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twenty
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On 06/06/2019 at 08:18, twenty said:

Yeah it was Trichomonosis wasn't it that did for the finches etc,......we've got chaffinch back in decent number,...and as you say yellowhammer have done well.

I am amazed at the House sparrow revival in the last few years,.....It is now normal to see 3 or 4 in the garden at any one time, and during a recent garden bird survey for Gloucestershire Ornithology group I was regularly reporting numbers of up to 15 at a time on the feeding stations........During March and April I regularly put down soft feathers that I collect from Pigeon etc, on to the lawn, the number of sparrows that are attracted to these is amazing, and a good handful will normally be taken away within minutes, its great to watch.

You right there mate! Tricho hit greenfinches hard! Ges it what happens when numbers get so high. Found lot of dead and dieing birds when it happened. Think sparrow numbers really struggle. Nest in the ivy and roof at mine but i think gene pool to small and local for them to build strong numbers up. Lot of nests fail and  others seem to produce some weak looking youngsters. I put woodie feathers out to. Not long going. Used to empty tumble dryer filter out to but being a lot of micro plastic in it probably not good. Saw jackdaw drop down and bang a young dunnock in head yesterday. Grab some grub from feeders and fly off as it's mate grabbed dunnock and followed. I have seen crows clear out buzzard nest in past. 1 killed but didn't eat chicks. Attacked and threw 3 out of nest in seconds while mate sat near by. Buzzards always chance it buzzing the rookery opposite mine. Tell by the different noise when they about.  Barn owls busy last night and this morning. they know bad weather on the way.  NB

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I have five House sparrow nests in my house roof and there are loads more in the village. Sometimes I see them sitting on a hedge with Tree sparrows.

I have rarely seen so many Yellowhammers as this year, Linnets too.

This part of Lincolnshire has a great many hedges and wide verges which helps.

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3 hours ago, JDog said:

I have five House sparrow nests in my house roof and there are loads more in the village. Sometimes I see them sitting on a hedge with Tree sparrows.

I have rarely seen so many Yellowhammers as this year, Linnets too.

This part of Lincolnshire has a great many hedges and wide verges which helps.

Have you got a glut of Goldfinch as well, around these parts there are a great number this year, it is nothing to see 8 or 9 on the feeders at any one time, with lots of recently fledged birds waiting in the bushes to be fed.

Counted 18 adult house sparrows at one time today, plus youngsters lined up on the trellis.

Curlew with 4 youngsters reported at WWT Slimbridge today.

Edited by twenty
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3 hours ago, NatureBoy said:

You right there mate! Tricho hit greenfinches hard! Ges it what happens when numbers get so high. Found lot of dead and dieing birds when it happened. Think sparrow numbers really struggle. Nest in the ivy and roof at mine but i think gene pool to small and local for them to build strong numbers up. Lot of nests fail and  others seem to produce some weak looking youngsters. I put woodie feathers out to. Not long going. Used to empty tumble dryer filter out to but being a lot of micro plastic in it probably not good. Saw jackdaw drop down and bang a young dunnock in head yesterday. Grab some grub from feeders and fly off as it's mate grabbed dunnock and followed. I have seen crows clear out buzzard nest in past. 1 killed but didn't eat chicks. Attacked and threw 3 out of nest in seconds while mate sat near by. Buzzards always chance it buzzing the rookery opposite mine. Tell by the different noise when they about.  Barn owls busy last night and this morning. they know bad weather on the way.  NB

My son received his individual licence yesterday from NE/Defra, so he's happier, I think he is covered for everything he asked for.

He has got the Otter/mink hounds coming at the weekend to push his lakes and streams through before the ducks come in.

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5 hours ago, JDog said:

I have five House sparrow nests in my house roof and there are loads more in the village. Sometimes I see them sitting on a hedge with Tree sparrows.

I have rarely seen so many Yellowhammers as this year, Linnets too.

This part of Lincolnshire has a great many hedges and wide verges which helps.

Do you and others in village feed JDog? Do the tree sparrows come to feeders? Great to see them. One of my customers has had a small colony of tree sparrows for over 30 years. they never seem to leave her orchard, farm yard and garden. or grow in number. Noticing a few more tree creepers and reed buntings about.   NB

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2 hours ago, twenty said:

My son received his individual licence yesterday from NE/Defra, so he's happier, I think he is covered for everything he asked for.

He has got the Otter/mink hounds coming at the weekend to push his lakes and streams through before the ducks come in.

Did he get all corvids? Does it cover him for all of England? It Should cover you to mate?. .  Falconers have  any trapped corvids at mo.  Another fella has wings and tails for fly tieing. Don't having the hounds through this time of year disturb breeding birds. nests and young? Mink and otter everywhere my way. Clearing out fish but water voles holding up.  NB

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13 minutes ago, JDog said:

No one as far as I know feeds those birds. I certainly do not. I help them though by liberally spreading pigeon feathers in the garden which are eagerly snapped up for nesting material.

Interesting that habitat is holding both then. I didn't think they got on? Also lot more song thrushes about this year. Seen a few young about to.     NB

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17 hours ago, NatureBoy said:

Did he get all corvids? Does it cover him for all of England? It Should cover you to mate?. .  Falconers have  any trapped corvids at mo.  Another fella has wings and tails for fly tieing. Don't having the hounds through this time of year disturb breeding birds. nests and young? Mink and otter everywhere my way. Clearing out fish but water voles holding up.  NB

Yeah, all the corvids, and it does cover anyone with Landowners permission, not sure about all of England, but will check that out.

Hopeful that hounds may clear out mink,....quite a few about,...which will hopefully help out some of the birds.

Main lake is Otter fenced.........(£30,000 's worth of fencing)......this is a syndicate carp water, so the hounds won't be in there.

All counties of England confirmed

Edited by twenty
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I sat in one of my high seats this last week in what was a short break from continual rain. The sun came out and we had a pleasant sunset.  Tawny owls started to compete as to who could whowhowhoo the loudest and one came and sat about 3ft above me and joined in. I would say there must about been seven or eight at it.   Like a ghost a barn owl drifted by along the hedge line below me and numerous chaffinches and one or two I couldn't recognise in the fading light came to fill up for the night from the 'bait' of whole and kibbled maize at the base of a tree.

A flick of movement about 18 inches to my left and there sat a wren, dipping and staring trying to make out if I was friend or foe. It dissappeared into the ivy, probably a nest or roosting spot.

The joys of spending an hour or two sat in a seat and one on a pretty serious dairy farm as well.   Adjacent to the farm is a wood managed by the Woodland Trust and echoes with dogs barking , people and kids yelling and tramping everywhere. Is it any wonder the wildlife prefers to spend time on the dairy farm. 

 

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Edited by Walker570
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I too went for a walk in between rain showers today near my home in S. Lincs.The footpath took me around the edge and though the middle of two massive fields of peas which must have amounted to over a hundred acres. I was delighted to see hundreds of swifts and martins working the whole area, the most I’ve seen of both in years. I was surprised there were no swallows amongst them.

Also interesting although I put 50 or 60 pigeon off the fields today there has hardly been any on them since they were drilled. 

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1 hour ago, JDog said:

The majority of the swifts in this village (about 200) have gone leaving about 10 entertaining me with their acrobatics every evening. This is the latest I have seen swifts in these parts.

Yeah all our local ones have gone now, a few swallow still about, and I spotted a wheatear (cock) yesterday.....probably heading south to overwinter in Africa.

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Swifts still had young in the box's up farm last week. House martins still got young in nests. hope they all do well and make it! Not been so many swallows or martins around at all this year. Jackdaws and squirrels cleared out a lot of early swallow nests. Plenty of  insect food around for all so maybe some will hang around longer and feed up. Young turtle doves doing well. Still plenty of all species of butterfly about and had hummingbird hawk moth in house the other night. More stag beetles been seen locally to.   NB

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