Saturday 20 September 2014

Garden feeding

Very foggy this morning, but a lot of activity at the feeding station. Long tailed Tits never stay for long, the just seem to pop in for a while and then continue on their circuits.

There were four feeding on peanuts this morning. So far I haven's seen then on the seed feeders at all.

There are many scruffy looking individuals around, so it's nice to see a sharply dressed Great Tit.

At the moment the number of Goldfinches is starting to rise. Last year by late Autumn they were into the hundreds, and my feeders were emptying at a prodigious rate.It's still early so it could happen again this year.

Many of the Goldfinches are looking tatty, they seem to be in active moult , so I guess they need to feed well to nourish their newly growing feathers.

As well as food water is very important, especially at a time when we have scarcely seen any rain for weeks.
Chaffinch numbers are good, they are mostly pretty plain looking at the moment, the spring plumage comes not from a moult but from abrading the softer ends of the feathers they obtained at the end of the summer to reveal their brighter colours.

Their are also loads of very young looking Greenfinches around, they normally have two broods and occasionally three, but looking at the statistics less than 40% of nests actually reach the stage of fledged young due to predation.

Watching this bird bath from my study window can be entertaining, with several species their at the same time. House Sparrows like to get in and have a real splash about.

Spillage from the feeders above provides good foraging for birds feeding on the ground.

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