Snow fun being a bird.

great pictures bonkersbon, and a real delight to see so many birds feeding at once. had a couple of long tailed tits feeding on some nuts this morning , must try to get some pics , but won't be to your standard ...................steve

Very good photos :o)
How much snow did you have in Yorks ?

Hi Steve pics only got better with a better camera , my first attempts were nt so good but got encouragement so please submit - same problem here long tailed tits in and out before you know it !

Thanks TT - more worried about tonight warned to expect a foot or possibly more if wind picks up with drifts , come as a shock to London though.Guess those in Canada etc must be thinking good grief call that snow !

Yes, the forecast is more snow this evening.
I hope everyone is safe on their journeys.

Good pics again, BB..
Feeding frenzies here too, and I am due to go away on Wednesday so leaving my neighbour with buckets of feed to put out for them as they are used to finding food here. Have put extra feeders up too.

Yes, great photographs as always.
I have been feeding 'my own' birds of course, but wonder what I can take down to the pond for the Egyption Geese and their two remaining babies. I have no idea what they might eat but I'm sure someone will.

Ginellie....I know bread is not recommended for swans/ducks as it fills them up but is of little nutritional value. You can get swan and duck feed or our local moat which has geese on sells feed which is basically a wheat based wild bird seed mix.

Thats a good idea Pg esp. as you say they do get used to it and word quickly spreads in this weather.

Geese are pretty unfussy and when all else fails will eat grass - think they would be grateful for grain and maize which cheaper bird foods full of.If you d like to spoil them then pellets can be bought similar to the ones for ducks - hope that helps Ginellie.

great photo,s,beautiful scenes around here as well but then I am looking out at it, not so good for travellers tho.,

Great blog & photo's BB.

Sorry Pg..saying same as you...posted together !!!
yes Lincslass....and lots more forecast for tonight !
Thanks Clarice...all birds feeding like crazy today..kept filling feeders and clearing snow ! Sure yours wil have been well catered for too !

My, what a variety of birds you get, I was wondering today, how they would actually cope without people like us in these conditions! I must say though, Cyril shows he is well fed on this shot, bless him

Just been eating non stop all day Dawn.Stocked up before weekend with food..just as well the amount theyre going through.Cyril only appeared briefly,then back to cosy drey.Yes he looks well,doesnt he..all those peanuts and sunflower seeds !

Lovely photos Bonkers, and you are doing a superb job providing food and comfort for the variety of birds in your garden. I bet they are really happy to have your support and help.

Also it's great to see a photo of Cyril......Is he looking with wicked intent towards the south west in that photo we wonder?

Thanks for sharing this lovely blog.
Love and best wishes to you and Jane, and hope you are keeping nice and warm.
Grenville and Alan.xx

Thank you Grenville - its amazing what they ll tolerate for some food and still like to bathe and drink brrrrr.

Cyril staying put until reassured its worth moving for warmer weather - may be contemplating instructing
' twiglets ' in survelliance whilst he stays warm at home !

More forecast for tomorrow.Take care dont go too far in this x

great blog BB, fantastic photos. looks like you had plenty of visitors today

Aye Eileen bet you were busy too today - those pots of yours popular ?

lol aye had a few visitors to the pots today. the blackbird and the robin were here first this morning so they got the mealworms, plenty of sued balls and seeds out for the others, and also as you pointed out fresh water

Bless them did you ever see Greenthumbs pic of that bird called a chickadee in Alaska , Eileen ? The temp was- 40
and there was the poor little chap at a feeder .I asked him if it was anti -freeze in the feeder as how do such small delicate things survive ?

Suppose the real answer is many dont.

cant even imagine what minus 40 is like . amazing what these wee birds survive

No need to apologise BB, realised we had posted together! It happens.
Been refilling feeders so food there first thing for the birdies.Won't put ground feed out though as it'll be covered in snow by the morning. More of the white stuff here, could not get out of our drive tonight to visit my daughter. Skidded and slipped all over the place, had to abandon van by neighbours house in the end or risk sliding into a wall!

We've got snow, too! It's pretty rare here, as it normally falls on the moors and not the coastal strip. Lots forecast for overnight, too. The birds will be depending on us, as well, BB.

Thanks for the great photos.

Yes I have a van too got bags of cement laden in the back but still pretty hairy at times - used to have a 4x4 Sierra till it fell to bits but boy could it stick to the road.

With so many people like yourself Spritz Dawn Eileen Jacque Clarice and the too many others to list they got to have a chance.

Think we re all becoming increasingly aware which has to be good for them.

oh Spritz...just turned to heavy icy cold rain ! If this freezes overnight will be fun !

BB I really enjoy your blogs and photographs so much that you inspired us to buy our first bird feeder, and some wild bird seed? at the moment they are ignoring it, how long will I have to wait before the birds discover it, will post a photo as you might think it is in the wrong place. Has been snowing here and now (tonight 11am it is freezing) hey ho

at the beginning of January a co-worker suddenly became concerned about the wild life due to the Ice storm we had followed by high winds with below 0 F windchills. We reassured her that they find protection in thickets etc. The next day at my feeder I noticed a nuthatch extremely fluffed up to the point of seeing his down feathers. All the other birds were flitting around feeding. I became concerned but soon his feathers went down and he started feeding. I'm sad to report that the little guy did not make it :~( we found him when we were cleaning up the branches that nature pruned out of our tree.

How wonderful to see so many birds BB. Great photos.

Poor nuthatch Kmccue...he must not have been too healthy to begin with. I guess it's natures way but very sad.

Aw...that's great BB really enjoyed it and little Cyril at the end........could just imagine him starting a snowball fight....lol

Well Done Jane/Ray for all the Hard work u do to keep these Birds Well Fed & Watered :) The Photos are Fab who took them ;) No fighting over the Camera i hope lol Uv so many Different Birds Visiting u i bet u love to see them dont u :) I do when mine all come to my Garden :) Im sure we save Many Little Lifes with all our hard work of feeding 3/4times aday :) Sadly still not seen my Robin since the Hawk :( so it was great 2 see the Photo of yours :)xxx

Youve got some lovely birds in your garden....ive been out in the snow feeding mine.....

Oh no Jacque, did you see the hawk get one of them - nature is so cruel sometimes :-(

It is great to see all that snow and the bird are well feed.Plenty wildlife which is wonderful. Where is your snowman? The wildlife do enjoy some company.

Nice to see Cyril hasn't got frozen nuts and has braved the cold conditions to get his fix.
I bought some more bird feeders after watching the weather forecast on Saturday, I still need you to tell me how you manage to set up your camera to take the wonderful pictures, pleeeeeeeeeeease xx

Thank you all for the comments - what a difference a day makes , snow all gone this morning and sun shining.

Sadly not the case on the hills nor South West and Wales hope you Ok Spritz Grenville Hywel Arlene ...

Sorry about the nuthatch Km , Gilli right though this weather does take a very high toll , so we can only do our bit.Felt like snowman Lyn making sure everything topped up frequently.You must be well used to the white stuff but look at the fantastic wildlife you see !

Andrea - the simplest way to capture is provide tables and perches near a vantage point.Many of these shots taken through a window with lens as close as possible and zoom .Then focus on the perch ( like the old stump ) and hope they land when your watching !

Finches sparrows etc prefer to feed from ground - have found a small tripod invaluable for leaving camera focused on an area.The rest is down to luck.Fortunately now easy to delete all the ones I miss get out of focus etc ..lol

Oh Dottydaisy....so glad you got a feeder,should start to use it after a few days when they get used to seeing it ! Will watch for your pic Our snow turned to rain overnight but this evening its very icy,so dont know whats in store Good luck..hope to see pics of your visitors !!

Janey..hes looking well fed dont you think ? Only see him occasionally now...holed up in that drey,dreaming of the antics he can teach his "twiglets " lol
Jacque...AAAwww maybe your robin will turn up...sometimes they disappear,then turn up when you dont expect them.Our little wagtail did that last week...no sing for three days then in garden all day long !Sure we are all saving lots of lives,and this looks set to be the coldest winter for some years.Look how many you now get,since you began feeding them,and how many different species you get Great !
psBoth of us took a few photos..no fighting lol xx

As a new member of grows on you, Id like to say how much I enjoy your blog,since we cant do much gardening at the moment I really love your pictures,all we seem to get is squirels and pigeons coming to our feeders...keep clicking your lucky to have such a rich variaty of birds

Thank you Kipper ....think we get such avariety because we put out lots of different foods,including apple rings,sultanas,seed mixes,and fat balls.Youre right..very entertaining to watch on these long dark/dull days.What food do you put out ?

Dawn i didnt see the Hawk catch /Kill the Bird only eatting it from a Distance , But bub saw it & z it was a small bird so im guessing its My Robin as all the Blue Tits ,Finches ect are still around ?

Wow you really get a wide variety of birds! Enjoyed your pictures, BB. Also Cyril looking all fluffy.

How sad Jacque - don't know what to say .... :-(

Oh Jacque...it is sad....but keep us posted..it may not have been your robin.Its always a shock to us too when we come across a pile of grey feathers which was once a beautiful collared dove : (
Thanks Raquel....Cyril has the life of riley here...but he deserves it !

Bonkers, great stuff, well done.

love it..love the birds and Cyril too...I have some bossy little charachters..outside my front door on a tree where I park...start yelling at me and hopping hard in the branches like that will make me get their seed out...lol...it does...thanks for the blog..BB...

Thanks Catfinch...yes they know how to get their own way dont they...a bit like babies crying for attention.Sounds as if tey bring out the mothering instinct in you lol

Yes...my mothering instinct is still intact...lol...every morning...make the coffee..feed the dogs, feed the cats, feed the fish, feed the birds...feed the horses..then finally feed me...lol...today..I got to feed me before the horses..my turn to not feed in the morning..get to stay home for the morning...nice. Will be at horses in the afternoon....hooves to be trimmed. Birds to be watched for out there...was thrilled yesterday saw my first flock of our American Red Robins right in my backyard...first sure sign of spring here...lovely bunch...will have to try for pictures.

LOL Cf....like the way you list all feeds,then yourself last ! Much the same here...feed the cats,feed the parrot,feed the rabbit,feed the birds,feed the squirrel...large coffee !
Please do try to get photos of red Robins...they so different to ours.

Awesome BB. We don't get so much snow here but we keep the food coming for our little friends. Sat on the decking, which is raised about 2ft off the garden, we are able to sit back and survey our land as it were and now I have my bino-coolers, it's like getting up close and personal.

Hoping to invest in better camera at some point as sometimres difficult to get close to the birds for decent pic.

Love your blogs tho!

Just invested recently in a Panasonic "Lumix"...quite expensive but seeing as how our main interest in spare time is photography..why not ?
Feed ours all year round too...just a lull in the garden early autumn when the berries are in abundance !

Might have a look at the Lumix if you rate it then.

Just want stronger close ups etc from the decking.

Thats why we got it....but do shop around in this recession.Ours is x10 but for same price today can get x12 ! Hope you can get a good deal..as you say..makes all the difference !

is there a code on it?

Like DMC G1 14-45mm etc?

Just need to know what I'm looking for.

Thanks in advance

The code on ours is DMC-TZ5...if that helps.Do shop around...and Good luck !

going to start looking soon. I sell on ebay so I'm sure Alison won't mind if I use some of the garden funds to put towards a new camera.....Ssssh! Don't tell her yet!! :0))

Ok..your secret is safe with us Lol !

Had to tell her BB. Lol!

Just ordered the TZ6 with x12 optical zoom....

Should arrive on Friday :0)- Just need the rain to stop now to use it. Getting excited. The cool thing is that our little office is on the back of the house overlooking the back garden so hope to get some good shots from there too.

Thanks for your help on that one BB.

Oh excellent news..no wonder you are getting excited !
Bet Alison is pleased too ! Hope this blessed rain stops soon and can get out and about again ...teeming down all day here and stilll going strong !