Hi

This is vaguely OT but I was wondering how birds almost immediately know when I
start to put food out for them?

I don't feed in the summer, but as soon as I put any crumbs out the birds seem
to whiz down in three minutes flat to feed. Their mates seem to hear about it
too and before long the garden is humming!

The feeder is hanging in a sumac tree so they don't come to it much in summer as
it has no fruits or berries. It's can't be that they see me go near the tree, as
I tend the plants around its base all year long........

Do they have amazing eyesight - a terrific sense of smell - do the know what
time of year I start to feed - or what ??

Jenny

In message , Martin
writes
On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 12:07:38 +0200, "JennyC" wrote:

Hi

This is vaguely OT but I was wondering how birds almost immediately
know when I
start to put food out for them?

I don't feed in the summer, but as soon as I put any crumbs out the birds seem
to whiz down in three minutes flat to feed. Their mates seem to hear about it
too and before long the garden is humming!

The feeder is hanging in a sumac tree so they don't come to it much in
summer as
it has no fruits or berries. It's can't be that they see me go near
the tree, as
I tend the plants around its base all year long........

Do they have amazing eyesight - a terrific sense of smell - do the know what
time of year I start to feed - or what ??

Have you got enormous flocks of starlings where you are?
It's the first time for years, that I have seen them in large numbers,
likewise sparrows seem to be making a come back.
The starlings have been having a feeding frenzy on all the berries
that were on the trees. All gone now.


Bush telegraph? ;o)

--
Klara, Gatwick basin

"Klara" wrote
Martin writes
"JennyC" wrote:
Hi
This is vaguely OT but I was wondering how birds almost immediately
know when I start to put food out for them?
I don't feed in the summer, but as soon as I put any crumbs out the birds
seem
to whiz down in three minutes flat to feed. Their mates seem to hear about
it
too and before long the garden is humming!
The feeder is hanging in a sumac tree so they don't come to it much in
summer as it has no fruits or berries. It's can't be that they see me go
near
the tree, asI tend the plants around its base all year long........

Do they have amazing eyesight - a terrific sense of smell - do the know what
time of year I start to feed - or what ??

Have you got enormous flocks of starlings where you are?
It's the first time for years, that I have seen them in large numbers,
likewise sparrows seem to be making a come back.
The starlings have been having a feeding frenzy on all the berries
that were on the trees. All gone now.

Bush telegraph? ;o)
Klara, Gatwick basin

I just hope they Kerry on :~)))
Jenny

"Martin" wrote
JennyC" wrote:

Hi
This is vaguely OT but I was wondering how birds almost immediately know
when I
start to put food out for them?

I don't feed in the summer, but as soon as I put any crumbs out the birds
seem
to whiz down in three minutes flat to feed. Their mates seem to hear about it
too and before long the garden is humming!

The feeder is hanging in a sumac tree so they don't come to it much in summer
as
it has no fruits or berries. It's can't be that they see me go near the tree,
as
I tend the plants around its base all year long........

Do they have amazing eyesight - a terrific sense of smell - do the know what
time of year I start to feed - or what ??

Have you got enormous flocks of starlings where you are?
It's the first time for years, that I have seen them in large numbers,
likewise sparrows seem to be making a come back.
The starlings have been having a feeding frenzy on all the berries
that were on the trees. All gone now.
Martin

I've seen the flocks of starlings in town but not in my garden. I get mostly
blue tits, sparrows, blackbirds&thrushes (tho they don't seem to have seen the
food yet).

Jenny

"Martin" wrote after...
"JennyC" wrote:

This is vaguely OT but I was wondering how birds almost immediately know
when I
start to put food out for them?

I don't feed in the summer, but as soon as I put any crumbs out the birds
seem
to whiz down in three minutes flat to feed. Their mates seem to hear about
it
too and before long the garden is humming!

The feeder is hanging in a sumac tree so they don't come to it much in
summer as
it has no fruits or berries. It's can't be that they see me go near the
tree, as
I tend the plants around its base all year long........

Do they have amazing eyesight - a terrific sense of smell - do the know
what
time of year I start to feed - or what ??

Have you got enormous flocks of starlings where you are?
It's the first time for years, that I have seen them in large numbers,
likewise sparrows seem to be making a come back.
The starlings have been having a feeding frenzy on all the berries
that were on the trees. All gone now.

Funny, but here we have both commented on the disappearance of our small
birds recently. Usually when I fill the bird feeder it's empty within a
couple of days, it's been untouched for weeks now and there are no small
birds flying about in the trees either, just silence where there was
constant birdcalls. Our local Robin and Wren have gone as have our
Coal/Blue/Great/Long Tailed Tits, no sign of the Green/Goldfinches, even the
Blackbirds aren't around, weird silence.

Did notice a tree a couple of miles away yesterday at midday full of
Starlings, unusual.

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London



--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

In message , JennyC
writes
Do they have amazing eyesight - a terrific sense of smell - do the know what
time of year I start to feed - or what ??

Have you got enormous flocks of starlings where you are?
It's the first time for years, that I have seen them in large numbers,
likewise sparrows seem to be making a come back.
The starlings have been having a feeding frenzy on all the berries
that were on the trees. All gone now.

Bush telegraph? ;o)
Klara, Gatwick basin

I just hope they Kerry on :~))) Jenny

))))


--
Klara, Gatwick basin

On 17/10/04 11:57, in article , "Bob Hobden"
wrote:


"Martin" wrote after...

snip
The starlings have been having a feeding frenzy on all the berries
that were on the trees. All gone now.

Funny, but here we have both commented on the disappearance of our small
birds recently. Usually when I fill the bird feeder it's empty within a
couple of days, it's been untouched for weeks now and there are no small
birds flying about in the trees either, just silence where there was
constant birdcalls. Our local Robin and Wren have gone as have our
Coal/Blue/Great/Long Tailed Tits, no sign of the Green/Goldfinches, even the
Blackbirds aren't around, weird silence.

Did notice a tree a couple of miles away yesterday at midday full of
Starlings, unusual.

Bob, we found that happened here about a month ago because there were two
cats prowling around. One was even sitting outside the window of my
step-son's cottage one vile night at about 3am. We discourage cats here but
even he said it must have been a very hard-hearted owner that would shut a
cat outside on such a night.
I think the dogs have seen to it that the cats know they're unwelcome but of
course, if the dogs are snug in their baskets beside the AGA at 3 or 4am,
they can't do much to scare off the cats who are hanging around when dawn
breaks....
--

Sacha
(remove the weeds for email)

In message , Bob Hobden
writes
Have you got enormous flocks of starlings where you are?
It's the first time for years, that I have seen them in large numbers,
likewise sparrows seem to be making a come back.
The starlings have been having a feeding frenzy on all the berries
that were on the trees. All gone now.

Funny, but here we have both commented on the disappearance of our
small birds recently. Usually when I fill the bird feeder it's empty
within a couple of days, it's been untouched for weeks now and there
are no small birds flying about in the trees either, just silence where
there was constant birdcalls. Our local Robin and Wren have gone as
have our Coal/Blue/Great/Long Tailed Tits, no sign of the
Green/Goldfinches, even the Blackbirds aren't around, weird silence.

Much the same he food - even the sunflowers, in full seed now -
virtually untouched for maybe six weeks now, after an early feeding
frenzy, and not a sparrow or starling in sight. But people have been
commenting on the unusual quantity of berries this year, could that be
the reason? And perhaps more seed too, though we don't notice it? It
seems to have been a good year for farmers, better than they had
expected.

--
Klara, Gatwick basin

'JennyC',

Birds have brains.

http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/brain/

Regards,
Emrys Davies.

"Klara" wrote in message
...
In message , Bob Hobden

writes
Have you got enormous flocks of starlings where you are?
It's the first time for years, that I have seen them in large
numbers,
likewise sparrows seem to be making a come back.
The starlings have been having a feeding frenzy on all the berries
that were on the trees. All gone now.

Funny, but here we have both commented on the disappearance of our
small birds recently. Usually when I fill the bird feeder it's empty
within a couple of days, it's been untouched for weeks now and there
are no small birds flying about in the trees either, just silence
where
there was constant birdcalls. Our local Robin and Wren have gone as
have our Coal/Blue/Great/Long Tailed Tits, no sign of the
Green/Goldfinches, even the Blackbirds aren't around, weird silence.

Much the same he food - even the sunflowers, in full seed now -
virtually untouched for maybe six weeks now, after an early feeding
frenzy, and not a sparrow or starling in sight. But people have been
commenting on the unusual quantity of berries this year, could that be
the reason? And perhaps more seed too, though we don't notice it? It
seems to have been a good year for farmers, better than they had
expected.

--
Klara, Gatwick basin

"Emrys Davies" wrote in message
...
'JennyC',

Birds have brains.

http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/brain/

Regards,
Emrys Davies.


Nice one Emrys "~)
Jenny

"JennyC" wrote in message
...

"Martin" wrote
JennyC" wrote:

Hi
This is vaguely OT but I was wondering how birds almost immediately
know
when I
start to put food out for them?

Stuff deleted:-

Have you got enormous flocks of starlings where you are?
It's the first time for years, that I have seen them in large numbers,
likewise sparrows seem to be making a come back.
The starlings have been having a feeding frenzy on all the berries
that were on the trees. All gone now.
Martin

I've seen the flocks of starlings in town but not in my garden. I get
mostly
blue tits, sparrows, blackbirds&thrushes (tho they don't seem to have seen
the
food yet).

I daren't put out any food yet, the damned squirrels would see it off!

Alan

--
Reply to alan(dot)holmes27(at)virgin(dot)net

"Sacha" wrote after...
"Bob wrote:
"Martin" wrote after...

snip
The starlings have been having a feeding frenzy on all the berries
that were on the trees. All gone now.

Funny, but here we have both commented on the disappearance of our small
birds recently. Usually when I fill the bird feeder it's empty within a
couple of days, it's been untouched for weeks now and there are no small
birds flying about in the trees either, just silence where there was
constant birdcalls. Our local Robin and Wren have gone as have our
Coal/Blue/Great/Long Tailed Tits, no sign of the Green/Goldfinches, even
the
Blackbirds aren't around, weird silence.

Did notice a tree a couple of miles away yesterday at midday full of
Starlings, unusual.

Bob, we found that happened here about a month ago because there were two
cats prowling around. One was even sitting outside the window of my
step-son's cottage one vile night at about 3am. We discourage cats here
but
even he said it must have been a very hard-hearted owner that would shut a
cat outside on such a night.
I think the dogs have seen to it that the cats know they're unwelcome but
of
course, if the dogs are snug in their baskets beside the AGA at 3 or 4am,
they can't do much to scare off the cats who are hanging around when dawn
breaks....
--
Don't think that is the problem, no different cats than normal around here
and as the weather is getting worse they are out less and less anyway.
Nothing else seems to have changed except the lack of small birds in all the
gardens around here. The crows and magpies are still around but on thinking
about it even the pigeons seem rare lately.
Perhaps a Hawk has taken up residence locally?
--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

"Emrys Davies" wrote de...

Birds have brains.

http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/brain/

Well yes, you only have to know a parrot to realise birds can be quite
intelligent, but it still doesn't explain the disappearance of all our small
birds.
Maybe they have "migrated" to the fields and hedges around here where there
is good picking at the moment but our birdfeeder is full too.

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

I remember a related story, possibly an urban myth but you never know ...

A man was annoyed by the noise his local football team made when they played
on the field outside his house on Sunday mornings. So for a couple of weeks
before the start of the season, he went out every day, stood in the middle
of the pitch, blew a whistle and scattered birdfood around. Come the start
of the season, both teams get out on the pitch, the ref blows his whistle to
start the game and they immediately have to abandon it because all the birds
fly down to look for the food.

:-))

--
Martin & Anna Sykes
( Remove x's when replying )
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~sykesm

"JennyC" wrote in message
...
Hi

This is vaguely OT but I was wondering how birds almost immediately know
when I
start to put food out for them?

I don't feed in the summer, but as soon as I put any crumbs out the birds
seem
to whiz down in three minutes flat to feed. Their mates seem to hear about
it
too and before long the garden is humming!

The feeder is hanging in a sumac tree so they don't come to it much in
summer as
it has no fruits or berries. It's can't be that they see me go near the
tree, as
I tend the plants around its base all year long........

Do they have amazing eyesight - a terrific sense of smell - do the know
what
time of year I start to feed - or what ??

Jenny

"Martin Sykes" wrote in message
...
I remember a related story, possibly an urban myth but you never know ...

A man was annoyed by the noise his local football team made when they
played
on the field outside his house on Sunday mornings. So for a couple of
weeks
before the start of the season, he went out every day, stood in the middle
of the pitch, blew a whistle and scattered birdfood around. Come the start
of the season, both teams get out on the pitch, the ref blows his whistle
to
start the game and they immediately have to abandon it because all the
birds
fly down to look for the food.


LOL, good story. But birds certainly can and do learn from experience, e.g.
a reported case of a grey heron, observing fish congregating to feed from
crumbs falling from bread thrown in to feed the ducks, stealing some of the
bread, taking it to a quiet fishing spot, and dropping it in the water to
act as groundbait.