Birds.

[Digit]

Went into town this morning to restock food for our feathered friends, and it started me thinking.
No sign of of the normal winter migrants here. What happens to them if, after arrival, we get four inches of snow? Do they starve or do they in some manner understand that it's warmer further south and up sticks? Anyone know?

Roy.

 

[Steve Jones]

We've got flocks of Fieldfare and Redwings passing through here at the moment but flying straight through. We've been talking about this today because although we've got sunflower hearts etc etc out, other than the odd Blackbird, Dunnock or Robin there's nothing in the garden. We are normally over run with Goldfinches, just don't know what's happened to them.
AFAIK There aren't many Waxwings in this year because there's a good berry crop in Scandinavia.

Steve

 

[Digit]

Same here, I've got Niger seed out which as probably know attracts Goldfinches, but none about. I suspect the small birds will suffer badly from the present weather as they have in the past.

Roy.

 

[devonwoody]

Some of our local swans are stuck in to the ice on lakes and rivers.

Perhaps some of your birds had a pee and are stuck on to Terra firma.

local pigeons are feeding well in our back garden

 

[Digit]

We've got Collared Doves, Blackbirds, Wrens, Rooks, Jackdaws, House Sparrows, Robins, Blue ****, Great ****, Starlings, Song Thrushes, and Chaffinches today, all resident populations, no migrants at all.

Roy.

 

[big soft moose]

IMO most winter migrants judge when they are far enough south by the temperature/conditions - therefore in this weather the majority will continue south.

That said some will stop as if they are avoiding polar coditions even the cold here will be relatively warm - it depends on the species - for example the redwing flocks that were here before the cold spell have gone (presumably to warmer climes) but the lapwings that have come down from iceland are still here (observation shows that these are bright enough to dig through the snow to the ground beneath)

Regardless of the migratory issue - all bird species here will suffer from the cold spell so it is important to ensure they have unfrozen water to drink (putting a nightlight under a metal water dish is one way), and plenty of food including nuts, seeds, and fat - and also mealworms etc for the birds that normally eat worms but now cant on account of the snow

 

[big soft moose]

Some of our local swans are stuck in to the ice on lakes and rivers.

are you sure they are stuck ?

when i was a ranger the "swan/duck/grebe stuck in ice" was a very common winter call out, and 99% of the time after we'd gone to the hassle of driving to site, inflating the boat, and either smashing a route through the ice or pushing the boat accross the surface it would transpire that the bird wasnt stuck at all but merely sitting in a small gap of water in the ice paddling its feet to stop it from freezing - and would usually jump out and fly off as we got close

In about 40 of these call outs we only had one bird genuinely frozen in , and that turned out to be tangled in fishing line that went down through the ice.

 

[Harbo]

Still get Goldfinches in my garden fairly regularly.
Also have a small group of Blackcaps which have been over wintering here for a good few years now. This year a male and 2 females.

We also had a flock of Redwings the other week but they seem to have moved off having finished off all the remaining berries?

Regular feeders are Song Thrushes, Blackbirds, Blue ****, Great ***, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Robins, Wrens, Sparrows, Dunnocks, Collared Doves, Wood Pigeons, Starlings.
Occasional visitors are Long Tailed **** (which come in a small flock) and Sparrow hawks!

Costs me a lot in bird food! but lovely to watch.

Rod

 

[BMac]

I counted either 18 or 19 (they kept moving) Goldfinches on the feeder in front of the kitchen window yesterday. Lots of thrushes, Robins, Wagtails, Starlings etc here but I'm in a good area beside Oxford Island Bird Sanctuary which attracts loads of species each year.

Brendan

 

[Digit]

BSM. Can't get live Mealworms locally, what about the dried ones?
Our local people seem to be doing their 'bit'. our farmer's shop was sold out of loose bird food this morning, only selling in 25 kilo sacks.

Roy.

 

[big soft moose]

BSM. Can't get live Mealworms locally, what about the dried ones?
Our local people seem to be doing their 'bit'. our farmer's shop was sold out of loose bird food this morning, only selling in 25 kilo sacks.

Roy.

dried mealys are fine so long as water is also available - failing that you could feed a small dish of dog/cat food or even cooked mince (not corned beef tho as thats excessively salty)

more info/ advicehere

 

[Digit]

Cheers BSM. I recall previous weather like this and the effect on the smaller species took a quite a time to be got over, fingers crossed.

Roy.

 

[CHJ]

Most of our local population seems to still be around, although most of the visiting yellowhammers have moved on, Slimbridge has said that a lot of the smaller migratory birds have moved further south.

Normal seed consumption in our feeders is about 20kg a month, it's currently running at about double that. Peanuts are currently running at 6kg a month.
Mind you whilst away over the christmas new year period when we left an unrestricted hopper supply out 30kg was gone when we returned home, the ground feeders have to rely on seed spilt by by the hopper feeders when this happens as foxes and badgers would consume seed left on usual ground trays.


badgers gave up visiting after the first couple of days of snow, however several foxes pass through the garden each night to clean up scraps left out.

 

[Digit]

Despite the low temps the ground here can't be that cold as sticking up through the snow are lots of new Mole hills.

Roy.

 

[big soft moose]

Despite the low temps the ground here can't be that cold as sticking up through the snow are lots of new Mole hills.

Roy.

snow cover tends to insulate the ground so it isnt as cold as it would be in coresponding air temperatures without the snow

 

[Digit]

Understood.

Roy.

 

[Nigel]

I snapped this visiting Redwing a couple of days ago, there were about a dozen in the flock looking for berries,

I have doubled the quantity of sunflower hearts I put out at the moment because of the conditions mostly feeding Goldfinches
We also have a couple of winter visitor Egyptian geese on the local pond

Cheers Nigel

 

[devonwoody]

Our birds have had three slices of grannary bread and water since 7am :wink:

 

[RogerS]

Our birds have had three slices of grannary bread and water since 7am :wink:

If you must feed them bread then please please read this

All types of bread are acceptable to birds, but ideally it should only be just one component in a varied diet. Bread does not contain the necessary protein and fat birds need from their diet, and so it can act as an empty filler. Although bread isn't harmful to birds, try not to offer it in large quantities, since its nutritional value is relatively low. A bird that is on a diet of predominantly, or only bread, can suffer from serious vitamin deficiencies, or starve.

Only put out an amount of bread that birds will eat in a day. Food left on the ground overnight can attract rats. Soaked bread is more easily ingested than stale dry bread, and brown bread is better than white. Crumbled bread is suitable in small quantities, but moisten if it is very dry. During the breeding season, crumble the bread into tiny pieces so that it is only eaten by the adult birds. Dry chunks of bread will choke baby birds, and a chick on a diet of bread may not develop into a healthy fledgling.

 

[devonwoody]

Roger they got some peanuts as well :wink:

And my neighbour does the seed thing, she says its like an airport in her garden, she thinking of setting up a flight control centre.