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Thread: Wher Have All the Small Birds Gone?

  1. #1
    Grand Master Griswold's Avatar
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    Wher Have All the Small Birds Gone?

    Until the middle of last week our garden, which has lots of different feeders, has been inundated with lots of small birds such as Robins, Wrens, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits and, especially, a flock of Long Tailed Tits which would arrive five or six times every day in numbers of up to ten at a time....




    Suddenly they seem to have virtually stopped! The occasional Robin and very occasional Great Tit, but nothing else other than the ubiquitous Wood Pigeon! Where have they all gone? Anyone else noticed similar?
    Best Regards - Peter

    I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.

  2. #2
    Master
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    Common at this time of year...with the warmer weather and sun shinning the birds have more of a choice of what they would normally eat.

  3. #3
    Grand Master Saint-Just's Avatar
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    Yes. Although still have my robin, and the peanuts are still going down in the feeder. They can probably find a lot of 'natural' food, with this weather.
    'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.

  4. #4
    Craftsman
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    It's spring so flocks break up and birds form individual territories.

  5. #5
    I have 2 feeders with different delicacies and have noticed that, this winter, they have been barely touched. Maybe it is because it has been mild and maybe there are plenty of even more delicious morsels littered about the streets of London. They seem to come in numbers mainly for the washing facilities .

  6. #6
    Master
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    As mentioned birds have more choice at this time of year. They also specifically choose foods based upon the time of year (prior to nest building, to fatten up for migration etc).

    Another aspect is that with nest building, half of them are either building nests or perhaps even on nests in the south, so numbers can be down

  7. #7
    Grand Master GraniteQuarry's Avatar
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    Baked in a pie.

  8. #8
    There have been covert ops by French chefs for their little bird recipes for their restaurants.

  9. #9
    Ok, I'll be the first to say it...

    Perhaps they're all staying at home.

  10. #10
    Craftsman Tickeros's Avatar
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    I was wondering the same. I saw a couple of sparrows with beaks stuffed with nest building material, so maybe it's that time of year.

  11. #11
    Master
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    The working classes have been shooting them with air rifles and putting them in their new freezers.

  12. #12
    Master
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    There is a theory that the virus is a myth purpotrated by the government to keep everyone indoors so that they can change the batteries in the birds without anyone knowing. Normal service among the bird community should resume soon!

  13. #13
    Master freeloader's Avatar
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    Agree with other comments WRT the time of year, we have noticed this before.

    They seem to disappear for a while in early spring then come back with renewed vigour once they are nesting /feeding young

  14. #14
    Craftsman bdkelly72's Avatar
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    Its 5am .. ealing... the bird song is unchanged and beautiful in the garden next door ... no virus in their world

    Sent from my SM-N976B using TZ-UK mobile app

  15. #15
    On the bird feeders yesterday..
    Pair of Nuthatches (up-side-down as usual).
    Three(!) Bullfinches.
    One Chaffinch.
    Two Robins (scrapping).
    Multiple Sparrows.
    Multiple Blue tits.
    Several Great tits.
    Possible Coal tit(s).
    Two Wood pigeons picking up the fallen seeds.
    Several unidentified browny birds (clearly not Sparrows).
    Jenny Wren hopping around in the shadows keeping a low profile.

    Seen recently..
    Small flock of long-tail tits.
    Greater spotted woodpecker.
    Stock dove.
    Field Fare.

    Not seen recently..
    Blackbirds.
    Thrushes.

    Not seen since childhood..
    Yellowhammer.
    Treecreeper.
    Lapwing.
    Cuckoo.
    Skylark.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Alpha4 View Post
    On the bird feeders yesterday..
    Pair of Nuthatches (up-side-down as usual).
    Three(!) Bullfinches.
    One Chaffinch.
    Two Robins (scrapping).
    Multiple Sparrows.
    Multiple Blue tits.
    Several Great tits.
    Possible Coal tit(s).
    Two Wood pigeons picking up the fallen seeds.
    Several unidentified browny birds (clearly not Sparrows).
    Jenny Wren hopping around in the shadows keeping a low profile.

    Seen recently..
    Small flock of long-tail tits.
    Greater spotted woodpecker.
    Stock dove.
    Field Fare.

    Not seen recently..
    Blackbirds.
    Thrushes.

    Not seen since childhood..
    Yellowhammer.
    Treecreeper.
    Lapwing.
    Cuckoo.
    Skylark.
    Interesting list, especially those not seen. Always few blackbirds about here and occasional thrush.

    Agree about lapwings, haven’t seen any for years. As a child saw fields full of them at certain times of year (Essex).
    Seem lot fewer jays too. Used to be occasional garden visitor but not now.

  17. #17
    Master
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    All self isolating, everyone.

  18. #18
    Grand Master Griswold's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alpha4 View Post
    On the bird feeders yesterday..
    Pair of Nuthatches (up-side-down as usual).
    Three(!) Bullfinches.
    One Chaffinch.
    Two Robins (scrapping).
    Multiple Sparrows.
    Multiple Blue tits.
    Several Great tits.
    Possible Coal tit(s).
    Two Wood pigeons picking up the fallen seeds.
    Several unidentified browny birds (clearly not Sparrows).
    Jenny Wren hopping around in the shadows keeping a low profile.

    Seen recently..
    Small flock of long-tail tits.
    Greater spotted woodpecker.
    Stock dove.
    Field Fare.

    Not seen recently..
    Blackbirds.
    Thrushes.

    Not seen since childhood..
    Yellowhammer.
    Treecreeper.
    Lapwing.
    Cuckoo.
    Skylark.
    Nice list.

    We rarely get finches of any sort in the garden despite putting Niger Seeds out, yet we can see plenty of them not fifteen minutes walk away from where we live. I suspect your browny birds were Dunnocks, very common. Greater Spotted Woodpeckers often visit our garden when they are feeding their young as there's always plenty of fat for them to go at, but once the young fledge they disappear until the following year. Collard Doves are seen most days, usually when the Wood Pigeons fly off. We also get the occasional visit of a number of Reed Buntings and, I'm guessing, due to the proliferation of small birds, a Sparrow Hawk who will sit for quite a while on the bottom fence, waiting; but all the small birds give the garden a wide berth when he's here, though how they know I'm not too sure.

    Of your not seen since childhood list my parents had a pair of Treecreepers nesting behind one of their window shutters. It was fun seeing them land on the wall, a long way from the shutter and then creep ever closer, pausing every so often, to eventually dip behind the shutter quite a way away from where the nest actually was - obviously working their way to the nest behind the shutter - very cautious. They also often had Yellowhammers visiting their feeders, though we don't in ours. We hear Cuckoo's in the early spring each year but have never seen one, nor have I ever seen a skylark, but we do see Lapwings in the local fields every year.

    Here's a Greater Spotted collecting food for its young last year....

    Best Regards - Peter

    I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by GraniteQuarry View Post
    Baked in a pie.
    Maybe they've eaten all the pies.

  20. #20
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Griswold View Post
    Nice list.

    We rarely get finches of any sort in the garden despite putting Niger Seeds out, yet we can see plenty of them not fifteen minutes walk away from where we live. I suspect your browny birds were Dunnocks, very common. Greater Spotted Woodpeckers often visit our garden when they are feeding their young as there's always plenty of fat for them to go at, but once the young fledge they disappear until the following year. Collard Doves are seen most days, usually when the Wood Pigeons fly off. We also get the occasional visit of a number of Reed Buntings and, I'm guessing, due to the proliferation of small birds, a Sparrow Hawk who will sit for quite a while on the bottom fence, waiting; but all the small birds give the garden a wide berth when he's here, though how they know I'm not too sure.

    Of your not seen since childhood list my parents had a pair of Treecreepers nesting behind one of their window shutters. It was fun seeing them land on the wall, a long way from the shutter and then creep ever closer, pausing every so often, to eventually dip behind the shutter quite a way away from where the nest actually was - obviously working their way to the nest behind the shutter - very cautious. They also often had Yellowhammers visiting their feeders, though we don't in ours. We hear Cuckoo's in the early spring each year but have never seen one, nor have I ever seen a skylark, but we do see Lapwings in the local fields every year.

    Here's a Greater Spotted collecting food for its young last year....

    We have some and they never touch the Niger seed. All I use now is sunflower hearts in every feeder, nothing gets wasted! 30kg for 28 quid on Amazon


    Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app

  21. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by Rodder View Post
    We have some and they never touch the Niger seed. All I use now is sunflower hearts in every feeder, nothing gets wasted! 30kg for 28 quid on Amazon
    Funnily enough I have had Niger seeds up for a couple of months, and today is the first time I’ve seen birds eating them. The sunflower seeds, by contrast, have been left untouched.

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