| Home |
| Search |
| Today's Posts |
|
#107
29-02-2004, 12:13 PM
|
|||
|
|||
grubs
Xref: kermit uk.rec.gardening:189721
In message , martin writes but we only have two sparrows left :-(( I've got plenty, 'cos they've got plenty of cover. The local sparrowhawk is quite skinny, and the sparrows know where the ivy is.... nearly all the sparrows disappeared here at the same time and at least a year before I saw reports that the same had happened in UK. One year they were everywhere as normal, the next year they had all gone. The last cock sparrow in our garden went quite mad: throwing himself against the shed window, then, when we covered that, against the bedroom window; then he 'adopted' the baby bluetits in the nesting box: he sat on the box all day, trying to keep the parents away. The woodpecker also attacked the box, so we hung a cage over the box. (After that all went well, and the bluetits raised their young. We left the cage on there for years.) In any case, I wondered whether it was some sort of bird flu that had this strange effect. -- Klara, Gatwick basin |
|
#108
29-02-2004, 12:19 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
grubs
On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 10:30:55 +0000, klara King
wrote: In message , martin writes but we only have two sparrows left :-(( I've got plenty, 'cos they've got plenty of cover. The local sparrowhawk is quite skinny, and the sparrows know where the ivy is.... nearly all the sparrows disappeared here at the same time and at least a year before I saw reports that the same had happened in UK. One year they were everywhere as normal, the next year they had all gone. The last cock sparrow in our garden went quite mad: throwing himself against the shed window, then, when we covered that, against the bedroom window; then he 'adopted' the baby bluetits in the nesting box: he sat on the box all day, trying to keep the parents away. The woodpecker also attacked the box, so we hung a cage over the box. (After that all went well, and the bluetits raised their young. We left the cage on there for years.) In any case, I wondered whether it was some sort of bird flu that had this strange effect. I wondered the same. It was certainly nothing to do with change of habitat. -- Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad |
|
#109
29-02-2004, 12:41 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
grubs
Reply-To: "Franz Heymann"
NNTP-Posting-Host: host213-122-191-155.in-addr.btopenworld.com X-Trace: hercules.btinternet.com 1078052348 16073 213.122.191.155 (29 Feb 2004 10:59:08 GMT) X-Complaints-To: NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 10:59:08 +0000 (UTC) X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Priority: 3 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 Path: kermit!newsfeed-east.nntpserver.com!nntpserver.com!nx02.iad01.news hosting.com!newshosting.com!zen.net.uk!demorgan.ze n.co.uk!194.72.9.35.MISMATCH!news-peer1!btnet-feed5!btnet!news.btopenworld.com!not-for-mail Xref: kermit uk.rec.gardening:189731 "martin" wrote in message ... On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 20:42:48 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: "Sacha" wrote in message .uk... Sue da Nimm27/2/04 4:59 snip We've got three pairs sharing our plot which is about 320ft long by 120ft wide, with a hedge border and a copse beyond. They have clearly defined territories, with one pair regularly coming to the kitchen windowsill for tidbits. The male in the "copse-end" pair is very distinctive because he is mottled white. (Melanistic?) We have seen three together on occasions - probably offspring rather than pairs mingling. We have several in different parts of the Nursery and garden - you can see them together but apart, as it were. But the blackbirds! They're as bad or worse than robins. One gets inside a glasshouse and one is outside and they go at each other hammer and tongs against the glass. The other day, I saw two trying to kill each other, I swear and I clapped my hands so that both flew off, overturning a 1l. pot of Euphorbia as they went. Those critters are vicious and we have a lot of them! My male blackbird follows me into the garage (where I keep my birdseed) every time I open the door. He now eats sunflower seeds from my hand. If your blackbird becomes too tame, watch out for cats! I know. It's a bind. There are 6 cats in the vicinity and my garden is their stamping ground. I keep trying to maim them with my catapult, but my aim is not good enough. Jackdaws are probably our most intelligent birds, they always feed in pairs, one keeps a look out, whilst the other eats. They are also the most voracious birds known to man. Whenever I hang up a fatty cake for the birds, the jackdaws polish it off in quarter of an hour. (I love them, even though they are expensive friends) Franz |
|
#110
29-02-2004, 12:46 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
grubs
"klara King" wrote in message ... martin writes My bird book says that there is another bird that looks a bit like a robin, so that might explain the garden with six robins in it. Well, unless they look *exactly* like a robin ... They've been around and under the bird table all day, though never two on the table at the same time. Maybe a cock and his harem? Robins are not promiscuous, as far as I know. Franz |
|
#111
29-02-2004, 12:54 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
grubs
"klara King" wrote in message ... In message , martin writes Well, unless they look *exactly* like a robin ... They've been around and under the bird table all day, though never two on the table at the same time. Maybe a cock and his harem? Must be my delicious fat/ground peanut/seed mix! I think you have more than your fair share and I am jealous :-) I'll trade you a couple for a few sparrows - the sparrowhawk must have caught all of them  We now often have more house sparrows than chaffinches at the feeders. {:-)) Franz |
|
#112
29-02-2004, 01:07 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
grubs
Reply-To: "Franz Heymann"
NNTP-Posting-Host: host213-122-191-155.in-addr.btopenworld.com X-Trace: hercules.btinternet.com 1078052348 16073 213.122.191.155 (29 Feb 2004 10:59:08 GMT) X-Complaints-To: NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 10:59:08 +0000 (UTC) X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Priority: 3 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 Path: kermit!newsfeed-east.nntpserver.com!nntpserver.com!nx02.iad01.news hosting.com!newshosting.com!zen.net.uk!demorgan.ze n.co.uk!194.72.9.35.MISMATCH!news-peer1!btnet-feed5!btnet!news.btopenworld.com!not-for-mail Xref: kermit uk.rec.gardening:189731 "martin" wrote in message ... On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 20:42:48 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: "Sacha" wrote in message .uk... Sue da Nimm27/2/04 4:59 snip We've got three pairs sharing our plot which is about 320ft long by 120ft wide, with a hedge border and a copse beyond. They have clearly defined territories, with one pair regularly coming to the kitchen windowsill for tidbits. The male in the "copse-end" pair is very distinctive because he is mottled white. (Melanistic?) We have seen three together on occasions - probably offspring rather than pairs mingling. We have several in different parts of the Nursery and garden - you can see them together but apart, as it were. But the blackbirds! They're as bad or worse than robins. One gets inside a glasshouse and one is outside and they go at each other hammer and tongs against the glass. The other day, I saw two trying to kill each other, I swear and I clapped my hands so that both flew off, overturning a 1l. pot of Euphorbia as they went. Those critters are vicious and we have a lot of them! My male blackbird follows me into the garage (where I keep my birdseed) every time I open the door. He now eats sunflower seeds from my hand. If your blackbird becomes too tame, watch out for cats! I know. It's a bind. There are 6 cats in the vicinity and my garden is their stamping ground. I keep trying to maim them with my catapult, but my aim is not good enough. Jackdaws are probably our most intelligent birds, they always feed in pairs, one keeps a look out, whilst the other eats. They are also the most voracious birds known to man. Whenever I hang up a fatty cake for the birds, the jackdaws polish it off in quarter of an hour. (I love them, even though they are expensive friends) Franz |
|
#113
29-02-2004, 01:10 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
grubs
On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 10:59:08 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote: Jackdaws are probably our most intelligent birds, they always feed in pairs, one keeps a look out, whilst the other eats. They are also the most voracious birds known to man. Whenever I hang up a fatty cake for the birds, the jackdaws polish it off in quarter of an hour. (I love them, even though they are expensive friends) When I was a small child, my grandmother had a jackdaw that talked, it also did imitations of her calling the chickens to be fed. One day the jackdaw was found dead in the copper, foul play was suspected. Foul not fowl!. -- Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad |
|
#114
29-02-2004, 01:18 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
grubs
On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 10:59:09 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote: "klara King" wrote in message ... martin writes My bird book says that there is another bird that looks a bit like a robin, so that might explain the garden with six robins in it. Well, unless they look *exactly* like a robin ... They've been around and under the bird table all day, though never two on the table at the same time. Maybe a cock and his harem? Robins are not promiscuous, as far as I know. a bunch of homsexuals then? -- Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad |
|
#115
29-02-2004, 01:26 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
grubs
On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 10:59:10 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote: We now often have more house sparrows than chaffinches at the feeders. {:-)) 3 and 2 respectively? :-) -- Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad |
|
#116
29-02-2004, 01:50 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
grubs
Reply-To: "Franz Heymann"
NNTP-Posting-Host: host213-122-191-155.in-addr.btopenworld.com X-Trace: hercules.btinternet.com 1078052348 16073 213.122.191.155 (29 Feb 2004 10:59:08 GMT) X-Complaints-To: NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 10:59:08 +0000 (UTC) X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Priority: 3 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 Path: kermit!newsfeed-east.nntpserver.com!nntpserver.com!nx02.iad01.news hosting.com!newshosting.com!zen.net.uk!demorgan.ze n.co.uk!194.72.9.35.MISMATCH!news-peer1!btnet-feed5!btnet!news.btopenworld.com!not-for-mail Xref: kermit uk.rec.gardening:189731 "martin" wrote in message ... On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 20:42:48 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: "Sacha" wrote in message .uk... Sue da Nimm27/2/04 4:59 snip We've got three pairs sharing our plot which is about 320ft long by 120ft wide, with a hedge border and a copse beyond. They have clearly defined territories, with one pair regularly coming to the kitchen windowsill for tidbits. The male in the "copse-end" pair is very distinctive because he is mottled white. (Melanistic?) We have seen three together on occasions - probably offspring rather than pairs mingling. We have several in different parts of the Nursery and garden - you can see them together but apart, as it were. But the blackbirds! They're as bad or worse than robins. One gets inside a glasshouse and one is outside and they go at each other hammer and tongs against the glass. The other day, I saw two trying to kill each other, I swear and I clapped my hands so that both flew off, overturning a 1l. pot of Euphorbia as they went. Those critters are vicious and we have a lot of them! My male blackbird follows me into the garage (where I keep my birdseed) every time I open the door. He now eats sunflower seeds from my hand. If your blackbird becomes too tame, watch out for cats! I know. It's a bind. There are 6 cats in the vicinity and my garden is their stamping ground. I keep trying to maim them with my catapult, but my aim is not good enough. Jackdaws are probably our most intelligent birds, they always feed in pairs, one keeps a look out, whilst the other eats. They are also the most voracious birds known to man. Whenever I hang up a fatty cake for the birds, the jackdaws polish it off in quarter of an hour. (I love them, even though they are expensive friends) Franz |
|
#117
29-02-2004, 01:50 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
grubs
Reply-To: "Franz Heymann"
NNTP-Posting-Host: host213-122-191-155.in-addr.btopenworld.com X-Trace: hercules.btinternet.com 1078052348 16073 213.122.191.155 (29 Feb 2004 10:59:08 GMT) X-Complaints-To: NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 10:59:08 +0000 (UTC) X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Priority: 3 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 Path: kermit!newsfeed-east.nntpserver.com!nntpserver.com!nx02.iad01.news hosting.com!newshosting.com!zen.net.uk!demorgan.ze n.co.uk!194.72.9.35.MISMATCH!news-peer1!btnet-feed5!btnet!news.btopenworld.com!not-for-mail Xref: kermit uk.rec.gardening:189731 "martin" wrote in message ... On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 20:42:48 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: "Sacha" wrote in message .uk... Sue da Nimm27/2/04 4:59 snip We've got three pairs sharing our plot which is about 320ft long by 120ft wide, with a hedge border and a copse beyond. They have clearly defined territories, with one pair regularly coming to the kitchen windowsill for tidbits. The male in the "copse-end" pair is very distinctive because he is mottled white. (Melanistic?) We have seen three together on occasions - probably offspring rather than pairs mingling. We have several in different parts of the Nursery and garden - you can see them together but apart, as it were. But the blackbirds! They're as bad or worse than robins. One gets inside a glasshouse and one is outside and they go at each other hammer and tongs against the glass. The other day, I saw two trying to kill each other, I swear and I clapped my hands so that both flew off, overturning a 1l. pot of Euphorbia as they went. Those critters are vicious and we have a lot of them! My male blackbird follows me into the garage (where I keep my birdseed) every time I open the door. He now eats sunflower seeds from my hand. If your blackbird becomes too tame, watch out for cats! I know. It's a bind. There are 6 cats in the vicinity and my garden is their stamping ground. I keep trying to maim them with my catapult, but my aim is not good enough. Jackdaws are probably our most intelligent birds, they always feed in pairs, one keeps a look out, whilst the other eats. They are also the most voracious birds known to man. Whenever I hang up a fatty cake for the birds, the jackdaws polish it off in quarter of an hour. (I love them, even though they are expensive friends) Franz |
|
#118
29-02-2004, 01:51 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
grubs
"klara King" wrote in message ... martin writes My bird book says that there is another bird that looks a bit like a robin, so that might explain the garden with six robins in it. Well, unless they look *exactly* like a robin ... They've been around and under the bird table all day, though never two on the table at the same time. Maybe a cock and his harem? Robins are not promiscuous, as far as I know. Franz |
|
#119
29-02-2004, 01:51 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
grubs
"klara King" wrote in message ... martin writes My bird book says that there is another bird that looks a bit like a robin, so that might explain the garden with six robins in it. Well, unless they look *exactly* like a robin ... They've been around and under the bird table all day, though never two on the table at the same time. Maybe a cock and his harem? Robins are not promiscuous, as far as I know. Franz |
|
#120
29-02-2004, 01:56 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
grubs
"klara King" wrote in message ... In message , martin writes Well, unless they look *exactly* like a robin ... They've been around and under the bird table all day, though never two on the table at the same time. Maybe a cock and his harem? Must be my delicious fat/ground peanut/seed mix! I think you have more than your fair share and I am jealous :-) I'll trade you a couple for a few sparrows - the sparrowhawk must have caught all of them We now often have more house sparrows than chaffinches at the feeders. {:-)) Franz |
| Reply |
| Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
| Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads
|
||||
| Thread | Forum | |||
| How to Kill Grubs/larvae of JuneBugs?? (Dogs eat Grubs) | Texas | |||
| Get rid of Grubs | Lawns | |||
| Grubs | Gardening | |||
| Grubs | Roses | |||
| grubs | Australia | |||
Linear Mode
