Birds

[Odsox]

When we moved down to this peninsula just over 20 years ago, we moved into a "holiday home" that had been empty for a few years, and apart from Hooded Crows there were no birds here at all.
That all changed when I started digging the ground, keeping chicken and building sheds. The robin was the first to adopt us followed over one or two years by lots of others, quite a few that I'd never seen before, but the one I missed was the House Sparrow.
Back in Kent we were surrounded by noisy sparrows all the time and it seemed odd not to hear them. About 2 years ago we had a pair arrive, but they didn't stay. Last year the same happened again, but this year we have a pair that have now built a nest, so probably intend to stay here.
The thing is, I'm getting fed up with their incessant chattering, all the time drowning out all the other birdsong.

Typical human nature ....

[Green Aura]

We get quite a few birds here, they've been singing away merrily for a few weeks now. The trouble I have is I have no idea what most of them are, apart from the most obvious one.

My favourite is our little family of blackbirds - they're very bold, sitting on the fence post only feet from where we are. I've only ever seen robins that brave before.

[Flo]

Wouldn't be without the sparrows round here! They are part of the gang at the allotments along with jackdaws, blackbirds, robins and if we are lucky a thrush.

[doofaloofa]

No house Sparrows yet (16 years built) but a big selection of other species

The Robins were quick to attch themselves to the pigs when they root around

[Odsox]

Apart from these sparrows, the all year round resident birds here are Robins, Blackbirds, Thrush, Magpies, loads of Pied Wagtails, Chaffinch, Linnets, Goldfinch, Goldcrest, Wrens, Hedge Sparrows, Blue Tits, Great Tits and Meadow Pipits.
When the rest of Europe and the British Isles are having a hard winter, we get loads of different species, some of which I have to look up in our bird books.

Ones that we don't get and I miss, are all Owls, all Woodpeckers (not many trees) and Nightingales.

[doofaloofa]

Did you see the Hoopoe that visited WC a few years back Tony?

[ina]

None of you mention starlings - they are the most frequent birds here. Plus sparrows, blackbirds, robins, and the occasional chaffinch, blue tit, great tit and coal tit.

Oh, and gulls, of course...

[KathyLauren]

We have lots of chickadees, both black-capped and boreal. Song sparrows and fox sparrows. Juncos and american robins. A pair of mourning doves showed up last week. There are barred owls in the woods out back.

There ought to be blue jays, but a bluejay-phobic neighbour exterminated them all last year.

[Odsox]

Did you see the Hoopoe that visited WC a few years back Tony?

No

[Flo]

Who has the starlings? Ina have only seen one on the allotment since Feb 2007! We have the kestrel and some breed of hawk that comes along in the pigeon racing season.

[Green Aura]

We get them a couple of times a year, not in the huge groups you see on the TV but sufficient to have mini murmurations. I love it.

My mother used to be terrified of them - convinced they'd move into the loft space and cause all sorts of horrors, although she couldn't identify what they were. She never quite grasped that we have a solid concrete roof and no loft space.

[Odsox]

We have starlings nearby, and one tried to nest in our soffit a couple of weeks ago. There is a hole in the underside of the soffit where the overflow pipe used to be and the starling could get it's head through but not it's shoulders. It tried for some time before giving up.

Also nearby, we have all the members of the crow family bar one.We have Hooded Crows, Ravens, Rooks, Magpies, Jackdaws, Choughs and Jays. The one we don't have is the Carrion Crow.

[ina]

As soon as I put bird feed out, I get dozens of starlings... I'd rather not have so many, as any other bird has to wait until they've finished feeding. Actually, blackbirds and the robin tend to come very early in the morning, to get a bit of breakfast - before the starlings move in! Not so bad now, I'm easing off the feeding, they are all busy nesting and mating... :)

[doofaloofa]

Also nearby, we have all the members of the crow family bar one.We have Hooded Crows, Ravens, Rooks, Magpies, Jackdaws, Choughs and Jays. The one we don't have is the Carrion Crow.

AFAIK, the hoodie and the carrion crow are different variants of the same species, but seldom share the same range

I've never seen a Jay in the 20 years here

I assumed they were not native to this area

[KathyLauren]

There ought to be blue jays, but a bluejay-phobic neighbour exterminated them all last year.

Woo-hoo! We saw a blue jay today at the feeder!