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It's already here. Been here for more than a month now. Scroll all the way to the bottom of any page and on the right-hand side is the button to change the modes.
Our garden birds. I just packed away the 6 feeders and three water baths.
Robin landed next to me to see what I was doing.
I’m guessing many of them won’t survive the winter.
Birds are bright, (well, some of them are); they may be motivated to seek out other sources of food.
However, I am certain that you will find plenty of birds coming to call in your new home once you have set up the bird feeders and water baths.
But, six feeders and three baths is a decent lot; good for you, and it is something that it would be nice to see more people do.
Well it’s like free entertainment. They have their own personalities and behaviours.
Robins and the blue tits are my favourites of those that visit.
Pigeons and magpies bring the least.
Yes, both of my parents loved robins, and my mother in particular, detested magpies.
She recalled admiring how handsome they were as a child, and how her parents had proceeded to inform her - to her considerable shock - that these birds were actually nasty and accomplished assassins, despite their glossy and attractive appearance.
When she had her health and mind, she would cheerfully - and almost energetically - chase magpies away if she spotted them loitering in the area.
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Pigeons and magpies get chased. As does the sparrow hawk if it’s not too late.
I put some food on the shed roof as I felt sorry for them. They kept looking for the feeders.
Wrapping up Mrs AFB’s photo boards. Very long process. I’m three quarters done but my back and knees demanded a 5 minute recess.
Still lots to pack in 2 and a half days. But I think we are well on the way. Just lots of awkward items to do.
That would crush me ?Our garden birds. I just packed away the 6 feeders and three water baths.
Robin landed next to me to see what I was doing.
I’m guessing many of them won’t survive the winter.
?
I hope the rest of the packing is going well.
Something seems to be happening to birds in certain areas anyways, there are less or none which feed before they migrate, there used to be hundreds now nothing.Our garden birds. I just packed away the 6 feeders and three water baths.
Robin landed next to me to see what I was doing.
I’m guessing many of them won’t survive the winter.
Well that and packing away my daughters stuff probably has to be honest.
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We get loads here. But then Mrs AFB was feeding them three times a day at one point.
Mostly sparrows.
You sound well on the way; poor birds, looking for the feeders.
I'm sure that other birds in your new locality will find you readily enough, in due course.
How far away is the new place from the place you are leaving?
Too far for the birds to follow! About a 40 minute drive. (21 miles, I just looked it up).
I wish we could set up feeders and such, but as mentioned previous, it is not our property.
It's become Winter cold here, so I think of the blue jays in the neighborhood. I hear them almost every day. I do not mind that they are aggressive (that blew my mind when I saw one violently chasing a sparrow or starling out of its nest). I consider Blue Jays to be NY birds: Beautiful, delightfully noisy and strong. ?
There is a brook nearby though so I may leave unshelled peanuts and stuff there if that isn't a problem (city property, so I do not know.)
@Apple fanboy - hmm maybe leave a seed trail when you leave on Wednesday? I know, silly. Perhaps some will show up though?
Thinking about mom first and foremost. Her first surgery is a week from Monday and she has to stop eating certain foods tomorrow to prep for it.
Second on my mind, I am hungry. Might start with bok choy & onions and maybe eggs & onions to follow since onions are on mom's no eat list. Had such a good time cooking for mom and her best friend (who loved the pears dish ? . Said friend requested the pears the day of the surgery, so I have to make sure I have enough pears, raisins and almonds for that.)
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Our garden birds. I just packed away the 6 feeders and three water baths.
Robin landed next to me to see what I was doing.
I’m guessing many of them won’t survive the winter.
What birds need most of all during winter is shelter, so if there are shrubs or conifers around, brush piles or any old sheds or barns, they'll do just fine... what they scrounge up to eat might not be their favorite but they're like us in a way, that stuff in the wayback of the pantry looks pretty good when the roads to the supermarket are closed.
The seeds and even branch tips of common grasses and weeds are not as much fun to eat as are berries and bugs, but they'll do in a pinch and heaven knows there are patches of weeds somewhere in the area (ask any gardener or road crew manager who can't quite get to what needs clearing away in the autumn!).
It's said though that if one does start to feed birds in winter, it's a good idea to keep the feeders topped off during winter as the birds do get "spoiled" by the easy pickings and so can become unaware of alternatives in the area.
From here in the Catskills, the migratory birds including barn swallows, mourning doves, catbirds, robins and some finches are long gone to their winter haunts in the southern USA or even the Caribbean. What we mostly have left now of the songbirds are blue jays, cardinals, chickadees, sparrows, and dark-eyed juncos. Once in awhile we see small flocks of evening grosbeaks but they like some finches are "irruptive" migrants and will move south for food from time to time if there's a long stretch of bad weather where they've most recently landed. The rose-breasted grosbeaks are fussier and have headed for the tropics!
Well I think our birds are very spoilt. They will struggle to find other food as they have been fully reliant on us. Especially the sparrows.
But we are moving so they will have to survive without us.
And yes I’m sure the West Midlands loss will be Worcestershire’s gain.
Oh they might range out to your new digs if they fall short... after all their cousins pack up in August and head thousands of miles for sun and fun over winter! Sparrows are pretty enterprising, if you've ever seen how they learn to hang out in shrubs around office buildings that attract food carts at lunchtime!
Hope your moving house goes smoothly... take your time unpacking, it will feel like a luxury having an open-ended time frame for that, if your experiences are like mine. I just kept telling myself "this too shall pass" as I struggled in the last few days at my old place to ensure I wasn't leaving something behind that I might actually care to have again upstate. Of course I didn't cull out as much as I might have but no matter, at least I haven't waked up thinking "oh my god the diamonds!" LOL.
I remember last year there was a pair of cardinals on a lavender tree in august, beautiful birds, i don’t think they were in the area again.
@Clix Pix: I also thought to suggest to @Apple fanboy that he leave some sort of crumb trail of the birds to follow.
Good luck with your mom's surgery: I know from experience how stressful this can be, so be kind yto yourself and look after yourself.
When does she have to start to forego the foods that she would normally be able to eat - how far in advance of the operation or procedure does this sort of fast, or special diet, have to commence? Ah, re-reading your post, I see that it is tomorrow; a full week in advance, rather than the more usual 24-48 hours that one would normally expect to have to fast in advance.
@LizKat: Great post, as always.
Agree that birds are clever, creative and will find ways to survive if necessary.
I remember when they discovered that beaks could easily go through the foil tops on the milk bottles (with cream on the top) that used to be delivered to our door when we were children.
Good luck with your mom's surgery: I know from experience how stressful this can be, so be kind yto yourself and look after yourself.
When does she have to start to forego the foods that she would normally be able to eat - how far in advance of the operation or procedure does this sort of fast, or special diet, have to commence? Ah, re-reading your post, I see that it is tomorrow; a full week in advance, rather than the more usual 24-48 hours that one would normally expect to have to fast in advance.
@LizKat: Great post, as always.
Agree that birds are clever, creative and will find ways to survive if necessary.
I remember when they discovered that beaks could easily go through the foil tops on the milk bottles (with cream on the top) that used to be delivered to our door when we were children.
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Thank you. The unpacking will take months! It’s a renovation project so needs new floors and underfloor heating, kitchen and bathroom as well as decorating throughout.
A wall knocked down and another one built.
In other words not going to be unpacking any time soon.
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Well the speed Mrs AFB drives, they can probably keep up!
Is that in hopes that folks stop singing & playing the annoying Narwhal song? Or because of it.
@Scepticalscribe thanks for the kind words. The week out food ban is due to some foods acting as blood thinners.
Yes, I made bok choy and onions and just received lunch from our usual Asian place.
Hope everyone here is fine.
Probably more like because of this: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...guisher-used-to-tackle-london-bridge-attacker
Yes, I can certainly understand that. I had to learn to appreciate bluejays for their colors and chatter all over again, once I had seen one in what's apparently a common maneuver, flying away with a robin's hatchling in tow. It took quite awhile to like them again for their other attributes. More than a few seasons.
Yes, they are like that and I can understand the feeling.
Nature gets back at blue jays during their molting phase
(No peep-a-ratzi, please).
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Yes, they are like that and I can understand the feeling.
Nature gets back at blue jays during their molting phase
But, does it ever get back at those elegantly dinner-jacketed assassins, namely, magpies?