With the comparatively warm, wet and windy weather there is less activity on the feeders than I would expect at this time of year but the long tailed tits have finally started coming into the garden. One thing that I have noticed is the difference that feeder position makes. In the back garden there are two feeders on poles, one with a fat bar and one with sunflower seeds. The blue tits will fly to one of the bushes, look around, fly to the feeder and grab a seed or piece of fat and return to the bush to eat it. In the front there is a fat block hung in one of the quince trees. Here the blue and great tits will sit on the feeder and and eat what they take on the spot.
The garden has been disturbingly quiet this month when traditionally the feeders will be continously active. I am seeing a handful of blue and great tits on the feeders but no finches and only the occasional long tailed tit. Normally I woukld expect goldfinches and a few bullfinches on the feeders and chaffinches and redpolls on the ground at this time of year. It has been a strange winter, very mild apart from one cold snap so I hope that they are simply don't need to come into the gardens. On a better note I saw a pair of sparrows in the front hedge this morning so, hopefully, they might be spreading from their stronghold in privet hedges at the other end of the village. Away from home a family trip to Yorkshire netted three pairs of goosander on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal between Shipley and Saltaire. I think this is the first time that I have been close enough to get a good naked eye view. I have been neglecting this blog, probably because most web browsing is now done on t
Comments