Excess apples for wildlife

My apple tree produced a lot of apples last autumn. I put some in the freezer and stored the rest in the shed on trays wrapped in newspapers.
Throughout the winter, I was able to throw a couple of apples every day for the wildlife to feed on, usually the ones that were starting to go brown. We are nearing the end of May and my stock of apples has just run out. Birds, such as black birds, magpies, crows, pheasants, robins and field fares really enjoyed them. Other birds might have eaten them too but I did not see it. Squirrels were fond of them too.
Below a field fare eating an apple. This little chap was quite a bully, chasing away any black birds getting near "his" apples! He seemed to waste more energy guarding the apples then eating them.

One Sunday morning, I noticed a (male) wiesel running back and forth in the front garden. It was looking for a baby mice (I think). It did find it but unfortunately I had stopped filming just before it picked it up and ran away... The video is a little shaky because the wiesel would not stay still

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.

Unterrupted mud bath

In the video clip below, you will see a wild female pheasant having a mud bath under some hedges. She then has to stop to leave space for my two hens Holly and Hazel. I have noticed that pheasants, particularly female pheasants, like to use my hens' mud baths (yes, they do have a few "self-made" baths dotted around the garden - unfortunately for me really because the mud baths become rather unsightly and messy deep little craters). My theory is that pheasants think it is a safe place to go. Wouldn't you agree?

Wild pheasants under the oak tree

Wild pheasants are a common sight in our garden. Although four male pheasants together is quite an unusual sight because of their territorial nature, they happily gather under our oak tree to feed on the fallen acorns. Female pheasants have plain coloured feathers making it virtually impossible to see them unless they move.

Four male pheasants

Camouflage feathers

A tint of red at the front of the eye

My hens' favourite food

Here is a small video clip of my hens eating their favourite food: banana.



This clip was taken in December 2013. Hazel, the ginger hen (on the right) is dead now. She was killed by a fox a few weeks ago.
It is funny how they wipe their beak on the ground after eating.

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.