Nature quiz.

Bumble your "chap"is a chapess

Bumble your "chap"is a chapess

Ha, yes, sorry, she's definitely a killing machine, although it's nice to see how often the birds get away from her. I have a little patch of brambles in the corner so they have somewhere to hide.

Yea very important if you feed birds to have some shrubbery very close to feeding site so birds can escape from birds of prey,
You might not think you have hawks however they do a lot of hunting very early in morning most sightings in my garden been between 4.30-6.30 in morning when I've been having my morning brew before work

We used to live next to the Bear Mountain Park just outside NY. It is a sanctuary for Bald Eagles. You knew when they flying because it went really quiet. The shadow on the ground was like a Cessna. They would sit in one of our trees, wings about 7ft across. Amazing to watch

Is it just me or are there a lot more magpies and starlings around this year?
I remember as a kid the starlings being a right nuisance on the bird table hogging the food but over the years I've seen less and less of them.
Today all I could hear this afternoon in the garden was the starlings with their infinite variety of song and the chatter of magpies.

Thankfully, we don't get magpies in the garden, we did one year but they've gone again.

Magpies are marching North at a few miles a year. When I was a kid, you never saw them in the Eden Valley, they didn't seem to come North of Scotch corner. Now you see them in Southern Scotland, strange how species can take over.

As some one else mentioned as a kid I hardly ever saw a goldfinch, now I have at least half a dozen regulars in the garden.

Starlings seem to vary wildly in different years, this year very few, last year a lot. A very underated bird and good mimics.

Just spent the afternoon at the father-in-laws at Plumpton, couldn't believe the amount of goldfinches/chaffinches and various tits round his feeders, not a starling in sight

Yes, funny, isn't it? Lots here in Bedfordshire, well certainly near me.
We also have, literally, dozens and dozens of Red Kites here.
I'd never seen one until a few years ago.
Now, all along the A1 going North from Bedford up until Peterborough sort of area you see them.
Sometimes, upwards of 20 or 30 in a group circling above.
I think they must like the refuse tips along that stretch of road or something.
A huge bird and stunning to see them. More dramatic and eagle like than a buzzard and quite a sight with its very striking tale.

Where my son lives near Oxford, there are loads of red kites. If some one has a bbq they circle overhead, it makes you think of the plains of Africa!

They were bred and released in the area quite a few years ago and seem to have established well but I don't really understand how so many can live in the same area. Up here, where buzzards are the biggest raptor you would never see a dozen circling round like that.

They released some in Grisdale Forest a few years ago but, if they survived, they don't seem to have expanded out very far yet.

They released 5 Red Kites in the Chilterns 25 years ago. There are now over a thousand across the Chilters/ Oxfordshie & Buckingshire ( & spreading ) they were close to extinction, they will eat small birds etc, but also scavenage on human waste food too.
When we travel around the Buckingham areaon the supporters coach, we usually spot over 30.

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Re Magpies, I agree Bumble, never saw one in the eden valley until a few years ago, they gradually crept oover from the lakes I reckon.
Re Red Kites, in my childhood they were, as someone else said, on the verge of extinction in the UK , only a few pairs surviving in Wales. Furthest north I think I've seen one was Harrogate near the showground.

As a child, the Osprey was the one you wanted to see. A trip to Loch Garten was something I always wanted to do and whinged about to my parents frequently! Thre were occasional sightings on the Eden but strangely never any footage/pics?

They'll have spotted the crispy cake Tommy

We’ve a bird feeder at work and the variety that use it amazes me...

Yeah true Waltero, they will eat anything

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In Bassenthwaite last year I was watching the Osprey flying around high above the lake and was so excited to have finally seen it.
After a while an old man walked by and we got chatting about the usual stuff and then I mentioned how thrilled I was to have finally seen one after years of just seeing them in books.
I pointed out where it was and we both followed it for a while high in the sky above us.
He looked at me after a few minutes and said, "that's a seagull."

Thankfully, we don't get magpies in the garden, we did one year but they've gone again.

Magpies are marching North at a few miles a year. When I was a kid, you ever saw them in the Eden Valley, they didn't seem to come North of Scotch corner. Now you see them in Southern Scotland, strange how species can take over.

As some one else mentioned as a kid I hardly ever saw a goldfinch, now I have at least half a dozen regulars in the garden.

Starlings seem to vary wildly in different years, this year very few, last year a lot. A very underated bird and good mimics.

Brilliant mimics are Starlings used to have one that sat on chimney pot and sounded like a Curlew .beautiful birds close up like you say underated I remember saving a few fledglings from a drain at work that I can only assume fell down guttering/downpipe could hear them in distress but took a while to figure out where sound came from was 3 down there if I remember

I was once working in a factory on top of a machine during a shutdown. The place was full of pigeons and starlings. I was quite high up in the building and could hear a bird coming towards me sqwacking loudly, I ducked, it shot past me at a rate of knots!..............................Followed closely by a Sparrowhawk! Lads in the factory told me it made a right mess of the birdlife in there! They showed me! A ring of feathers with head, tail, feet and wings left in the middle! Killing machine

We’ve a bird feeder at work and the variety that use it amazes me...

You’d think they’d be put off by the smell of McDonalds.

Enjoying this thread. .

Went out Saturday hunting for a local eagle. Just over the border in Hampshire, in the New forest we have a visiting white tailed Eagle. Been around almost a month. I didn't see it, but it was lovely walk! Loads of twitchers out looking.

We have goldcrest regularly in our front garden, although they don't come down to the feeder. They love the little bush right by the window. Lots of regular visitors. Blue, coal, great, long tailed tits dunnock, gold finch, greenfinch, even nuthatch and gswoodpecker.

It's a great thread! No doubt some gonk will come along and corrupt it with something, Perhaps NS will come on and suggest that all migratory birds will be put onto boats back to where they came from! It'll save them swifts, swallows and martins a good old flap mind!

What's the oddest thing you've seen in the garden? We have a beck running though ours and one afternoon a Dipper was hopping around.

Another favourite spot of mine is the wonderful Kingfisher! Gotta be quick to see 'em mind! Spent lots of time fishing the eden and love seeing that speeding flash of blue.

It's a great thread! No doubt some gonk will come along and corrupt it with something, Perhaps NS will come on and suggest that all migratory birds will be put onto boats back to where they came from! It'll save them swifts, swallows and martins a good old flap mind!

I wouldn't mind getting rid of grey squirrel mind

A beck running through your garden? You're just showing off now! How lucky you are.

It's a great thread! No doubt some gonk will come along and corrupt it with something, Perhaps NS will come on and suggest that all migratory birds will be put onto boats back to where they came from! It'll save them swifts, swallows and martins a good old flap mind!

I wouldn't mind getting rid of grey squirrel mind

they're just vermin!