Birdlife

You'll always see more in the countryside, especially if you go armed with a pair of binoculars. More species variety, and more birds overall.

Plus the added bonus of an undisputed health benefit, both physical and mental. Taking up birdwatching is the single most positive and beneficial thing I've ever done to promote my own wellbeing.

 

We have a resident Sparrowhawk that regularly fly's over our garden. Everything was fine until it nailed my wife's Robin and ripped it to bits in our neighbours garden. My wife did a lot of work with that Robin resulting in it feeding from her hand. Now she's gutted and seems to have lost interest in the bird feeder. I must admit that I love to watch it swoop over the fence and take the feeding birds off our feeder. Biggest thing I've seen it take to date is a wood pigeon. I've picked up feathers a number of times from around the bird feeder where the Sparrowhawk has initially hit it's prey. Not sure if it's a pair at the minute as it never stays around long enough to get a good look or picture. Normally I just see it flying up and over the garden fences, keeping very low. Wife want's me to take the feeder down so as to give the birds better chance but hey ho that's nature.

 

We had a pigeon ripped to pieces across our back lawn. It's head and some feathers were still on the shed roof. I thought it was probably a cat but there is an old bird feeder on the shed at the bottom of the garden left by previous tenants.

 

They have some really clever tactics. One is to fly screeching along one side of a hedge then flip over to catch birds fleeing on the other side.

 

Watched a Sparrowhawk last year get a pigeon from the top of one of my feeders. Must have slammed it at a fair old speed. Then it dropped it on the road and sat on it, de-feathering it and pecking away at it. I must have watched for a good 10 mins whilst wondering what happens when a car comes? When a car did approach, it did so slowly, at which point the Sparrowhawk leapt up back on to my fence. And the 'dead' pigeon made a miraculous recovery and flew off to the distant rooftops.

Then earlier this year, exact same location, I came back from a walk to find a women stressing over a pigeon. Said it must have been hit by a car, she was scared a local cat would finish it off. One of its wings was embedded into its body (high impact) and it's skull / neck were half missing so I told her it had probably been had by a hawk. The thing was somehow alive, but beyond repair.

Agree with @oldschooltyke about nature ......... except for Magpies. Can't stand them. They are a man-made problem, growing fat on our waste and junk food remnants, whilst surveying their ever-growing kingdom from endless concrete jungle rooftops. Gardens round here aren't a safe haven from these little bstards, who I am convinced kill for fun. I'm like a madman on a mission round our way trying to scare the fckers away. They are clever, I'll give them that, but they have not evolved to make a clean kill like 'proper' predators. There is something majestic about the quick kill of an owl or similar, but a Magpies bullying 'take' - they can't even claw them away FGS - just doesn't sit well with me. Pecking away at a Baby Blackbird whilst it is still alive just doesn't seem right to me. Then they remember they are fat from mans' discarded waste and don't bother eating what they have tortured anyway.

I don't like Magpies.

 

Sparrowhawks often eat their prey alive

 

Anyone who is interested in hawks...the eggs are due to hatch any day now
http://peregrine.group.shef.ac.uk/
https://www.ntu.ac.uk/about-us/sustainability/sustainability-in-action/wildlife-and-green-spaces

 

I haven't been

 

yes you did ..... you troffed all the chuffin peanuts you porker.

 

In the 18 years we have had this house I have counted 55 different species of bird that have landed in the garden. As we live next to the canal between Elsecar res and Old Moor it's like the bird equivalent of the M1. Fly pasts have included Kingfishers,Buzzards and Red Kite + loads that I can't ID. Add in 4 Hedgehogs and Squirrels that visit each day it keeps us busy....and has cost us a fortune over the years but we wouldn't have it any other way

 

There's a good app on Google playstore, should be on Appstore if you use apple, it's called called Merlin Bird app, will help with identifying Birds in our area.

 

Red Kite...only seen em up top side of Leeds, dint kno ther wer any this far down..

 

Not sure they hang around but they turn up over Old Moor fairly often. North Leeds is the only other place I've seen them.....I suppose to such a big bird it's only a short hop down here.

Reports in the past of Ospreys flying over on migration but never been lucky enough to see them.

 

I'll have a look for that (can't afford/don't want Apple stuff )

 

See if this works. My favourite bird since 8 years old. Doubt I'll hear them this clear come summer.

 

been watching a pair of magpies building their nest in a tree at the bottom the garden - fascinating!
(a work colleague every time she sees a magpie comes says 'Good morning Mr Magpie ……. not sure what the rest of the words are …..and I'm not sure why she says the rhyme - superstition?

some crows - not sure where - had learned that if they picked up anything with a shell to eat and they dropped the shell on a road a car would run it over - break the shell and the crows would swoop down for a tasty meal.

some excitement in the U K 'Bird World' as some birds were about to hatch - think they were once native to the UK. but not any more. (Can't remember what birds they were!)

 

Possibly Cranes.

First time in Berlin we went to the Soviet war memorial which was risky enough as the whole area is made of marble and it was very icy. Next thing someone starts throwing whole walnuts at us......look around for the culprits....Hooded crows. Someone had left the nuts for them and they were dropping them from high onto the marble steps to smash them.