gathering Food

Mr blackbird has been very busy collecting food to feed the young. I put out a regular supply of mealworms and suet pellets. Can see mealworms in his beak. He came within a yard of me so was able to get a quite nice photo.

In the second photo he had decided that as i was doing a bit of digging, had better come over and look through the soil for some more food. worms were on the menu. Was nice to see him flicking the soil with beak to turn it over.

Seeing Double

Just like the buses, when they dont turn up along came two. After not seeing my hedgehogs for a few nights, was more than surprised and even more delighted to see two.

Though the food was gone the next morning i did not see them. This more than makes up for it. Was quite surprised that they were feeding together. When they left, they both went in different directions.

night visitor.

This is one of the hedgehogs that comes to feed in my garden. It likes to feast on fatballs, dried mealworms and suet pellets. Did climb up on to my other feeder which contains a crumble of peanuts, sunflower hearts, dried mealworms and suet. Is beginning to be a regular visitor now.

this is the nest of a wren that i found in a railway cutting. A pouch like nest with a small opening. This particular one i suspect is still in the building stage.

In the same railway cutting i did find the nest of a blackbird which as you see has three eggs in it. I must stress that i never shood the bird away to get this shot. The bird had already left the nest by the time i got there. And i only stayed long enough to get this photo.

Further along my walk a peacock butterfly was flittering around. Did not think it would stay still long enough to get a shot. But with patience i was rewarded.

Wood Pidgeon

Today i managed to get a quick snap of one of the wood pidgeons that come to feed. Was nice to see them again, being absent for a couple of days.

No takers so far for the new feeder with the home brew in it. But i did notice a rook taking a keen interest while perched on the fence. Felt pretty sure it would try and get to it, but alas traffic in the street frightened it off.

Went for my usuall walk today, and decided to take a detour to the creek to see what was there wildlife wise. None to speak of, but talking with a lady was informed that two little egrets were there early in the morning. Also from another source was told that otters have been seen there. How reliable that information is i could not say.

My two pidgeons returned in the evening for a last feed. Not seen the hedgehog since i photographed it.

Monday March 31

We all know how bird food can be rather expensive, and we want to do the best for the birds that visit.

So i put my thinking cap on and thought can i come up with something i can make for myself. After looking around at various mixes, with good fat and protein content i have come up with a mix that i think the birds will like.

By weight i used 300g of peanuts.

150g sunflower hearts.

30g dried mealworms.

125g beef suet.

I then put all those ingredients in a large bowl and mixed it around by hand. I then put the mix into a electric meat mincer. I used the large hole size that i had, which seems to be roughly 1/4 inch across. What comes out of the mincer can resemble a crumble mix. I also found that if the moisture content of the nut is high then this can vary.

What i have done is convert a squirrel feeder so i can use this mix. I put in a wooden backplate inside from back to front so it represents a slope so as the feed with come forward to front. And an extra piece of wood on bottom so as to raise a bit to help keep drier.

Here is a pic of the finished feeder complete with feed.

Easter Sunday

Have not seen any rooks for a few days now, that is better. Dont mind the odd couple, but the invasion that came i did not care for.



This morning after getting back home from the dog walk, i seen my usuall blackbird which was the female. Have not seen the male for several days now, hope he is ok. The two magpies were about as well. They just love those suet pellets.



Also a first for me this morning, a woodpigeon came for some food. I see them on the rooftops but never actually in my garden. Came twice for a feed, am very pleased about that. Goes to show it may be little but am making a difference.

Good friday

Today outside is blowing a hoot. Went out with the doggy first thing this morning. On the way back noticed that one of my blackbirds was feeding, which was nice to see as i thought the rook invasion i had may have put it off visiting.

got to my front door last night and the dog was kicking up a fuss. Just did not want to go inside. Was then that i seen the reason. A hedgehog was behind the bin. So took it inside for a short while so i could get a photograph of it.