Tuesday 2 December 2008

It's raining again

With two cats in the family, bird feeding tends to be of the hanging variety, to avoid feline temptation. This is good for the tits, but less good for ground-feeders like blackbirds, robins and dunnocks.
These unfortunates hang around the feeders anyway, trying to work out how to get a mouthful - normally they pick up scraps that fall, but the dunnock has now managed to leap from a nearby twig and hang on for long enough to get a peck.
Under the cliffs, a kestrel lies dead - one of the pair that bred this summer?

But on a happier note, the male Black Redstart is still hanging around the far end of the range.

4 comments:

Warren Baker said...

Shame about the kestrel Steve.
The Dunnocks in my garden have adapted some new feeding techniques too!

Benjamin Young said...

That's so sad about the Kestrel, I do believe that's the youngster I've been watching all year... Really sad. Lovely Black Redstart, seeing as the undercliff is my local patch, I'll have to investigate!

Greenie said...

Steve ,
It's amazing how the birds adapt to the feeders , observations on ours .
Chaffinches either perch like the other Finches or hovver like Hummingbirds to get theirs .
A couple of years ago the Robins fed sunflower hearts to their young at a great rate of knots .
Jackdaws have landed on , but then didn't know what to do .
Collared Doves attempt , but don't get much , and of course Rose Ringed Parakeets just sit and stuff themselves .
Our feline is an indoor job , but we get plenty of the locals hiding in the shrubbery .

Mary said...

What a shame about that beautiful kestrel. Feeding the ground feeding birds is always challenging. Can you do a tray feeder on a pedestal or even hanging? I put seed all over the ground and the deck, but my cats do more looking than hunting and the birds seem to be pretty smart.