There was already a fat ball feeder hanging up in the new
garden, and recently a volunteer gifted me a tub of fat balls that has since been
sitting in my car for a month waiting for me to take it up to the allotment. I
have put some fat balls in the feeder and broken one up and spread it over the
floor in our new back garden, to see what would come down.
I haven’t been disappointed!
We had heard the resident woodpecker while we were signing
paperwork and getting the keys etc, and on the day we arrived to get the keys I
saw a long-tailed tit around the corner from the house. In the few weeks that
we’ve been here, we have spent a lot of time gazing open-mouthed out of the
back windows watching the birds.
There is an industrial estate nearby and I have seen
buzzards over the buildings on my drive to work but we are yet to see one near
or over the house. We have had visits from lots of small birds and I’ve been
trying my best to get decent photos of them. My phone does up to 50x zoom which
is great, if you want a blurry photo of a bluey-grey blob with yellowy bits
underneath! For the most part though, it has been good for taking photos. From
the sofa I can take photos like this:
Blue Tit:
Great Tit:
Dunnock:
Robin:
Blackbird:
Long-tailed Tits:
We have also attracted the attention of a couple of grey
squirrels who have worked out how to get onto the fat balls. We were watching
them from the upstairs window and we have seen their drey – their nest – in a
hole in a big tree over the back.
One of the mornings David was sure he had seen a nuthatch
but I didn’t get a good look at it, but a few days later it returned and I saw
it AND got photos! Very excited about having a nuthatch:
I have also seen a Wren:
And we have the usual pigeons, magpies, and crows – none of
which have come into the garden yet.
We have been given the go-ahead for some garden projects
from our landlady, so we are planning to build a bird/squirrel feeding station,
and have a couple of fruit trees or bushes in big pots and planters. I also
want some scrambling climbing flowers such as clematis, passionflower,
honeysuckle and nasturtium (because I love them). I have sat and watched the sun
and decided I want a row (or two) of sunflowers across the back. I hope I can
make a wildlife haven in this little patch!
