Winter has officially begun today.

Kess73

Just thought I would let all of you know that today is the first day of winter.

Ignore calendars and such mumbo jumbo.


The true indicator of winter arrived back today.





My lovely army of redpoll who return enmasse each year at the start of winter and stay until March or April have started to return.


I get a small number of redpoll all year round, but in winter I get mobbed with them.

This morning I got up, and noticed a very familar churring rattling type of bird song. I looked out the back garden and the winter invasion was well and truly on. Literally dozens of redpoll around the garden. Some on the ground, some on the nyger feeder, some on the seed feeders, and lots just chilling on the walls and clothes line.

From the experience of the past few years, I know their numbers in the garden are just going to explode for a few days now as the rest of the flock arrive and settle back into the area for the winter.

I just love watching them every winter, as they are such a social bird with a very curious and cheeky streak in them. I find them very similar in personality to the house sparrows who have been slowly leaving my garden for the last few weeks and heading to their wintering spot.

The same pattern occurs every year here. The redpoll arrive in winter just after the main bulk of my house sparrow leave, and then in spring my redpoll leave and the House sparrow return to breed and basically turn my garden into a sparrow creches for the late spring, summer and Autumn.


I also had my first sighting of blackcaps in the garden today since last summer, and Blackie Yellowbeak, my favourite male blackbird, returned at the start of the week after being away since the summer.

How do I know it is the same blackbird? Well I was sitting in the room with my back to the window when I heard a tapping on the glass, and straight away I knew that one of two birds was there. It was either Olly the great tit, who had been earlier, or it was Blackie back after his moult and autumn feeding elsewhere.

Blackie had figured out to tap on the glass when I was in the room when he wanted some mealworm, and when I am out in the garden he will land on me with no hesitation but he will not come near anyone else in the house at all, and is very cautious of them.

So since Monday the old routine of Blackie Yellowbeak landing on me and tapping on the window resumed, and he has kept the habit of not tapping on the window when the room is empty, as I have seen him land in the garden when I was in a different room, and he does not come to the window from his cover until I come to the room.

This is an older pic of Blackie Yellowbeak, now that he has returned I must try to get a pic of him tapping at the window.

Mothman

Thanks Kess, little stories like Blackie Yellowbeak warm the heart

I run a weather station, so I ignore nature and.....weather with regard to when Winter starts

Alun

What a lovely story! I'll have to keep my eyes open for the redpolls, we usually get a good few, but our feeders are being mobbed by all kinds of finches (mainly goldfinches) at the moment, no sign of any redpolls yet.

littlebug

That's put a big smile on my face for this morning Kess

Blackie Yellowbeak love it.

VERYinterested

I saw our first Redpoll of the season on Sunday, must have been the advance scout. Has a lovely call and I hadn't heard it for a few months, just as the charm of Goldfinches deserted us! I wish the Pigeons hadn't developed such a taste for Nyger seed as they prevent the smaller birds getting to it. Dick Warner had a great way to identify Redpoll that hadn't got a red poll (juveniles and females), and it is the Nike logo they have on their wingbar.

Kess73

littlebug wrote: »

That's put a big smile on my face for this morning Kess

Blackie Yellowbeak love it.

I am a fan of Tolkien, so a number of my regulars have gotten names that could be regarded as somewhat Tolkienesque.

Kess73

Mothman wrote: »

Thanks Kess, little stories like Blackie Yellowbeak warm the heart

I run a weather station, so I ignore nature and.....weather with regard to when Winter starts

Nope weather stations are officially a no no.*


Redpoll arriving enmasse is winter
House Sparrow arriving enmasse is spring.


Also Pike going on an eating binge is a great indicator of cold snap coming within 48- 72 hours, as is the sudden increase that regular garden birds go on just before a cold snap.
















*Except of course when I venture into the weather forum here on boards and generally get more accurate forecasts than on TV.

trebor28

kess,
great post and pics.

did you keep a check on the calender to see if they are arriving at the same time every year?

might be an indicator of how good or bad the winter might be, or is where ever they came from

Kess73

trebor28 wrote: »

kess,
great post and pics.

did you keep a check on the calender to see if they are arriving at the same time every year?

might be an indicator of how good or bad the winter might be, or is where ever they came from

I do keep a track of when they arrive and leave, and they are very consistent in their times each year.

There was a blip last year as in December I got a second wave of redpoll, consisting mostly of an awful lot of artic redpoll, along with far more redwing than normal, which I can only put down to the birds trying to escape the weather conditions in other countries only to end up in one where the ground was frozen solid as well.

By January this year there were times when I would have had literally redpoll in the low hundreds in and around the garden, whereas in January 2009 I would only have had them in numbers approaching the hundred mark.


I also got quite a few twite and linnet this January, when in years when there was not as much severe cold I would not get anything other than the odd sighting in the garden.

I have only got a small to medium sized back garden, but I am a very regular feeder all year round, and more so in the winter and during the winter months. I also tend to have a good range of foods that would attratc different species, and I adjust the amounts depending on the time of year so that when the winter or spriong regulars arrive in large numbers that there is always plenty of their food ready each day along with fresh water that is changed at least once a day and more often during the colder spells and the warmer spells.

I am also lucky in that there are plenty of natural food resources growing close to me (well close as a bird flies anyway) as well as a good number of evergreen trees, so the birds get catered for in that sense as well. So between having a good natural location for attracting birds, coupled with regular daily feeding for years, I have built up my garden as a spot where the flocks return to each year. I probably spend more than I should each year on the birds, but I never feel like I am getting anything other than a bargain when I watch them, or when my uber regulars follow me around the garden and land on my hands etc.

MB Lacey

Kess73 wrote: »

The redpoll arrive in winter just after the main bulk of my house sparrow leave, and then in spring my redpoll leave and the House sparrow return to breed and basically turn my garden into a sparrow creches for the late spring, summer and Autumn.

Lovely post kess!

One question, why do your house sparrows leave your garden in winter- and where do you think they go?

I have 14 House Sparrows in a holly tree at bottom of my garden and they stay there through the winter.
Are you high upland? I know smaller birds will move down from mountains/uplands to warmer temps in winter.

Feargal as Luimneach

Kess73 wrote: »

I do keep a track of when they arrive and leave, and they are very consistent in their times each year.

There was a blip last year as in December I got a second wave of redpoll, consisting mostly of an awful lot of artic redpoll, along with far more redwing than normal, which I can only put down to the birds trying to escape the weather conditions in other countries only to end up in one where the ground was frozen solid as well.

By January this year there were times when I would have had literally redpoll in the low hundreds in and around the garden, whereas in January 2009 I would only have had them in numbers approaching the hundred mark.


I also got quite a few twite and linnet this January, when in years when there was not as much severe cold I would not get anything other than the odd sighting in the garden.

I have only got a small to medium sized back garden, but I am a very regular feeder all year round, and more so in the winter and during the winter months. I also tend to have a good range of foods that would attratc different species, and I adjust the amounts depending on the time of year so that when the winter or spriong regulars arrive in large numbers that there is always plenty of their food ready each day along with fresh water that is changed at least once a day and more often during the colder spells and the warmer spells.

I am also lucky in that there are plenty of natural food resources growing close to me (well close as a bird flies anyway) as well as a good number of evergreen trees, so the birds get catered for in that sense as well. So between having a good natural location for attracting birds, coupled with regular daily feeding for years, I have built up my garden as a spot where the flocks return to each year. I probably spend more than I should each year on the birds, but I never feel like I am getting anything other than a bargain when I watch them, or when my uber regulars follow me around the garden and land on my hands etc.

Have you any photos of the twite or artic redpoll?:eek: Twite would be exceptional rare for a garden. They would mostly be found on beachs or saltmarsh this time of year. Artic redpoll are also quite rare in Ireland.
Forgive my doubting nature.

Kess73

MB Lacey wrote: »

Lovely post kess!

One question, why do your house sparrows leave your garden in winter- and where do you think they go?

I have 14 House Sparrows in a holly tree at bottom of my garden and they stay there through the winter.
Are you high upland? I know smaller birds will move down from mountains/uplands to warmer temps in winter.

I get a small number of house sparrow that stay through the winter, maybe up to twenty of them, but the majority move off until the spring. I don't think they go very far as once I get to December and onwards there is a spot a few miles from me that gets large numbers of sparrow and does not have them during the spring and summer in such numbers.

Come spring I get them back and can have up to a hundred at a time once the breeding season kicks in.

I think the sparrows follow food sources and heat. In the spring and summer I have water, live food, seed and nesting terraces for them, and in the winter, if they are going where I think they are, they are making use of a nearby farm and the barns/cattlesheds for food and also for warmth at night.

The influx of redpoll and other species may have something to do with it as well.

Kess73

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

Have you any photos of the twite or artic redpoll?:eek: Twite would be exceptional rare for a garden. They would mostly be found on beachs or saltmarsh this time of year. Artic redpoll are also quite rare in Ireland.
Forgive my doubting nature.

I defo have pics somewhere of the artic redpoll as I put them up here in December or January after someone asked me about them. Might even have been yourself as the person was saying something about redpoll sightings off the Cork or Kerry coast.

I get artic redpoll every winter, although not always in the numbers I got of them last winter, and they do stand out amongst the lesser amd mealy redpoll. I would not regard them as being rare in Ireland at all as I know of a few places in Limerick, Clare, and Cork that get them every year, as well as more obvious spots in Mayo and Donegal.

Last winter I suspect that most of the artic redpoll I got were from Greenland, and I am basing that on their larger size and colouration, or rather their lack of strong colouration.

The twite I mentioned are not in my garden now, they came during the severe cold at the start of the year and I may have a picture or two of them as well from last January. That is why I mentioned them in my earlier post as for me to get a linnet or twite in my garden, as I did last winter, is a rare sighting for Limerick.

Feargal as Luimneach

Kess73 wrote: »

I defo have pics somewhere of the artic redpoll as I put them up here in December or January after someone asked me about them. Might even have been yourself as the person was saying something about redpoll sightings off the Cork or Kerry coast.

I get artic redpoll every winter, although not always in the numbers I got of them last winter, and they do stand out amongst the lesser amd mealy redpoll. I would not regard them as being rare in Ireland at all as I know of a few places in Limerick, Clare, and Cork that get them every year, as well as more obvious spots in Mayo and Donegal.

The twite I mentioned are not in my garden now, they came during the severe cold at the start of the year and I may have a picture or two of them as well from last January. That is why I mentioned them in my earlier post as for me to get a linnet or twite in my garden, as I did last winter, is a rare sighting for Limerick.

If you have the picture of the Artic redpoll post it up. I'd be very interested to see it?

Kess73

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

If you have the picture of the Artic redpoll post it up. I'd be very interested to see it?

I'll have a look for it and see if it is still on a hard drive somewhere or on one of the photo storages websites I use.

Clearpreso

Thats a great story about your little friend knocking on the window! I have a good few birds knocking around the garden now, none of them call up to the house though :-(

philstar

i wonder will the redwings return?

Kess73

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

If you have the picture of the Artic redpoll post it up. I'd be very interested to see it?

Still have not found the pic I am looking for, which is one that shows the artic redpoll fairly close up so that it's whiteness and lack of streaking are obvious.

but once I find it I will pop it up for ya, and failing that I will make sure to get a pic or two when I spot an artic redpoll mixed in with the usual guys in the garden.

Feargal as Luimneach

My Redpoll are back as well:D Some photos from today with some goldfinch:

trebor28

really making them work for some grub feargal!:D

Kess73

Lovely pics Feargal. Looks like the Limerick redpoll are back for both of us.

Feargal as Luimneach

Kess73 wrote: »

Lovely pics Feargal. Looks like the Limerick redpoll are back for both of us.

I live in Co. Wicklow now:(, but one of the Redpoll was beatin' the crap out of the other birds. I'm sure that redpoll was from Limerick like myself:cool:

doctor evil

What kind of bird feeder is that?

I haven't seen any gold/green finches in a while so I may put out some nijher (sp) seed for them. Will this bring them in?

I also sliced a cooking apple and left one half secured to the top of the feeder, but it wasn't touched so I removed it.

Do they like cooking apples? I have three apple trees so there could be windfalls about the place.

Feargal as Luimneach

doctor evil wrote: »

What kind of bird feeder is that?

I haven't seen any gold/green finches in a while so I may put out some nijher (sp) seed for them. Will this bring them in?

I also sliced a cooking apple and left one half secured to the top of the feeder, but it wasn't touched so I removed it.

Do they like cooking apples? I have three apple trees so there could be windfalls about the place.

Nyjer seed feeder is the best food to attract goldfinch and redpoll. They will flock to nyjer. I've never seen goldfinch eat apples.

Kess73

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

I live in Co. Wicklow now:(, but one of the Redpoll was beatin' the crap out of the other birds. I'm sure that redpoll was from Limerick like myself:cool:

Ahh yes the Redpollis Hardus Luimni, a very distinct breed.


If I had taken the time to look at your location I would have seen it said you are from Limerick but now living in Wicklow.

I had always noticed the as Luimnech bit of your username and never looked at your location as a result.

I guess the locations I mentioned in the other thread for owls are pretty useless to you then.

Kess73

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

Nyjer seed feeder is the best food to attract goldfinch and redpoll. They will flock to nyjer. I've never seen goldfinch eat apples.

Yeah it really is a redpoll's fave thing to find in a garden. They just go nuts for it. You can put it pretty much anywhere in a garden and they will home in on it.


At one point last winter I got an window box that I was not using and put some small trays on top of it, which had little piles of nyjer on them. Then I put it on the windowsill facing the part of the garden with the feeders.

Within a few hours the redpoll that could not get spaces on the feeders had started using the windowbox, and I could sit inside the window and watch them feed literally a foot from my face.

Some of the interactions between them are priceless, and the little squabbles over who sits where when eating are fascinating to watch. Plus because I have a lot of plants and a number of potted dwarf conifers (about 5 to 6 foot in height) right by that windowsill, they have cover to dart into when they felt threatened.

doctor evil

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

Nyjer seed feeder is the best food to attract goldfinch and redpoll. They will flock to nyjer. I've never seen goldfinch eat apples.

Whoops - I meant as a general thing for attracting birds.

doctor evil

I may improvise on a small try that can go on the catoneaster, still has some berries left.

VERYinterested

Here's a few pics I took yesterday, I was standing on the kitchen step and the tree where the feeders is about 10 feet away. The hunger has made them lose their shyness!