Visitors

How exciting! Have you noticed the huge decline in starling numbers? We had a roost of abut half a million near here until last year - this year nothing save two or three individual birds on the feeders.

Funnily over the last 3 years the number that have been visiting the garden has increased. This year we had over 30 in the garden at once. what a mess and racket they made.

My son is a keen bird watcher and loves to go Slimbridge Wetland Centre.
All we seem to get in our garden at moment are seagulls and pigeons. I have stopped feeding the birds for this reason. They are real pests because I think the neighbors behind us feeds them so the smaller birds stay away..
Two doors away they have loads of blue tits and gold finch.
Has anybody any idea how we get rid of the unwelcome visitors ?

select feeders that have 'cages' around them to stop the larger birds getting in. similar to squirrel proof ones. the big birds cant feed so will go else where.
one of our feeders was to close to the cross pieces of the feeding post. Hubby moved the feeder 'higher' up and we watched with amusement when the pigeons just couldn't reach the food. they still hoover up dropped seed but the finches,tits and sparrows etc can feed happily.

we went to the north cave wetlands again today. Saw a green woodpecker, 23 curlews, numerous teal, widgeon, lapwings, shovellers, mallard and gadwall. there was also a marsh harrier flitting around as well as a little egret.

Lovely news for New Year's Day.
Thank you for sharing. Those special feeders for small birds should be sold more requently at all Garden Centres.

Super! Our visitors went into town to visit the new V&A museum and saw a couple of Waxwings. Such pretty and lovely birds. Their song is very tinkly!

splendid pics.very creative blog and pics of the birds are really very awesome.i really congratulate your daughter that she involving in nature.now days we have no time to spend time with nature but she did very good.
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What lovely pictures and what a lovely way to spend the day or days, that's what memories are made of. She will always remember that she was with you when she saw them. As for the Starlings we had a very noisy family of youngsters (or perhaps two families) which came to the feeders and sat in the tree and yelled for the parents to feed them. Beautiful birds, such glorious colours in the sunlight. We have Pigeons and Collared doves in abundance, but they are pretty in their own way, just not so many please!

We are currently in Glamorgan and there is a Siberian chiff-chaff at Parc slip. Daughter is doing a year's internship there and has taken lots of photos. The place was very busy with people coming specially to see it. Another rare visitor.
whilst there I also spotted nuthatch, water-rail and a snipe. The water rail was a 'first' spot for me.

the day after the Siberian chiffchaff we went to Porthcawl to see 4 Cattle egrets then on to Kenfig reserve to see a Slovenian grebe. Saw the egrets but not a difinte view of the grebe. there was a bird that it might have been but it was too far off to be certain.

Back home in east Yorkshire now and even managed a bit of gardening today. It is quite cold but it has been dry and sunny.