I feel absolutely gutted
- Thread starter Opal
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id poke the nest back in and leave it be, iv had blackbirds nesting in the same bush twice a year for years even though i trim it, and everyyear the babys fall out the nest and hide in a bush because iv got dogs,usualy one gets killed by neighboors cats too but yet they keep coming back
Been looking through our kitchen window for twenty minutes at a time throughout the day but no sign of any movement.
Having said that I didn't see any birds going in the ivy for years since I saw the Goldcrests and I always look out as I wash the dishes.
Going to Greece on Thursday, I'll be on tenterhooks till I get back.
Having said that I didn't see any birds going in the ivy for years since I saw the Goldcrests and I always look out as I wash the dishes.
Going to Greece on Thursday, I'll be on tenterhooks till I get back.
woodspirits
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
hey opal, if its any consolation, we had blackbirds and robins in my little back yard last year. the local cats disturbed both and had the young too. this year theyre both back again, blackbirds 5 eggs, robins 4 eggs (checked with dentist mirror thingy when they were off the nest) very resilient and both within 6 foot of where i sit!. dont worry they'll be back.
steve
steve
We had some robins, sparrows, woodpigeons and one blackbird reared in our garden this year. But a sparrowhawk got the baby blackbird, it ate it in the garden. We've also had a dove taken and eaten in our garden as well. But predators have got to eat as well I guess.
hi. it's to late in the nesting season to be doing this, ivy is a vital nesting site for quite a few bird species, and i'm sorry to say that you have inadvertently broken the law put into place to protect nesting birds. the fines have no ceiling, quite rightly so. it isn't promoted enough, so many people don't know about it.
no hedges etc should be cut in the nesting season unless surveyed by a professional. a bit big brother until you look at the plight of birds in this country.
it's a problem because of the tidy up brigade who want nature to be straight lines and under their control, (not for a moment suggesting that you are one of those
also the flowers of ivy are a great source of energy to many bees, butterfly's and the like. so let it flower
Technically he didn't brake the law, he did not knowingly disturb the nest, and as no one had told him of the dangers of cutting ivy and what birds like to nest there he's got a defence against his actions. its worded specifically to defend the average joe.
however, its very good advice to leave your hedges be during the nesting season, our birds do need all the help they can get.
don't feel too guilty opal, you weren't to know m8, you live you learn.
Cheers guys, I spotted a blackbird on the lawn below the nest then it flew up into the ivy but about two feet from the nest, are there two nests I wonder?
I couldn't see properly as my wife hung some washing out before she went to work.
I've put my camcorder on the window ledge, might get something fingers crossed.
I couldn't see properly as my wife hung some washing out before she went to work.
I've put my camcorder on the window ledge, might get something fingers crossed.
It's probably just it's route in. The birds that nest in ours go up or down to the nest, never straight into it. I can usually get a fair idea of where the nest is by watching the leaves shift as they move behind the outer layers.
Kind of hopeful that though means it's probably still paying attention to the egg
cheers,
Toddy
Kind of hopeful that though
means it's probably still paying attention to the egg cheers,
Toddy
Sorry to report, my lad had a look at the nest a little earlier, no egg, zilch. No sign of shell on the deck either.
btw, spotted two sparrows in our front garden flitting among the roses, been a long time since we spotted sparrows around here and just before we went on our hols, a woody for a couple of days mooching below the nest area of the blackbird.
btw, spotted two sparrows in our front garden flitting among the roses, been a long time since we spotted sparrows around here and just before we went on our hols, a woody for a couple of days mooching below the nest area of the blackbird.
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Oh well 
It's early enough, she might well have another nest on the go by now. Blackies sometimes make a couple of nest starts and then decide on one.
I'd find it very strange living where there are no wee birds, though my son who lives in Glasgow says he has to go to one of the parks if he wants to photo anything but pigeons, starlings and the occasional gull.
If there's feed hung out for them the little birds will eventually find it and add it into their 'round' of feeding areas. Sunflower seeds seem to suit almost all of them.....if you can keep the damned squirrels out of them
cheers,
Toddy
It's early enough, she might well have another nest on the go by now. Blackies sometimes make a couple of nest starts and then decide on one.
I'd find it very strange living where there are no wee birds, though my son who lives in Glasgow says he has to go to one of the parks if he wants to photo anything but pigeons, starlings and the occasional gull.
If there's feed hung out for them the little birds will eventually find it and add it into their 'round' of feeding areas. Sunflower seeds seem to suit almost all of them.....if you can keep the damned squirrels out of them
cheers,
Toddy
We've put out those hanging feeders every winter since we moved here over five years ago, spotted a couple of small birds at first then nothing since. We are only a five minute walk away from the local park, lived facing it at the start of the seventies, brilliant park where there are lots of wildlife.
Spotted my first chaffinch there, caught my first gudgeon and scored my first hat trick in my first football team in that area so a few firsts.
Think I'll move into the park when I retire next year.
Spotted my first chaffinch there, caught my first gudgeon and scored my first hat trick in my first football team in that area so a few firsts.
Think I'll move into the park when I retire next year.
It's always sad to see a failure like this but it's common enough, there is a huge loss of young life at this time of year and Nature allows for it so it's not the end of the world. But Nature cannot allow for the loss of habitat and changes in predator populations caused by humans. We've seen this little tragedy in all its gory detail but what of those we don't see? Just by going about our daily lives, every day every one of us is doing vastly more damage to Nature than Opal did with his hedge trimmer. Out of sight it usually out of mind, but the suffering and death is still just as real to the helpless creatures that we destroy with out incessant cravings for shiny new things.
Perhaps if this incident alerts a few people to the plight of our songbirds something good can come of it. In some areas the declines in songbird populations have been truly staggering. Ninety percent and more is not, by any means, unheard of. The blackbird is one of the less seriously affected species. With 'only' about a twenty percent decline in the past 25 years they are not in immediate danger. Sparrows in particular have been mentioned in this thread, and I can remember fifty years ago when I was a child that our house always had flocks of sparrows milling about it. Their incessant chattering used to keep me awake on summer nights. Nowadays, just a couple of miles away in a fairly well wooded area it's a lucky day for me if I see a sparrow at all.
But there are easy measures that most of us can take to help. There's plenty of useful advice on the Internet, for example
http://www.rspbliverpool.org.uk/Sparrows.htm
A planned, pro-active approach with things like carefully sited nest boxes, suitable food, cover, and protection from predators such as the domestic cat and the grey squirrel can reap huge rewards. I never thought I'd see so many bullfinches all at once as I regularly see on my feeders now. Unfortunately I still don't know what I have to do to bring the sparrows back.
Ged.
Life Fellow, RSPB,
Patron, Save the Albatross Campaign, and
regular shopper at the local corn store.
Perhaps if this incident alerts a few people to the plight of our songbirds something good can come of it. In some areas the declines in songbird populations have been truly staggering. Ninety percent and more is not, by any means, unheard of. The blackbird is one of the less seriously affected species. With 'only' about a twenty percent decline in the past 25 years they are not in immediate danger. Sparrows in particular have been mentioned in this thread, and I can remember fifty years ago when I was a child that our house always had flocks of sparrows milling about it. Their incessant chattering used to keep me awake on summer nights. Nowadays, just a couple of miles away in a fairly well wooded area it's a lucky day for me if I see a sparrow at all.
But there are easy measures that most of us can take to help. There's plenty of useful advice on the Internet, for example
http://www.rspbliverpool.org.uk/Sparrows.htm
A planned, pro-active approach with things like carefully sited nest boxes, suitable food, cover, and protection from predators such as the domestic cat and the grey squirrel can reap huge rewards. I never thought I'd see so many bullfinches all at once as I regularly see on my feeders now. Unfortunately I still don't know what I have to do to bring the sparrows back.
Ged.
Life Fellow, RSPB,
Patron, Save the Albatross Campaign, and
regular shopper at the local corn store.
We have still have loads of sparrows thankfully. Hedge, house and dunnock. Tbh I think the greatest decline in them in urban areas is the lack of hedges. Folks can't be bothered keeping hedges nowadays, they're too much work. They'd rather just put up those creosoted or orange painted panels. I've got the panels between me and the next door neighbour at the side but it's covered in ivy and from his side, brambles.
The privet and hawthorn hedges are alive with wee birds. My Beech, Birch and Holly one they seem to feed in but don't nest in. They do nest in the ivy and the Leylandii and other close branched conifers though.
Bring back hedges and the bird's feel safe enough to flitter among them. The hedges harbour spiders and other insects so the birds forage there too.
Don't cover your garden in wall to wall brick pavers, and don't be anal about being a show garden. (One of my neighbours even applies worm killer ! :yikes: 'cos they mess up his lawn )
Think of it as a green oasis of fresh air and living things
Today's bird list in the garden, and it's not huge, just a wee green jungle
Sparrows,
Blackbirds,
Blue tits
Great tits
Coal tits
Gold tits
Bullfinches
Chaffinches
Thrush
Crows
Magpies
Pigeons
Cushiedoos (big wild pigeons, not flying rats)
Starlings
Reed buntings
Wrens
Robins
& Gulls and swallows overhead, and a woodpecker making a racket along the path at the burn.
cheers,
Toddy
p.s. Sorry, preaching to the converted
The privet and hawthorn hedges are alive with wee birds. My Beech, Birch and Holly one they seem to feed in but don't nest in. They do nest in the ivy and the Leylandii and other close branched conifers though.
Bring back hedges and the bird's feel safe enough to flitter among them. The hedges harbour spiders and other insects so the birds forage there too.
Don't cover your garden in wall to wall brick pavers, and don't be anal about being a show garden. (One of my neighbours even applies worm killer ! :yikes: 'cos they mess up his lawn
)Think of it as a green oasis of fresh air and living things
Today's bird list in the garden, and it's not huge, just a wee green jungle
Sparrows,
Blackbirds,
Blue tits
Great tits
Coal tits
Gold tits
Bullfinches
Chaffinches
Thrush
Crows
Magpies
Pigeons
Cushiedoos (big wild pigeons, not flying rats)
Starlings
Reed buntings
Wrens
Robins
& Gulls and swallows overhead, and a woodpecker making a racket along the path at the burn.
cheers,
Toddy
p.s. Sorry, preaching to the converted
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That's a cracking list, Toddy, worm killer? we have an abundance of worms in ours, a goldmine for blackbirds, I thought I was gonna see plenty of them when we moved here, NOT!
Where we moved from (the area was demolished for newer housing) was excellent for bird life, spotted quite a few from your list, Toddy, a couple of years before we moved the decline set in of the sparrow, then less starlings and more and more Magpies.
Where we moved from (the area was demolished for newer housing) was excellent for bird life, spotted quite a few from your list, Toddy, a couple of years before we moved the decline set in of the sparrow, then less starlings and more and more Magpies.
The magpies do take young from other nests, but not apparantly from nests in the same tree as their own Woodpeckers take squabs, so do squirrels and cats get a fair number too
My little tabby catches mice and voles and very, very occasionally a bird. I feed the birds all year long hoping that more survive healthily through the lean times to cover the two or three a year that my cat catches. Madam is well fed, contented and very laid back, and now getting on in years and stays close to me, so I'm pretty sure of the numbers.
I also taught her to chase things on the ground, not have her jumping up to catch things fluttering, when she was a kitten. I sometimes think that it might not be a good survival strategy for her species, but it makes her pretty much oblivious to the birds in the garden. The pigeons come down and feed while she's sprawled out on the sandstone slabs not five feet from them Daft beasts.
Both you and Ged are right though, there aren't the flocks of sparrows that there used to be. We still get them but in groups of about six to eight, not twenty and thirty at a time. They make a heck of a racket in the hedge though when they're all 'talking at once'
In Winter there's a mixed group of small birds that kind of does the rounds of the back gardens that back onto the lane path beside the burn. Everything from chaffinches to long tailed tits
Maybe that's the secret, not one garden but a joined up route of them ?
cheers,
M
Woodpeckers take squabs, so do squirrels and cats get a fair number too My little tabby catches mice and voles and very, very occasionally a bird. I feed the birds all year long hoping that more survive healthily through the lean times to cover the two or three a year that my cat catches. Madam is well fed, contented and very laid back, and now getting on in years and stays close to me, so I'm pretty sure of the numbers.
I also taught her to chase things on the ground, not have her jumping up to catch things fluttering, when she was a kitten. I sometimes think that it might not be a good survival strategy for her species, but it makes her pretty much oblivious to the birds in the garden. The pigeons come down and feed while she's sprawled out on the sandstone slabs not five feet from them
Daft beasts.Both you and Ged are right though, there aren't the flocks of sparrows that there used to be. We still get them but in groups of about six to eight, not twenty and thirty at a time. They make a heck of a racket in the hedge though when they're all 'talking at once'
In Winter there's a mixed group of small birds that kind of does the rounds of the back gardens that back onto the lane path beside the burn. Everything from chaffinches to long tailed tits
Maybe that's the secret, not one garden but a joined up route of them ?
cheers,
M
Magpies get a death sentence from me. Evil buggers in fancy coats.
We also had today (beyond Toddy's list but without the bullfinch or starlings)
Jackdaws (need thinning out some)
Long tailed tits
Little owls (right now)
Barn Owls
Collared Dove
Marsh Harrier
Kestrel
Herring Gull
House Martin
....and a bloody chicken (don't ask)
We also had today (beyond Toddy's list but without the bullfinch or starlings)
Jackdaws (need thinning out some)
Long tailed tits
Little owls (right now)
Barn Owls
Collared Dove
Marsh Harrier
Kestrel
Herring Gull
House Martin
....and a bloody chicken (don't ask)
That's a pretty special list BR. Some of my favourite avians in there. I love those daft little Long tailed tits.
It's the sort of thing that's being discussed more or less as we speak:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13672600
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11406930