*"Standing At The Kitchen Sink"*
8 comments
I can spend hours just standing at our kitchen sink just gazing at our small back garden. You can guarantee that if I am washing up and my hands are wet the birds will start on their feeding time.
I only bother with one squirrel buster feeder for the sunflower hearts but with the fat feeder it’s a free for all.
I know they are classed as pests and I believe a cull is due to start soon but the sight of some of some of the grey squirrels that visit the garden is quite disturbing. One with a tail missing and another with just one front and one back leg. I have rung the RSPCA and been in touch with a few other wildlife hospitals but unfortunately they asked if I could catch the squirrels they will either cure or dispatch as deemed appropriate but this I will not do as I am not professionally trained….
This squirrel arrived in my garden in a sorry state and after I could get know joy of help I tried my best to help it live. I watched it go under our back garden hedge.
I fed it on suet blocks, nut and seed and a dish of water.
I think the mild weather has helped, The next photo shows the squirrel minus one front and one back leg is a true survivor. The back leg use to have and inch of black bone protruding from its thigh
Success after a try try try again approach the squirrel has reached it goal
Am I cruel you might say ! I explained I am disabled, I even sent photographs to the RSPCA but never got and answer from them. I got a bit near to the next squirrel that has had it’s tail docked and it got a bit close to me. I had to show it a broom to defend myself
SORRY! bit of a sad start to my blog but someone setting traps but I wish they would do it humanely
Of late I have been thrilled by the appearance of some gold finch, I have not seen any for years then like a waiting for a bus they pop along in 3s
Next came a rather bashful looking goldfinch
Even the nuthatch have been collecting sunflower seeds and storing them in the bark of a nearby sycamore
Nice of the longtailed tits to make an appearance
Another long tailed tit
I threw a few dried mealworms on the hedge and was rewarded with a wren having a feast
Love to add this video of a bat in the spare bedroom. When I feel a bit ill I often sleep in the spare bedroom. Early one morning I woke with a strange humming sound like a moth and kept feeling a breeze on the cheeks of my face. I put the bed side light on at it was a bat. Like a coward I am I dived under the covers. Luckily when I am ill I always take a mobile and put under my pillow. I had to ring my son for help. He did a short movie before putting the light out and opening all of the windows until the bad had flown the bedroom
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I do not know if any of you have witnessed Robins then Dunnocks doing a weird dance, I took this video standing at my sink and made a mini movie
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NOT AT THE KITCHEN SINK BUT STILL OVERLOOKING WATER I HAD A RE-OCCURRENCE OF ONE OF MY MOBILITY PROBLEMS
Six months ago I could hardly move my legs and hands as I had a return of inflammatory arthritis so I made an appointment with my GP. She gave me a steroid injection in the cheek of my bum. Two days later I felt a bit better so I took my usual painkillers and asked my 24 year old grandson Luke if he could take me fishing. After a bit of a painful journey I made the shore of a nearby lake but NO fish instead the sight of a bat feeding in broad daylight. Only a short video shot with my Iphone but it made my fishing experience worthwhile . I share with you text
I now have a “WHAT IS IT !”
I was taking the rubbish out and look up at a strange aircraft contrail. I have been approached by a TV company for permission to use my short. Have you any ideas" text
I took one more shot at the contrails but this time you might notice a dog sounds as if it too has spotted the strange contrails……text
Thank you for watching and reading my blog, I hope you enjoyed
14 Jan, 2016
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Comments
You've got some great visitors, Tommy. I'm very jealous.the birds aren't coming in to my garden much at all recently.....certainly not nuthatch, wren, goldfinch and long tailed tits....excellent.
And, the squirrels seem to be feeding well enough(they look reasonably plump, so their disabilities aren't restricting them too much.
14 Jan, 2016
Nice to hear from you again Tommy; I don't think I've seen you here for a while. What a shame about the squirrels but despite their problems they appear well enough and at least they know that somebody cares! It's amazing how animals cope with disabilities. But I agree that a more humane trap is needed if that is indeed what has caused the loss of limbs/tail.
I hadn't had a lot of birds for a while, but all of sudden they seem to be flocking in. Blue Tits, Great Tits, Robin, Blackbirds, Long Tailed Tits, Crested Tits, a Jay, Nuthatch, Wren, Chaffinch, collared Doves and about twelve house Sparrows. And today I had a second visit from a Red Squirrel who's got a very rust coloured coat this year.
No idea about the contrails and can't say I've ever seen anything like it before. If you find out what they are please let us know. I'm intrigued.
14 Jan, 2016
We have two squirrels that visit our garden for nuts and fatballs. They are great to watch.
I have never seen a trail like that......a drunken pilot!
14 Jan, 2016
OH watched the clip too. He thinks it could be a normal contrail that's been disturbed by upper air turbulence.
15 Jan, 2016
A lovely selection of birds Tommy , we made inquires about Squirrels and were told we should by law kill them by capturing them putting them in a sack and drowning them , could you do it ??? I agree with Linda whoever was piloting that plane was drunk , that's scary ! I didn't know you could put videos on here >>>
15 Jan, 2016
Hello all ,thank you for all of your nice comments. Hi Amy I don't know who told you about putting them in a sack. Have you ever tried to catch a squirrel.I believe an elderly man was fined £3000 for trying to dispatch a squirrel the way you say. I had a squirrel in my garden that took ill over night. I manage to push it into a cardboard box and await the RSPCA but they never even replied to my phone call but the squirrel looked like a rabbit when it's got mixi.
The squirrel died overnight but I had to see the nurse. Where I had gently nudged the squirrel into the box with my shoe my legs were covered all over with flea bites.
To Digginfit, I have had a sudden influx of birds too. I reckon it's a sign of the end of the warm weather and the birds are migrating in for winter. I just had a return of the pied wagtails. They normally return in September for winter and feed on the mealworms I put out
17 Jan, 2016
Gosh we were obviously told wrongly about that Tommy , yes we have caught squirrels they were taking over our garden eating all the fruit and birds feed a friend lent us his Squirrel cage we caught them and then took them to a wood several miles away it seems to have worked as we haven't had many this year ...
18 Jan, 2016
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The goldfinches are lovin you! They must be quite entertaining to watch. Our goldfinches here in the US molt and turn a bright yellow gold in summertime.
14 Jan, 2016