Having been up to Scotland this year to visit family for Christmas it was great excitement on our return to discover that the nuthatch has returned to our garden - we had a pair of them that regularly visited the bird table a year ago and I didn't see sight nor sound of them during 2008.... and I've managed to get a few pictures which I thought I'd share on here... along with one or two other favorites of mine... the quality of photos need to improve but as yet don't have a camera with a good enough zoom.... guess I'll be waiting a while for one of these!










6 comments:
Beautiful birds.......very much needed at this time of year to add cheer to the garden.......I can see that they are well fed and looked after.......
Thanks Cheryl - ever since I was a little girl - watching the birds in the garden has always been a pleasure - I think I'd rather have skipped school so as not to miss out! They certainly are well fed - they have another bird table to go to as well - one with a roof on and as soon as the ground has thawed I've got a new table to replace the one in the photos - it has a mesh area for the food and low wooden sides - that way when it rains the food doesn't sit and get all soggy and harbour disease - thought it was quite a good idea - also it is attached to a metal pole - why no one has thought to sell bird tables on metal poles is beyond me as they are great at keeping the cats away - wooden posts are ideal for cats to climb - I had to modify the last one that was given as a present as I discovered our cat on the table helping himself to the bits of cheese I'd put out!!
Sorry this is turning into a bit more of a quite posting, but will never forget when I lived in Bristol, when my neighbour came round with a photo of this black and white cat which had stuffed himself in between the four posts of her little bird table with a roof on top - she wondered if it was my cat... lucky for me she wasn't too much of a bird lover as it was Hamish... he's such a monkey! Anyway - I'm sure you'll be enjoying your birds in your own garden too.... will visit again soon - take care Miranda
Don't worry about the photos Miranda, they look pretty good to me. I'd love a nuthatch on the bird table, sadly though not enough woodland around me, though did get long tailed tits on the fat balls for the first time today.
Hi Andrew - thanks for your encouragement on the photos... not bad I suppose considering they were all taken through a window! Mind you it took some patience waiting there - my arms were aching by the time the nuthatch arrived as I'd sat on the edge of the sink in our porch for quite a while with the camera in position ready to shoot! Just waiting for the long tailed tits to arrive - they were around in the woodland today!
Beautiful birds!
You must not get any squirrels.
Would love to have a wooded stand to photograph the birds like in your pics but the squirrels would live there. :)
Thanks Patsi - you're certainly right about the squirrels - I've only ever seen 2 red squirrels in my whole 5.5yrs in France - not quite sure why that is as there's plenty of acorns and nuts that they'd love!
The wooden stand I made myself one day in a moment of boredom - it's not the best piece of woodwork, but seems to do the job! Made with thick fencing post which I banged into the ground, then a simple rectangle of wood and a couple of sides! If you put a metal pole as the base would the squirels be able to get up onto it? Just a thought... Miranda
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