What kind of birds do you see in your garden?

Swindon On Tour said:
That’s a real shame mate, hope you see one.
Sadly one of our resident Barn Owls was killed on the road this Spring.
A few not Covered on the list - Summer and Spring
Stock Doves
Red legged Partridge
Pheasant
Green Finch
Green Woodpecker
Lesser and great spotted woodpecker
Chaffinch
Nuthatch.
Chiffchaff
Reed Bunting only a few times
Bullfinch
Mistle Thrush
Jay
Linnet
Goldcrest
Spotted Flycatcher last year


No parakeets here yet.
Loads down your way I hear.
Plenty of Buzzards and Red Kites here. We get a few nesting Curlews a few miles away. I know the farmer well and the RSBP are all over it.
Snipe as well.
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Aye, reed buntings turn up here now and again. You must live in some place if you have red kites, green woodpeckers and lesser spotted woodpeckers flying around.

Do the green woodpeckers show themselves? Notorious for being very difficult to see and more often than not you'll hear them rather than see them - very shy birds, like jays in that respect.
becs said:
A couple of song thrushes but they are on the decline. Used to get more in the past.
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Aye, I used to see loads when I was younger, but just not seeing them around anymore.
 
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Locke's SAFC said:
Aye, I go swimming in Durham and there was one bobbing around outside the swimming the centre the other morning. From personal experience though, I see a lot of them around estuaries and the sides of lakes but I've never seen one in the garden.

I think the other wagtail you're thinking of is the Grey Wagtail, which has a yellow undercarriage, 'really bonny bird.
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The Yellow Wagtail is brighter in colour than the resident grey.
Quite rare now and late summer they migrate. Not seen them thus year but had a pair nesting in a mill house, with stream down here.
A fair few greys though down here as well as Kingfishers.
 
Swindon On Tour said:
The Yellow Wagtail is brighter in colour than the resident grey.
Quite rare now and late summer they migrate. Not seen them thus year but had a pair nesting in a mill house, with stream down here.
A fair few greys though down here as well as Kingfishers.
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Aye, I always see the grey wagtails down by streams. Love to see them bobbing around. King fishers, plenty up here down by streams. Yellow wagtails quite rare these days.
 
Locke's SAFC said:
Aye, reed buntings turn up here now and again. You must live in some place if you have red kites, green woodpeckers and lesser spotted woodpeckers flying around.

Do the green woodpeckers show themselves? Notorious for being very difficult to see and more often than not you'll hear them rather than see them - very shy birds, like jays in that respect.


Aye, I used to see loads when I was younger, but just not seeing them around anymore.
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Green Woodpeckers really common here and always on the lawn taking ants.
The lesser spotter are not so common but we are very lucky to have a few visit the nut feeder along with the great spotted.
You are right about the Green Woodpecker as they have that distinct sound which is generally heard in flight and along with their distinct up and down flight trajectory.
 
A few years back I was chatting to my neighbour when a fancy cockerill with a splendid tail walked past. It was bizarre. We ended up herding it into a neighbour's shed. RSPCA were called and it was eventually reunited with its owner who had been keeping it on his allotment.
 
Swindon On Tour said:
Green Woodpeckers really common here and always on the lawn taking ants.
The lesser spotter are not so common but we are very lucky to have a few visit the nut feeder along with the great spotted.
You are right about the Green Woodpecker as they have that distinct sound which is generally heard in flight and along with their distinct up and down flight trajectory.
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You've got a right array of birds down there. I haven't seen a green woodpecker or a lesser spotted woodpecker for years.
 
Great tit
Blue tit
Coal tit
Blackbird
Wren
Goldfinch
Chaffinch
robin
Red kites in the sky
House martins in the sky
Kingfishers on the stream up the road
Tawny owls in the ruin up the road
 
Swindon On Tour said:
It’s amazing how certain species are more common in some areas and not others.
It’s like the Coal Tit. Plenty here but 40 miles south never seen one.
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I think in general there are a wider array of birds farther South. I was reading about the red-backed shrike and apparently they were quite common in Victorian times but had pretty much died out in Britain. Lately though there have been breeding pairs in Devon. Quite a few birds I've read about that you tend to only see in Southern parts of England. And then there's Wales. I was in Wales for 10 days not long ago and there are buzzards and goshawks flying around and out of forests regularly. We get buzzards up here but I've never seen a goshawk. Much of it I think is landscape, temperature and the ecological system. I take it you live out in the country somewhere? I'd be tempted to build my own bird hide with that quality of birds nearby.
Speaking of birds, not quite the garden variety but it's half 6 in the morning here, just getting light, and a kestrel has come right up about 15 metres away hovering for a while.
 
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Locke's SAFC said:
I think in general there are a wider array of birds farther South. I was reading about the red-backed shrike and apparently they were quite common in Victorian times but had pretty much died out in Britain. Lately though there have been breeding pairs in Devon. Quite a few birds I've read about that you tend to only see in Southern parts of England. And then there's Wales. I was in Wales for 10 days not long ago and there are buzzards and goshawks flying around and out of forests regularly. We get buzzards up here but I've never seen a goshawk. Much of it I think is landscape, temperature and the ecological system. I take it you live out in the country somewhere? I'd be tempted to build my own bird hide with that quality of birds nearby.
Speaking of birds, not quite the garden variety but it's half 6 in the morning here, just getting light, and a kestrel has come right up about 15 metres away hovering for a while.
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Could be right, I live in the most wooded county in England which happens to be in the south and theres a lot of species locally, birds of prey especially, daily I can see buzzard, red kite and kestrel, lots of woodpeckers, Jay's are everywhere at the moment for some reason, very numerous.
 
Jon Dough said:
Could be right, I live in the most wooded county in England which happens to be in the south and theres a lot of species locally, birds of prey especially, daily I can see buzzard, red kite and kestrel, lots of woodpeckers, Jay's are everywhere at the moment for some reason, very numerous.
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Jays are a good example. Not that common here. 'Thinking about it there are probably more than we see but they're very shy birds so tend to fly off at the slightest movement. I've just looked up where the most wooded county is and it's come up with Surrey. I wouldn't mind moving somewhere where is a greater variety of birds. There were a few ospreys around here not too long ago. 'Think they were spotted in North Yorkshire before moving farther North into Northumberland and I'm guessing Scotland from there.
 
Not quite in my garden but for the last few days a load of green parrots have been in the tree outside my house. Ive googled it and look like green ring neck paraqueets, must be at least 30 of them.
Ive niticed this time of year they come but never seen them so up close, its quite a sight to see.
 
Locke's SAFC said:
I think in general there are a wider array of birds farther South. I was reading about the red-backed shrike and apparently they were quite common in Victorian times but had pretty much died out in Britain. Lately though there have been breeding pairs in Devon. Quite a few birds I've read about that you tend to only see in Southern parts of England. And then there's Wales. I was in Wales for 10 days not long ago and there are buzzards and goshawks flying around and out of forests regularly. We get buzzards up here but I've never seen a goshawk. Much of it I think is landscape, temperature and the ecological system. I take it you live out in the country somewhere? I'd be tempted to build my own bird hide with that quality of birds nearby.
Speaking of birds, not quite the garden variety but it's half 6 in the morning here, just getting light, and a kestrel has come right up about 15 metres away hovering for a while.
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Superb. Quiet village surrounded by fields and plenty of walks.
Come winter the birds definitely move in towards the gardens to find food.
I feed all year round and it’s amazing that when the blackberries and elderberries are ripe we rarely see a Blackbird in the garden but during nesting time can have 10 at a time.
I am very lucky as the garden is surrounded by trees. When we bought it, it came with a jungle, honestly it has taken a few years to get it sorted but I love the outdoors and always plenty to do.
Evidently a few years back one of the previous owners actually had a bird hide in the garden. Buzzards here a very common and most days are flying over the house. Red kites as well and too many of them now.
I prefer to walk the fields with the dog and plenty of variety in the hedgerows.
Blackcap, Yellowhammers and Whitethroats are very common in Spring and Summer. Not seen it this year but in the church grounds I was watching a spotted flycatcher.
It’s surprising if you listen and look around how many different birds there are and most of the time you just simply don’t realise the variety.
Lovely though isn’t it blending in to the nature and definitely gives me a much needed shot in the arm when you realise how the human race is destroying the planet and nature with it.
Jon Dough said:
Roadkill...
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Not seen one in these parts.
 
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