Cheers Chris, can you believe I'm using more disinfectant than seed at the moment?
I am in the process of throwing a little something together to post through all the doors in the neighbourhood, if everyone kept their feeding areas clean we could perhaps help to sort this out a little quicker, but I do feel like I'm swimming against the tide a bit

Well AL,
I hope that your neighbours take your advice, I'm sure you'd feel better to think that you have done as much as you can
You've spurred me on to clean mine today so that at least is a good thing
I'm so chuffed this morning, I noticed a robin in the garden and he spent most of the morning here
Take care of you.........ok

Chris x

Hi Chris, Charlotte (7yrs) was fuming this morning!, she had spent time yesterday lovingly making her 'bird cakes' and putting them in moulds to harden.

We put them out this morning and blow me, if a magpie didn't nick off with a whole cake!!! How he took off I'll never know - with Charlotte shouting 'greedy peedy' after him

We too have a couple of robins, they live next door but dine with us and are very posessive of 'their' spindle tree although quite why I'm not sure, the berries are only eaten by robins

Take care, x

Hi Heather and Chris,

That's good to see some positive feelings coming through the worry and despair we may all find this year with our birds

Robins are thin on the ground here but I know that they must be somewhere around as I have heard them.

Its Squirrels here at present. I just cannot decide how many. And I'm trying to decide which may be a pair or brothers and sisters etc... I do know that a few chase around after each other and I have noticed there is one trying to claim our garden as his/her own because it chases another off and shakes its tail.

Mum isn't keen that they are here but they are and as I have said before, if I keep them happy my plants and other birds may remain safe. I may've said it on the other place<ahem>but a week or two ago as the leaves fell off the trees in a neighbouring garden...high up I saw a Squirrel enter its dray(?)high up and quite difficult to reach but its so exposed now and sways in the high winds...yesterday in almost darkness two were shooting up the trees with leaves from our lawn and they have continued today and I think they've built another lower down for safety and protection I think they've used the Conifer tree at the back of our garden.

So how this will pan out I'm unsure.

The ground has started to dry out so maybe the garden will be tidied up this week and that's it done for the Winter.

Many varieties of birds have returned and so far so good the Hawk hasn't. I had a word with Chickadeedeedee and its a considered opinion that when Lucky is released she will be more likely to be even more careful and watch out for her saftey so if nothing else she may be safer than before.

If any bird gets more than their fare share here and eats the food quickest its the Starlings and maybe the Wood Pigieons.

Its wild here so Lucky has a reprieve for a couple of days but her release is coming very soon now. I think its going to be difficult to release her with me taking her out so I'll open the door of the room she's in and the one leading to the garden and let her fly when she wants to, she'll go and as suggested I might leave the doors open until dusk just to see if she returns until she is sure all is ok and she has her bearings.

My latest bird food arrived today. Maize, barley and corn(which is said to be a favourite with Doves and Ducks )Not that I have any ducks!

Lucky has shown an interest and I tried some really strange stuff sparingly but they say it helps birds digest their food and helps them get some calcium in their system to possibly make stronger shells on any eggs that they have, its called Oyster Grit! Don't know how necessary it is but I'll give it a go...

Take Care

Anthony xx

Aww, bless her heart poor Charlotte I don't blame her for shouting at the magpie after putting all the work into making her cakes for all the birds how rude of him to pinch it!
Love what she called him

I've spent more time than I should of today looking out at the birds and I'm even more chuffed there were two robins, but I was a bit confused as my hubby threw out a couple of chunks of bread on the grass yesterday and a robin was eating it more than once, I didn't think that they ate that kind of thing

I think that my neighbours must think I'm so nosey always looking out of the window

Tell Charlotte that I agree that he was greedy peedy too

I loved the tale about Charlotte(hope some were still available for the others)

As for looking out of the window and neighbours getting the wrong idea...we're fortunate that when the trees have their leaves we're quite private but now most have shed their foliage its possible to see into other gardens. Luckily, the neighbour at the back of the garden likes feeding birds too. He said one day he'd looked at one get a closer view with his binoculars but was worried that neighbours may get the wrong idea. That's the trouble these days some can.

Gildy x

Evenin' folks. I use oyster grit too , in the spring mostly, as you say, it is supposed to help the birds lay eggs with thicker shells and provide them with calcium.

As for the nosey neighbours, I'm surprized our doorbell hasn't rang as I often sit in the dining room with my bins or sit in Charlottes bedroom looking down on the garden.

Another prize Charlotte comment for your amusement - It is also her job to clean and refill the water containers. She went scuttling outside one afternoon after watching some birds bathing. Hose in hand, she emptied, cleaned and refilled the container for the second time that day. I asked her why she'd done it yet again and she replied (very matter of factly)
"Well how would you like to drink my bathwater!"

Kids - can't live with 'em, can't shoot 'em

Charlotte is so right and its good to see that she taking an interest so young, when I think of all the time I have lost.

Funny stuff that grit...I'm using it sparingly. Not really sure what is a small amount or alot. But they it goes along way.

Lucky is very friendly today and doing alot of exercising and preening, still a few more feathers to gain but this has shown me just how many were lost on that fateful day.

I do hope things continue to improve at Cafe Ash. You ask why they come to you in their times of trouble, its not just the food they feel safe and want to be where they feel at home. You cannot fool animals or birds, they depend on instinct and feelings.

Gildy x

i cannot understand why you would want to deprive a raptor of its dinner? Thats nature & they have to eat, the same as the cuter birds. Surely that the very same sort of "breedism" that others have complained about in other posts?

You've a right to that opinion and its something that many of us ponder on but in general many of us lose lots of birds to raptors, also, usually its too late to stop them and I have found the remains of or watched them finishing off a victim. In such cases I have let them get on with it. After all they'll go and get another so two may die instead of the one you've attempted to save.

Humans probably are the only speices that has the problem of eating say a chicken or a piece of meat from a cow or pig but seeing such an animal on tv or having a children's story written about it and having the "Aww" factor but that's the way it is and the way we are.

Such action is something done on the spur of the moment. Perhaps, we hope that the raptors stay in the countryside. Then again, we keep speading our towns and cities further into what is their environment. I doubt that I will ever get the chance save another bird, it is something that happened. In the case of the Sparrow Hawk mine always seems to take big birds and though they have no other way of doing it, the time it takes to kill and horror in the Dove's eyes in this case I had to have a go. I lose quite a few.

At least for a small bird that is taken takes seconds. Nature can be cruel. Sorry, that's perhaps a human term, if an animal or bird is a meat eater what choice has it? It has to use the method it has at its disposal be it a claw or teeth.

So I can see the angle you are coming from, its another point of view.

This time the dove saved was Lucky. She may survive when released or not, I'll never know but she has another chance. She's coming on great and been well fed and watered. If nothing else I have also learned alot caring for her and seeing her behaviour close up and even watching how feathers are formed and grow.

Gildy