Tuesday, 22 January 2013

Gardenfare

It shows how hard it is out there for the wildlife when the normally shy Fieldfare starts coming into town gardens looking for food. We had about 5 inches of snow on Sunday night, not a lot compared to others I know, but last night the temperature dropped to minus 11 in my garden. It must have been even colder out in the fens! The morning dawned extremely foggy and frosty and with it there were 6 Fieldfare sitting in the back garden attacking the apples that I had put out in the hope of attracting a Waxwing or three. I came upon an idea that Keith at holdingmoments had by using my bird stand as a spike for an apple and also the spikes that I had put on my nest boxes to deter the squirrels and local moggy. The results speak for themselves, although I am still waiting for that Waxwing!


'My spots are better than yours!'



Below is my first attempt at using Windows Movie Maker, what do you think of the results?


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32 comments:

  1. LeeAnn at Mrs Black's 22 January 2013 at 16:49

    Lovely! We have them in Wiltshire as well now, but still too shy to come right into the garden. Love the acpture of the Starling and Fieldfare together.

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    1. John23 January 2013 at 09:57

      Thanks Minerva,
      Up until the snow arriving they were still incredibly shy, but they must be so hungry that they now have ceased to care! I can go in the garden and they just sit there and look at me.
      J

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  2. ShySongbird22 January 2013 at 17:38

    Lovely photos John and well done with the video, great stuff! I have had them in my garden too and one in particular is extremely aggressive wasting lots of valuable energy chasing off everything else especially Blackbirds.

    I put an apple on my feeding pole spike too and I also spike them onto tree branches.

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    1. John23 January 2013 at 09:58

      Thanks Jan,
      They are pretty aggressive, as can be seen in the video! They waste so much energy scaring everything away and then they sometimes lose the food they were protecting in the first place!
      I have tried spiking them to trees, but they fall off very easily, maybe I am not doing it right!
      J

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  3. John Going Gently22 January 2013 at 17:46

    That third photo made me smile somewhat

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    1. John23 January 2013 at 09:59

      Hi John,
      A lucky chance of pushing the button and just that moment!
      J

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  4. Bob Bushell22 January 2013 at 20:31

    Lovely Fieldfare, you're lucky to get them in your garden, my favourite is fourth one, superb.

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    1. John23 January 2013 at 10:00

      Hi Bob,
      Yes, we are lucky, it's the first time that they have actually entered the garden. They must be starving!
      J

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  5. klahanie22 January 2013 at 21:15

    Hi John,

    And your thoughtful posting and video do indeed, capture the essence of those magnificent birds on such a very cold winter's day.

    You are a good man, John. I'm sending you peaceful, hopeful thoughts.

    In kindness and goodwill,

    Gary

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    1. John23 January 2013 at 10:01

      Thanks Gary,
      Glad you enjoyed the video!
      I hope that I am a good man, I try my best!
      Thank you, my friend,
      J

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  6. Lou Mary22 January 2013 at 22:17

    Love the fieldfare and starling photo!The starling definitely looks a bit annoyed!

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    1. John23 January 2013 at 10:02

      Thanks Lou,
      The Starling was a bit put out as it tried to get at the apple, but the Fieldfare was having none of it!
      J

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  7. bazza22 January 2013 at 22:50

    You can't see the joins mate! I have been putting double rations out since the snow started but the water keeps freezing of course. I suppose the birds get water from the snow?
    There has been a new bird visiting recently. It looks like a coal tit but has no white just a black head, grey body and pale grey lower body. What do you think it is John?
    Click here for Bazza’s Blog ‘To Discover Ice’

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    1. John23 January 2013 at 10:06

      Thanks Bazza,
      Glad to hear that you are putting lots of food out, but the birds do need water as well, they bathe in it to keep their feathers in tip top condition, which helps to keep them warm. You can buy a solution to mix with the water to keep it from freezing, can't think what it's called at the moment! Having said that, I just go out with the kettle first thing. They haven't quite got round to enjoying the tea though! ;)
      Sounds like it may be a male Blackcap Bazza, check out Keith's blog (holdingmoments.blogspot.com), he has a few photos of a male and female. Nice bird to have visiting the garden.
      J

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  8. grammie g22 January 2013 at 23:27

    Hi John...The video is wonderful.. looks like the battle for food got a little feisty !!
    Your shots of the Fieldfare are so cute, but I am sure he wasn't thinking anything but survival!!
    Keith a nice guy; the idea is working good, and the spots competition is funny !!
    Grace

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    1. John23 January 2013 at 10:07

      Thanks Grace,
      Yes, it turns nasty at times, but sometimes all the birds get along fine. I think it's when the food dwindles a bit that the fights start.
      The idea is working well, but I still want that Waxwing! ;)
      J

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  9. tiptoethruphylsgarden.blogspot.com23 January 2013 at 01:49

    I like your movie,but it crashed before it was over,saying at the top",shockwave flash has crashed."
    What an interesting bird,& to have found your apple bits...that is a very clever idea,thank-you for sharing!phyllis

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    1. John23 January 2013 at 10:09

      Thanks Phyllis,
      Shame that it crashed before the end, but there isn't a twist, so you didn't miss anything! ;)
      The apples are working well, maybe something else will take a fancy to them as well!
      J

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  10. Gillian Olson23 January 2013 at 04:05

    The birds obviously are enjoying the food you provide; great movie too!

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    1. John23 January 2013 at 10:10

      Thanks Gillian,
      I try to do what I can, but it can get a bit expensive when the weather is like this!
      J

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  11. holdingmoments23 January 2013 at 15:07

    Great shots John. It's amazing how many of these birds are around at the moment. Excellent garden ticks too.
    Thumbs up on the video too.

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    1. John24 January 2013 at 08:06

      Thanks Keith! Your idea with the apples has paid off well! The only problem now with having these birds is that they are tending to keep others away, they are pretty aggressive.
      J

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  12. Unknown23 January 2013 at 15:46

    I love that Fieldfare sitting on the Apple . I saw one in my garden today , eating berries from next doors bushes . I plan on trying to capture one or two in the next few days .

    Mark

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    1. John24 January 2013 at 08:08

      Thanks Mark,
      Cross fingers for you being able to get a photo or two. There are lots of people reporting Fieldfares and Redwings coming into their gardens, it must be pretty hard for them out there!
      J

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  13. Mary Howell Cromer23 January 2013 at 18:34

    Very nice indeed and it is such a pleasure being able to help our bird friends out, especially in these cold days of winter. Love the fluffed out feathers~

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    1. John24 January 2013 at 08:09

      Thanks Mary,
      It brings me pleasure, although it is starting to cost a bit now!
      J

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  14. Dan23 January 2013 at 20:58

    I went for a lunchtime walk through some Marholm fields on Monday (extremely snowy!) and saw a flock of 80+ Fieldfares... never seen so many. A mixed flock of FF's, Waxwings and Redwings have been sharing the last few berries outside my work - pretty much now gone.

    Great, great pics once again. Thanks for showing them.

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    1. John24 January 2013 at 08:10

      Hi Dan,
      Lucky you, to have that mixed flock at your work! There have been more sightings of these winter thrushes since this cold snap started. They are forecasting a thaw at the week-end, let's hope!
      J

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  15. THE SNEE25 January 2013 at 00:09

    Hi John, Google just ate my comment! You'd think that I had spiked an apple to lure google in for a bite of my response to your post! Anyway, it has been quite a while since I visited and was so happy when I popped in for a peek. First, I never knew that England got so cold and snowy. We are hovering at -11C with an additional wind chill to ice it all off. I loved the photos and am excited about the idea of using apples as another bird feed choice. Are there other birds that find the apple worthy of a visit? I also love your foray into movies. It's fun to bird watch through your window.

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    1. John25 January 2013 at 12:26

      Hi Rebecca! The temperatures and weather that we are experiencing aren't normal, we often get a bit of snow, but that's about it. This will all soon be gone, hopefully, as it is getting milder at the weekend. All types of thrush like to eat fruit and a few warblers do as well, but the ultimate (to me) is the Waxwing. Stick a few apples out and you might get a Cedar Waxwing or two! ;)
      I have been doing a lot of garden birdwatching just lately with this weather stopping me from working, I will miss it when I get back to work!
      J

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  16. Midmarsh John26 January 2013 at 21:37

    There are a lot less windfalls here this year so the visitors really appreciate whatever we put out. Lovely set of photos.

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    1. John26 January 2013 at 21:42

      Thanks John!
      The lovely weather we have had this year put pay to a lot of fruit crops, although there were a lot of apples, they were so small as to not be worth eating!
      J

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