loft space (chewed their way in) and preceded to chew everything up there including electrical wires.

 

[John the Canuck]

Our paraqueets are back.

 

[Sara_H]

[QUOTE 3425034, member: 9609"]We get grey squirrels from time to time but I can't say they are too much bother, very powerful little animals, I have seen them pull apart a wire feeder, sometimes need to reinforce them with cable ties.

[/QUOTE]
There doesn't seem to be a problem with squirrels where I live, but I got squirrel proof feeders because they also keep the pigeons out.

 

[raleighnut]

[QUOTE 3425034, member: 9609"]We get grey squirrels from time to time but I can't say they are too much bother, very powerful little animals, I have seen them pull apart a wire feeder, sometimes need to reinforce them with cable ties.

[/QUOTE]
They were imported because of their size. (more meat on em for the pot) from North America.

 

[John the Canuck]

They were imported because of their size. (more meat on em for the pot) from North America.

and
''The spread of grey squirrels is the main threat to red squirrel survival and the main reason for their catastrophic decline in Britain.''

i kill every grey i can

 

[Piemaster]

Barefoot walk on a beach in the sun yesterday , looking up and realising the birds fling about aren't sodding seagulls but pelicans. Dunno if the locals feel the same way about pelicans that I feel about seagulls.

My wife also has the worlds most useless bird hunting cat. It's fascinated by what the bird feeders, or as I tell my wife 'bait' attract but will quite happily sit and watch them walking around it. On the plus side the cat does not at all like other cats in the garden so will stalk and chase them out, so maybe the birds aren't so stupid after all.

 

[MarkF]

So does anyone know a good online supplier of peanuts, Niger seeds and sunflower hearts?

My mother uses this company:- http://www.haiths.com/

 

[Dave 123]

Our last house (tied accomodation) was in the middle of a wood. The list of birds was endless. Nuthatches are angry little bastards!
I used to make my own fat balls out of lard, seed, nuts and bread. It used to cost a fortune, but it was great.
One thing I did was get a fence post, drill holes up and down it and poke peanuts into the holes. It was laborious but the great spotted woodpeckers were straight in on it, only 6 feet from the window.

Outside the back we had crab apples. The GSW's used to peck into them for the seeds. I was sat on the back step one day and there was an adult and juvenile woodpecker feeding on the apples when a Sparrowhawk steamed in and had the juvenile. It knocked the crap out of it, no more than 8 feet from me. After a few seconds it was off with it. The adult woodpecker spent the rest of the day in the tree frantically calling.

If you have Bullfinches in your area try planting some forget me nots, they love the seed.

 

[chewa]

I managed to pick up a dragonfly which (I think) had been made dopy by being caught on a frosty summer morning and was going to get flattened by my mower.

Just looking at how beautiful it's eyes were really made my day!

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Outside the back we had crab apples. The GSW's used to peck into them for the seeds. I was sat on the back step one day and there was an adult and juvenile woodpecker feeding on the apples when a Sparrowhawk steamed in and had the juvenile. It knocked the crap out of it, no more than 8 feet from me. After a few seconds it was off with it. The adult woodpecker spent the rest of the day in the tree frantically calling.

We had a similar incident with a juvenile greater speed woodpecker that was on the peanuts between the hedge and the sitting room window not more than 16 foot away. We were standing in the sitting room to one side of the window when a Sparrowhawk came in, grabbed the chick and tried to fly straight through what it saw a a tunnel of trees to the light at the other end. Unfortunately for it, that tunnel was our sitting room, it had identical huge windows at each end on the short sides and the result was that the stunned Sparrowhawk ended up tangled in our broadbeans where it tried to hold onto the chick. After a few minutes the chick fought back and the sparrowhawk have up. We eventually had to go and rescue the chick from the clutches of the broadbeans and take care of it overnight. We released it at dawn the following morning and were happy to see it back feeding on the peanuts several days later.

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

Nuthatches are angry little bastards!

Started getting them around here just in the last few years, wonderful birds, looking forward to my first sight of them in the garden.

 

[Dave 123]

Started getting them around here just in the last few years, wonderful birds, looking forward to my first sight of them in the garden.

Just warn all the other birds other than the woodpeckers!

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

My favourite bird in the garden so far was the flock of waxwings that visited several times a few years ago. That year was particularly good for them. Not many around so far this year.

 

[John the Canuck]

My favourite bird in the garden so far was the flock of waxwings that visited several times a few years ago. That year was particularly good for them. Not many around so far this year.

siskins neither - used to be flocks here