Birds in your garden - April 2008

Andy & Diana Oldacre [Wild Cottage, Lochdon]

We still have plenty of Siskin in the garden, it must be all that Niger Seed we put out! And finally, a week or so ago, we had a visit from two Goldfinches; the reason we put out the Niger Seed in the first place! The usual species; Chaffinch, Blue Tit & Great Tit, House Sparrow and the ocassional Coal Tit and Dunnock continue to visit plus Blackbird and Song Sparrow. We decided to tidy the area under the feeders and now we have Yellowhammer feeding on the spilt grain & seed from the messy feeding of the Chaffinches. Today [5th April] we had a lone Pied Wagtail.

Arthur & Pam Brown [Ardrioch Farm, Dervaig]

The beginning of April has seen some warm spring weather and we seem to have lost some Tits from our garden. We do hear them however in the woods at back of the farm, calling ,pairing up and nest building. To this end we have put out some hair we have combed from our dogs in small net bags for the birds to line their nests with and it seems to be working well. We will have to comb the dogs again soon. It is also the time for us to order some live meal worms to help these birds feed chicks particularly if April turns out to be cold and wet with a shortage of caterpillars.

Finches are now the most predominant species in the garden with Chaffinches being by far the most numerous with Greenfinches and Siskins also in good numbers. We have more Goldfinches than ever before and Bullfinches across our front meadow but they have yet to put in an appearance in our garden unlike our regular Yellowhammers. We now have a daily visit from a female Great Spotted Woodpecker and with a local male drumming are hoping she will bring young to visit sometime in the summer.

We have a Cock Pheasant every day now and for the first time in our garden Starlings [6 yesterday 5th]. Songthrushes, Blackbirds and Robins are regular visitors and all the birds look spectacular in their breeding plumage. Greylag Geese are feeding up in our new woodland and we have nesting Tawny Owl and displaying Buzzards their too. We still await the return of the Meadow Pipits and Tree Pipits but soon after they return so will our Cuckoo. Finally nothing to do with birds but we now have 7 new Hebridean lambs at Ardrioch, a sure sign Spring has arrived.
 

Andrew & Hazel Kirkham [Craignure]

Here's a list of the sightings that we've had in our garden/wilderness at the back of our accommodation where we've put up a feeder here at Craignure (over-looking the railway station).

In the short time that we have been here, about 3 weeks, we are having to fill up our feeder every day, which is a mix of seed including Niger and Black Sunflower. The birds seem to find the feeder in the first couple of hours of me putting it up in a small Silver Birch tree. So far we have had on the feeder,  Blue, Great and Coal tits (the Coal tit is building a nest in a banking very close by) Robin, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Siskin and today (6th April) we had our first 2 Goldfinches. Also on the floor under the feeder there has been Blackbird, Song Thrush and Dunnock.

There is frequently a Buzzard sitting in the scrub at the back and we had our first summer migrants fly over on the 3rd, half a dozen Sand Martins.

Stuart Gibson [Oban]

Remember last year's (mis-)adventures of 'Jimmy, the (Duracell) Wren'?

Well, the second cock nest that he built in my back garden (in a Clematis montana) has been taken over by a Coal Tit, but apparently not for nesting, but roosting, in.

Coal Tits are 'Summer Visitors' to my backyard, here in Oban, as they disappear in the Autumn, preferring to spend the Winter months elsewhere, before returning again in late Winter/early Spring.

This year, a singing male has been holding territory in the area surrounding my garden, frequently dropping in for a peanut or a peck at a fat ball, but this little fella making use of one of 'Jimmy's' cast-off nests has been a pleasant and very welcome surprise.

'Jimmy' (or another), by the way, is still to be heard in the vicinity, although it has (so far) chosen not to make any more nests (for the time being) in my garden! 

 

Andy & Diana Oldacre [Wild Cottage, Lochdon]

As Spring advances we are now getting Willow Warblers in the garden and the numbers of Yellowhammer have increased. Siskins still dominate numberwise and House Sparrows are nesting. New to our garden was a single Whitethroat the other day. Swallows overhead are now regular and the sound of a distant Cuckoo can be heard every day. In the wee hours we have heard a Barn Owl for several nights now.

 

Andrew & Hazel Kirkham [Craignure]

Got a new batch of food in after the birds very quickly went through our last lot. Getting a lot of Greenfinches & Chaffinches. A pair of Goldfinch are regular visitors now. And we have also had a single Redpoll and today (26th April) had a Linnet feeding off the spillage on the floor. Also had 4 or 5 House Martins feeding overhead and a Woodcock has put in an appearance at dusk on most nights.

Send us your sightings!