Another cold day, with slate grey skies, it barely got light at all ! I spent just an hour out this afternoon, I went over and had a walk round the grounds of the Greenhouse Complex and the small copse that is beside it, just a handfull of birds were seen, three REDWING and a MISTLE THRUSH were feeding on the floor of the copse, and a TREECREEPER was seen on an Oak, with a ROBIN foraging under a bramble bush, and that was that!
I realised I was onto a looser, I wasn't going to find any birds today, and it will stay like this until something different happens with the weather. So I went back home to watch the Garden feeders for the remaining daylight hour. This was just as frustrating, as the large house next door are having their gardens torn out and ''Tidied'', it was full of workmen with a JCB and a dumper truck. Some of the less timid birds came in to feed, and 16 species were noted, the best of which was a SONGTHRUSH, it was trying to pick pieces of of an old ham bone which I have hung from a tree.
The only thing that brightened a less than satisfactory day, was seeing a male Blackcap on a pyracantha bush, not on my patch, unfortunately, I saw it in the middle of Hadlow village square, as I walked home from work, the bush was dripping with berries, and is the only green thing around, being surrounded by shops and street housing, why doesn't the pyracantha bush in my garden ever have berries on it ??
6 comments:
Mine doesn't have many berries either Warren, I believe that this is caused by pruning in my case. I have to clip it as it grows so big but at least it stops the sprawk getting the sparrows, much to their frustration.
Phil
Hi Warren. Pyracantha produce less berries in shady or on north facing walls. Incorrect pruning will stop berries being formed. Here's a link (to the old firm) that may help. FAB
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=431
I have a friend who has a Pyracantha which is always laden with berries, it is an absolute magnet for the birds.
It sounds like the garden next to you is being ruined. Poor birds!
Hi Warren,
it looks like pretty desperate at the moment isn't it... I guess we have to wait one or two weeks more and then we will be back to better weather conditions.
As you said I got to see more species than you for once, but I was just visiting a pond where most of the birds stay the whole year cause people are feeding them... So not really wildlife ;-)
Oh no....today was just not your day. Here...today was the first day of sun in weeks. It made the snow sparkle and the birds seemed to welcome it.
Keep at it Warren the weather won't remain like this much longer I reckon. We had a couple of days thaw so fingers crossed there's no return to the ice-age stuff again.
Pity the neighbours are having their garden 'ripped out' just when the birds could have 'used' it.
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