Hen attack

Pheasants often come to our garden in the winter and spring to eat the seeds that have fallen down from the bird feeder.
I was filming a couple of female pheasants when something funny happened. This should make you smile.

 So, what did you think?

Bullied young female pheasant being a smart bird

In the video clip below, you will see how a young female pheasant outsmarted an older female who would pick on her when eating the seeds fallen from our bird feeder.

Pheasants in the garden

As we are surrounded by fields, pheasants will often come to our garden to pick fallen seeds from our bird feeder. Look at this male pheasant below waiting patiently and looking up in the air!

Do you know what this pheasant is looking at?

It is actually waiting for small birds to come to the bird feeder and drop seeds on the floor. Nuthatches, and to a lesser extend blue tits and great tits, are very messy eaters and will pick through the seeds to get to their their favourite ones dropping a lot of food on the floor in the process. This is a great opportunity for ground feeders and larger birds who could not otherwise reach the bird feeder to get their share.

Pheasant at the bird feeder

Look at what I found at our bird feeder!
A pheasant.
It is really timid and runs to hide under the bushes at the slighest movement or noise.

Female squirrel on a mission

Following my post on acrobatic squirrels, I now know that it is the female squirrel who shows the most acrobatic moves, eating seeds upside down. Have a look at these pictures, paying particular attention to her rear feet. Amazing claws. These are good acrobatic moves, aren't they? I wonder how hard it must be for her to hold food in her mouth in that position....

Magpies in my garden

will add this picture to a previous post where I gathered all the birds I can see in my garden.
This magpie is picking some leftover meat I placed on the bird feeder. I attracted magpies in my garden just as their babies had left the nest. It gave me the opportunity to watch their behaviour with their offspring.
This attracted crows too, although they were much more timid than the magpies.
Unfortunately by attracting these big birds, I realised that I also scared away the little ones.
So, I will no longer leave my leftover meat for them to eat and hopefully the little birds will come back to my bird feeder in bigger numbers.

Greedy grey squirrel upside down on a bird feeder

Since publishing my post on "acrobatic squirrels", I have realised that the two grey squirrels who regularly visit my garden both have their own way of eating from the bird feeder.
One eat "horizontally" as per the post mentioned above and the other "vertically" with its head facing down. I am not sure which one is the female though.
Have a look at it in the following video clip.
It must be quite difficult to fill its mouth with seeds and not let a single one fall down. Gravity is not not a problem to that squirrel. Do you have a squirrel in your garden?

Magpie eating lefover food

I caught a greedy magpie filling its beak with leftover food.



It starts eating then, it fills its beak with food before flying away.
When the magpie is no longer hungry but there are still bits left on the bird feeder, it will digg the mud in my flower pots and hide them in there thinking it is a safe place to store food.
But, my dog has a very strong sense of smell and will quickly dig it out again and eat it... This is actually a problem because my dog is old and suffers from kidney failure.... so, I have to watch what she eats...

Black bird trying to eat seeds from bird feeder

Recently I posted a clip on a smart black bird doing great acrobatics to reach the seeds on my bird feeder.
As they usually are ground feeder, manufacturers do not bother making bird feeders for them. Being much larger birds than the finch or robin type, their bodies just don't fit on the little perches.
Anyway, in the clip below, you will see a black bird desperately trying to copy his smart mate…. unsuccessfully... You can see him getting frustrated, flapping his wings and tapping his right food. Although the clip does not show it, the bird failed his attempts. He did jump but could not stay on the feeder like his friend can and just flew away without any of these sunflower seeds.
Enjoy!

Acrobatic Squirrel

My bird seed station is very popular, with birds as well as squirrels. The first picture is particularly funny. See how it holds on to the frame with its back claws. Click to enlarge. Cute!

Close encounter with goldfinches

Today, I would like to share with you a video I took of goldfinches at my bird feeder. I tried to get very close to their faces so that I could see how they ate their seeds. See how they move their beaks?  http://youtu.be/FvaQF2cUNcY