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Garden Bird Chat 2012

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    #32
    Bsal
    Registered Users Posts: 1,769 ✭✭✭Bsal


    My Yellowhammer was back again today and also a female Blackcap, didn't see the male today though. I still have two Robins having a bit of s scrap.


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    #33
    mossie
    Registered Users Posts: 2,169 ✭✭✭mossie


    Are house sparrows on the up this year? Last year I only had 1 or two any day, this year I'm averaging around 6 with a high of 10.


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    #34
    Mothman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,498 ✭✭✭Mothman


    I've an old native hedge with stream along it bordering one side of garden.
    It was really busy this afternoon.

    During fifteen minutes I saw the following
    Goldcrest
    Treecreeper
    Sisken
    Blue tit
    Coal Tit
    Long-tailed Tit
    Great Tit
    Dunnock
    Robin
    Song Thrush
    Black Bird
    Wood Pigeon
    Greenfinch
    Bullfinch
    Chaffinch
    Goldfinch

    Many were bathing in the stream. A much milder afternoon with sunny spells.


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    #35
    Mickeroo
    Administrators, Computer Games Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 32,187 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Mickeroo


    Could have sworn I saw a Swift today? Surely they're all gone by now, what else could it have been? (this wasn't my garden now but somewhere near my family home in achill).


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    #36
    whyulittle
    Registered Users Posts: 3,878 ✭✭✭whyulittle


    What I thought was a Swift one day, was a Kestrel. Moving car, pointy wings, looked similar.


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    #37
    Mickeroo
    Administrators, Computer Games Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 32,187 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Mickeroo


    whyulittle wrote: »
    What I thought was a Swift one day, was a Kestrel. Moving car, pointy wings, looked similar.

    It had pointy wings but it was flying very low(only about 10ft off the ground) and I don't think the colouring looked right for a kestrel.


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    #38
    Bsal
    Registered Users Posts: 1,769 ✭✭✭Bsal


    Two Yellowhammers in today :D


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    #39
    The Master.
    Registered Users Posts: 167 ✭✭The Master.


    whyulittle wrote: »
    I had my first really good look at a Wren in the garden today.

    Also two Robins in together, chasing each other around.
    I heard somewhere that robins are very territorial and will fight to the death to keep their square mile free.

    I only put my "futterboy 3000" seed feeder up the other day and its nearly half gone already.
    I tied it to a vertical clothes line pole and at first the boys were struggling to land on it so i taped a dead branch on too so they could land then hop.
    Very funny watching them at first as they were like hummingbirds trying to land on it.
    Can anyone recommend a site with pictures of the common birds for identification.
    Im starting to see differences between what i thought were all sparrows so would like to know whats there.
    Next doors back garden is fairly overgrown with bramble bushes and different trees as it used to be allotments so its an unusual habitat in tallaght.


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    #40
    Bsal
    Registered Users Posts: 1,769 ✭✭✭Bsal


    These are the two I like to use for bird Id's

    http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/a/

    http://www.garden-birds.co.uk/


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    #41
    whyulittle
    Registered Users Posts: 3,878 ✭✭✭whyulittle


    Was wondering where all the Chaffinch chat had disappeared to.....it was in the Redpoll thread...d'oh!

    I've been getting up to around 20 Chaffinch, 20 House Sparrows, 10 Goldinch, 10 Greenfinch.

    Chaffinch are in pretty much all day, in varying numbers. While the Sparrows just appear and disappear.

    Starlings are pretty scarce so far. Think 3 is the most I've seen so far.


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    #42
    cscook
    Registered Users Posts: 276 ✭✭cscook


    As per the redpoll thread we had our first one yesterday - with 4 or 5 pals today. Also first time I've had a greenfinch in a good while; there were also some chaffinches and three goldfinches, plus the regular sparrows,dunnocks, coal, blue and great tits.


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    #43
    Bsal
    Registered Users Posts: 1,769 ✭✭✭Bsal


    One of my 3 Yellowhammers from today

    IMG_0191.jpg


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    #44
    seanknowsall
    Closed Accounts Posts: 65 ✭✭seanknowsall


    Had 10 linnets in today..... last winters record was 35. My species list for this season so far....rook, jackdaw, magpie, collared dove, blackbird, chaffinch, greenfinch, goldfinch, robin, wren, sparrow, great tit, blue tit, linnet, redpoll and starling. No thrush or wagtails yet even though recorded them frequently last year. Also had a redwing and some bramblings last year but that probably due to the severe winter. I live on a typical housing estate in west Dublin....despite lack of mature trees and gardens it is incredible what a bird feeder will attract. Oh had a sparrowhawk fly over garden last Summer too!!


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    #45
    googsy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 211 ✭✭googsy


    See large flocks of geese flying over an area between Santry Woods and the Airport most days, anyone know what type of geese these are ??


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    #46
    Half-cocked
    Registered Users Posts: 4,319 ✭✭✭Half-cocked


    googsy wrote: »
    See large flocks of geese flying over an area between Santry Woods and the Airport most days, anyone know what type of geese these are ??

    They'll be pale bellied brent geese. Any idea where they are landing?


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    #47
    Half-cocked
    Registered Users Posts: 4,319 ✭✭✭Half-cocked


    7 Redpolls on the nyjer seed this morning and 10 Tree Sparrows feeding on grain I put our for the Collard Doves:)


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    #48
    googsy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 211 ✭✭googsy


    Half-cocked wrote: »
    They'll be pale bellied brent geese. Any idea where they are landing?

    Thanks for that, don't know where they are landing... they head in the general direction of the Northside Shopping center... not sure if that's any help... it's a very regular occurrence in the morning time ( roughly 8am onwards ) wonder are they using some fields somewhere around St Margarets at night as they fly quite low over the main airport road heading from Santry to the Airport....


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    #49
    Half-cocked
    Registered Users Posts: 4,319 ✭✭✭Half-cocked


    googsy wrote: »
    Thanks for that, don't know where they are landing... they head in the general direction of the Northside Shopping center... not sure if that's any help... it's a very regular occurrence in the morning time ( roughly 8am onwards ) wonder are they using some fields somewhere around St Margarets at night as they fly quite low over the main airport road heading from Santry to the Airport....

    There's plenty of playing fields around that area, probably where they're heading for. They like short grass.


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    #50
    Mothman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,498 ✭✭✭Mothman


    seanknowsall wrote: »
    Had 10 linnets in today..... last winters record was 35. My species list for this season so far....rook, jackdaw, magpie, collared dove, blackbird, chaffinch, greenfinch, goldfinch, robin, wren, sparrow, great tit, blue tit, linnet, redpoll and starling. No thrush or wagtails yet even though recorded them frequently last year. Also had a redwing and some bramblings last year but that probably due to the severe winter. I live on a typical housing estate in west Dublin....despite lack of mature trees and gardens it is incredible what a bird feeder will attract. Oh had a sparrowhawk fly over garden last Summer too!!

    I'm very rural and and have not had the bolded species in my garden this month. I've only ever had Collared Dove and Starling a couple times.


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    #51
    Hammer Archer
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 11,396 Mod ✭✭✭✭Hammer Archer


    Sparrowhawk has been around several times today looking for his Christmas dinner.


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    #52
    Bsal
    Registered Users Posts: 1,769 ✭✭✭Bsal


    Hammer Archer wrote: »
    Sparrowhawk has been around several times today looking for his Christmas dinner.

    My local Sparrowhawk has been in a couple of times today too, I didn't see it catch anything but it did come close to getting one of the Yellowhammers. I hadn't seen it for 13 days and since July it pretty much visited everyday so I was getting a bit worried it may have died.


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    #53
    googsy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 211 ✭✭googsy


    Half-cocked wrote: »
    They'll be pale bellied brent geese. Any idea where they are landing?

    Just an update... found out where some of them are landing, on the way up to the Northside shopping center from Santry direction, in the green field just before the entrance of Clonshaugh Industrial Estate... also if you turn left at the Northside Shopping Center heading towards Priorswood, a large flock of them are feeding in the football pitches on the right hand side.


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    #54
    Bsal
    Registered Users Posts: 1,769 ✭✭✭Bsal


    Noticed today that my House Sparrows appear to be eating buds on the tree's in the garden, in December! :D


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    #55
    whyulittle
    Registered Users Posts: 3,878 ✭✭✭whyulittle


    I had my first Redpoll of the winter in today, I think. Just didn't have any red on it.

    13B1B8507025432F98B8D020F30981D4-0000315944-0002688259-00616L-04AE406B75704A3FA4F883444B0AAFB3.jpg

    29C8C883DE424D4DAE5DE7FE69CEF343-0000315944-0002688258-00587L-D8AD07E7045E44F1AF42BF737DF5E973.jpg


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    #56
    cotton
    Registered Users Posts: 629 ✭✭✭cotton


    Woke up this morning to the usual 40+ goldfinches, sparrows, robins & blackbirds but in the middle of them all was a bullfinch & wren picking side by side on the ground. Lovely to watch.:)


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    #57
    Bsal
    Registered Users Posts: 1,769 ✭✭✭Bsal


    Unfortunetly I'll have to stop feeding for a few weeks :( i've got a couple of ill Sparrows in the garden. It looks like they have trichomoniasis.


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    #58
    Mothman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,498 ✭✭✭Mothman


    I had Blackbirds singing their hearts out during the mild weather last week.

    and today a male Great Spotted Woodpecker :D

    Haven't had one in garden for a while, but has been seen in other gardens locally.


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    #59
    wildlifeboy
    Registered Users Posts: 1,170 ✭✭✭wildlifeboy


    whyulittle wrote: »
    I had my first Redpoll of the winter in today, I think. Just didn't have any red on it.

    13B1B8507025432F98B8D020F30981D4-0000315944-0002688259-00616L-04AE406B75704A3FA4F883444B0AAFB3.jpg

    29C8C883DE424D4DAE5DE7FE69CEF343-0000315944-0002688258-00587L-D8AD07E7045E44F1AF42BF737DF5E973.jpg

    that aint a red poll. its a gold finch


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    #60
    whyulittle
    Registered Users Posts: 3,878 ✭✭✭whyulittle


    wildlifeboy wrote: »
    that aint a red poll. its a gold finch

    Good man, thanks! ;)


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    #61
    stevensi
    Registered Users Posts: 422 ✭✭stevensi


    wildlifeboy wrote: »
    that aint a red poll. its a gold finch


    The closer bird in the picture is a Goldfinch but the second bird is a redpoll!


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