This afternoon I was weeding a border a few feet away from the bird
table. On my hands and knees as it were and with my back towards the
aforementioned garden feature.

I suddenly felt a sort of movement in my hair. A slight flick of the
arm (fork in hand) and the feeling went, only to return a few seconds
later. Drop fork, remove glove from hand and feel head. Something on
hand. Move hand in front of face. Baby green finch now looking at me
without a care in the world.

Baby finch stayed on hand as I stood to see half a dozen of them
pecking at the bird table. Not an adult in sight. I moved my hand to
the table and baby jumped off and started feeding with his/her
siblings. I went back to weeding and they were still there when I next
stood up to empty the weed bucket.

Sometimes you really feel privileged that nature has decided to give
you a bit of a boost. Ah! The innocence of youth! No doubt that baby
finch will fly a mile if I walk out into the garden in a couple of
weeks' time. But something in me says wouldn't it be wonderful if it
recognised me and landed in my hair again.

And I can still feel the "claws" on my finger.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the asylum formerly known as the
dry end of Swansea Bay.

On May 17, 8:45*pm, Jake wrote:
This afternoon I was weeding a border a few feet away from the bird
table. On my hands and knees as it were and with my back towards the
aforementioned garden feature.

I suddenly felt a sort of movement in my hair. A slight flick of the
arm (fork in hand) and the feeling went, only to return a few seconds
later. Drop fork, remove glove from hand and feel head. Something on
hand. Move hand in front of face. Baby green finch now looking at me
without a care in the world.

Baby finch stayed on hand as I stood to see half a dozen of them
pecking at the bird table. Not an adult in sight. I moved my hand to
the table and baby jumped off and started feeding with his/her
siblings. I went back to weeding and they were still there when I next
stood up to empty the weed bucket.

Sometimes you really feel privileged that nature has decided to give
you a bit of a boost. Ah! The innocence of youth! No doubt that baby
finch will fly a mile if I walk out into the garden in a couple of
weeks' time. But something in me says wouldn't it be wonderful if it
recognised me and landed in my hair again.

And I can still feel the "claws" on my finger.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the asylum formerly known as the
dry end of Swansea Bay.

See what you get from "Bird seed"

"Jake" wrote

This afternoon I was weeding a border a few feet away from the bird
table. On my hands and knees as it were and with my back towards the
aforementioned garden feature.

I suddenly felt a sort of movement in my hair. A slight flick of the
arm (fork in hand) and the feeling went, only to return a few seconds
later. Drop fork, remove glove from hand and feel head. Something on
hand. Move hand in front of face. Baby green finch now looking at me
without a care in the world.

Baby finch stayed on hand as I stood to see half a dozen of them
pecking at the bird table. Not an adult in sight. I moved my hand to
the table and baby jumped off and started feeding with his/her
siblings. I went back to weeding and they were still there when I next
stood up to empty the weed bucket.

Sometimes you really feel privileged that nature has decided to give
you a bit of a boost. Ah! The innocence of youth! No doubt that baby
finch will fly a mile if I walk out into the garden in a couple of
weeks' time. But something in me says wouldn't it be wonderful if it
recognised me and landed in my hair again.

And I can still feel the "claws" on my finger.


You are very fortunate, not least as the Greenfinch has declined drastically
over the last few years.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On Thu, 17 May 2012 23:01:09 +0100, Bob Hobden wrote:

And I can still feel the "claws" on my finger.


You are very fortunate, not least as the Greenfinch has declined
drastically over the last few years.

Well, if they are as trusting of, say, cats and corvids as they are of
Jake that's hardly surprising!

Jake wrote:
Baby finch stayed on hand as I stood to see half a dozen of them
pecking at the bird table. Not an adult in sight. I moved my hand to

Call social services!

Sometimes you really feel privileged that nature has decided to give
you a bit of a boost. Ah! The innocence of youth! No doubt that baby
finch will fly a mile if I walk out into the garden in a couple of
weeks' time. But something in me says wouldn't it be wonderful if it
recognised me and landed in my hair again.

Maybe it'll come and sing to you each night. Of course, your hair is
probably full of birdypoo now.

I spotted a woodpecker hopping about on the grass outside yesterday.
I don't think I've ever seen one before, certainly not on the ground
and so close, perhaps at a distance in a tree! This was about, ooh,
3m away? Just hopping about ... Nick said it was probably eating his
bees.

On Fri, 18 May 2012 12:06:07 +0200, Martin wrote:

On 18 May 2012 09:12:27 GMT, wrote:

Jake wrote:
Baby finch stayed on hand as I stood to see half a dozen of them
pecking at the bird table. Not an adult in sight. I moved my hand to


A magpie got trapped under the fleece in an allotment last week.

Incidentally there is no shortage of green finches in our garden
during the winter.

Very few here last year as the trichomonosis virus got most of them.
A healthy number at the moment but am sterilising the feeder tube
weekly and just wish the weather would warm up enough to encourage
enough insects for them to be less dependent on the feeder for a
while.

G.Harman

On May 18, 10:12*am, wrote:
Jake wrote:
Baby finch stayed on hand as I stood to see half a dozen of them
pecking at the bird table. Not an adult in sight. I moved my hand to

Call social services!

Sometimes you really feel privileged that nature has decided to give
you a bit of a boost. Ah! The innocence of youth! No doubt that baby
finch will fly a mile if I walk out into the garden in a couple of
weeks' time. But something in me says wouldn't it be wonderful if it
recognised me and landed in my hair again.

Maybe it'll come and sing to you each night. *Of course, your hair is
probably full of birdypoo now.

I spotted a woodpecker hopping about on the grass outside yesterday.
I don't think I've ever seen one before, certainly not on the ground
and so close, perhaps at a distance in a tree! *This was about, ooh,
3m away? *Just hopping about ... Nick said it was probably eating his
bees.

If it was a green woodpecker then it was in it's normal feeding place,
they are ground feeders.

"Dave Hill" wrote in message
...
On May 18, 10:12 am, wrote:
Jake wrote:
Baby finch stayed on hand as I stood to see half a dozen of them
pecking at the bird table. Not an adult in sight. I moved my hand to

Call social services!

Sometimes you really feel privileged that nature has decided to give
you a bit of a boost. Ah! The innocence of youth! No doubt that baby
finch will fly a mile if I walk out into the garden in a couple of
weeks' time. But something in me says wouldn't it be wonderful if it
recognised me and landed in my hair again.

Maybe it'll come and sing to you each night. Of course, your hair is
probably full of birdypoo now.

I spotted a woodpecker hopping about on the grass outside yesterday.
I don't think I've ever seen one before, certainly not on the ground
and so close, perhaps at a distance in a tree! This was about, ooh,
3m away? Just hopping about ... Nick said it was probably eating his
bees.

If it was a green woodpecker then it was in it's normal feeding place,
they are ground feeders.

and don't they make a mess of a lawn??? Deep holes!

Mike


--

....................................

I'm an Angel, honest ! The horns are there just to keep the halo straight.

....................................

"Derek Turner" wrote ..

Bob Hobden wrote:

And I can still feel the "claws" on my finger.


You are very fortunate, not least as the Greenfinch has declined
drastically over the last few years.

Well, if they are as trusting of, say, cats and corvids as they are of
Jake that's hardly surprising!

I understand it's because they have caught a parasite disease from Pigeons
(Trichomonosis), it's jumped a species, and from what I've read it has
spread amongst finches mainly because people don't clean/disinfect their
bird feeders often enough.

http://www.bto.org/science/populatio...-trichomonosis
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On 18 May 2012 09:12:27 GMT, wrote:

Jake wrote:
Baby finch stayed on hand as I stood to see half a dozen of them
pecking at the bird table. Not an adult in sight. I moved my hand to

Call social services!

Sometimes you really feel privileged that nature has decided to give
you a bit of a boost. Ah! The innocence of youth! No doubt that baby
finch will fly a mile if I walk out into the garden in a couple of
weeks' time. But something in me says wouldn't it be wonderful if it
recognised me and landed in my hair again.

Maybe it'll come and sing to you each night. Of course, your hair is
probably full of birdypoo now.

I spotted a woodpecker hopping about on the grass outside yesterday.
I don't think I've ever seen one before, certainly not on the ground
and so close, perhaps at a distance in a tree! This was about, ooh,
3m away? Just hopping about ... Nick said it was probably eating his
bees.

No birdypoo in hair. Surprisingly, there is never any birdypoo on or
around the bird table except when starlings visit - they crap on
everything including the seed in the bird table. I've had a camera in
my pocket all day today but no babies visiting. They must be camera
shy.

We've got a great spotted woodpecker that visits a few times a day to
get at the peanut feeders but some woodpecker species are ground
feeders.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the asylum formerly known as the
dry end of Swansea Bay.

On 18 May 2012 06:51:24 GMT, Derek Turner wrote:

On Thu, 17 May 2012 23:01:09 +0100, Bob Hobden wrote:

And I can still feel the "claws" on my finger.


You are very fortunate, not least as the Greenfinch has declined
drastically over the last few years.

Well, if they are as trusting of, say, cats and corvids as they are of
Jake that's hardly surprising!

Resident cat regularly curls up under the bird table and watches but
never goes for them. A neighbour's cat used to come into the garden
if resident cat wasn't there and would often kill a bird and leave it
on the lawn. Enough people complained about that cat's bird killing
that in the end the neighbour gave it away to someone living in
central Cardiff (where birds don't often appear in gardens because
there aren't any - gardens that is).

Maybe the secret with finches is that I clean all the bird feeders and
table at least weekly. Dally if starlings are around

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the asylum formerly known as the
dry end of Swansea Bay.

"Jake" wrote in message
...
On 18 May 2012 09:12:27 GMT, wrote:

Jake wrote:
Baby finch stayed on hand as I stood to see half a dozen of them
pecking at the bird table. Not an adult in sight. I moved my hand to

Call social services!

Sometimes you really feel privileged that nature has decided to give
you a bit of a boost. Ah! The innocence of youth! No doubt that baby
finch will fly a mile if I walk out into the garden in a couple of
weeks' time. But something in me says wouldn't it be wonderful if it
recognised me and landed in my hair again.

Maybe it'll come and sing to you each night. Of course, your hair is
probably full of birdypoo now.

I spotted a woodpecker hopping about on the grass outside yesterday.
I don't think I've ever seen one before, certainly not on the ground
and so close, perhaps at a distance in a tree! This was about, ooh,
3m away? Just hopping about ... Nick said it was probably eating his
bees.

No birdypoo in hair. Surprisingly, there is never any birdypoo on or
around the bird table except when starlings visit - they crap on
everything including the seed in the bird table. I've had a camera in
my pocket all day today but no babies visiting. They must be camera
shy.

We've got a great spotted woodpecker that visits a few times a day to
get at the peanut feeders but some woodpecker species are ground
feeders.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the asylum formerly known as the
dry end of Swansea Bay.



..... but some woodpecker species are ground feeders ..

and make bloody great holes in the lawn :-((

Kindest possible regards

Mike

--

....................................

I'm an Angel, honest ! The horns are there just to keep the halo straight.

....................................

Dave Hill wrote:
I spotted a woodpecker hopping about on the grass outside yesterday.
I don't think I've ever seen one before, certainly not on the ground
and so close, perhaps at a distance in a tree! ?This was about, ooh,
3m away? ?Just hopping about ... Nick said it was probably eating his
bees.
If it was a green woodpecker then it was in it's normal feeding place,
they are ground feeders.

Yes, but it isn't its normal feeding place to eat off the ground /in
my front garden/. Or at least I didn't think so, my neighbour says she
has seen him before. She obviously looks out of the window earlier than
me.

The cause of the decline was a disease which particularly affected greenfinches