The White Doves of Redvers Road

Forget leucism and albinism. A rather preposterous idea on my part as it turns out. Today, two White Doves appeared on my bird table, the ID confirmed as one of the two was a Fan-tailed White Dove. It does however beg the question - where are they from? White Doves are domesticated, often kept as 'pets'. These two are availing themselves of the ample amount of food available in my garden, much to the disgust of many other local garden birds!

Something of a mystery....

Inclement Weather for Garden Birds

I worry about the fate of my garden birds during this period of inclement weather: gale-force winds and torrential rain that has seen many households in Sussex, Surrey and Kent without power since 24th December. Another section of my garden fence has been destroyed and feeders have been ripped from their locations in my garden trees.

I replaced everything this morning and topped up the feeders. The weather had subsided somewhat and to my relief my garden birds were back. Goldfinches, House Sparrows, Blue-tits, Starlings, Blackbirds, Dunnocks, a Robin, Jackdaws, Collared Doves, Woodpigeons and Feral Pigeons all availed themselves of the bounty of food available and the water in the two birdbaths. My garden might look a mess but at least the birds are surviving this dreadful weather, although some, I am sure, have perished.

Still have not seen any sight of the Blackcaps though. I keep hoping... 

The Gathering Storm

The barometer is dropping. There is a quiet presently complete with torrential rain. The south of  England is bracing for a tumultuous storm, the worst for 20 years. Not as bad as 1987, God forbid. We should expect trees toppling, roof tiles being dislodged, garden fences ripped asunder. The low pressure area is building over the south west atlantic and is headed this way. And I am concerned for my garden birds.

In tree ripping weather accompanied by torrential rain, where can they hide? Birds cannot fly in 80mph winds, as is forecast. It is virtually impossible to roost apart from in the most sheltered accommodation. And where might that be on the south coast?

I watched my garden birds today attempting to hang on to feeders already battered by fresh winds. It is going to get a lot worse, a lot worse. I have nurtured these garden visitors all year. I braved the rain today to top up the feeders. I see my birds lurking in the topmost branches of the lilac tree, waiting for the food to be replenished. I feel responsible for this population of extraordinary wildlife. I attracted them here and I won't let them down so far as food and water is concerned. But I cannot protect them from inclement weather. Where will they go when the storm hits? Will they survive monstrous winds that will no doubt wreak havoc with my garden trees?

Nature is about to throw its worst at the south coast and I will keep a vigil on my garden bird population....

Bird Feeder Battle Zone

The amount of food my garden birds are consuming is increasing daily. I have just spent another £20 ($32) on sunflower seeds and I will be lucky if they last a week. The Goldfinches in particular love this food source and I often count 15 or more of this species at the feeders. Their comings and goings and occasional skirmishes are entertaining but hide the fact that they are in deadly earnest and sometimes have serious outcomes.

Our garden visitors are invariably in competition. The food we leave out is still a limited resource. If a bird is displaced from a feeder, an event which is commonplace in my garden and technically known as a "supplanting attack", it can appear to be a minor incident. The juveniles are often displaced by adult birds. If this happens repeatedly a bird could lose body condition little by little and be vulnerable to a change to colder weather. This is becoming of increasing concern given the forecast that we could be in for the coldest winter for 100 years.

This winter then it will be more important to spice up our watching to appreciate just how important aggression is. Bird feeders seethe with tension and it won't take long to spot it. I am seeing it already. Threatening birds stoop forward, head down (like a charging bull) with the bill open. The threatened bird usually simply flies off. It might also offer an appeasement posture, as finches do, which involves fluffing up the plumage. I have also witnessed the unusual appeasement ritual where the subordinate brings food to a dominant bird and feeds it beak to beak. I saw this only this morning.

Other inherently aggressive signals are more subtle. Watch Blackbirds and Woodpigeons when they land. They often lift the tail up and let it down slowly, both acts drawing attention to the individual.

Our garden birds are wild animals in every sense. Remember that when you top up your feeders. and do keep them replenished during the harsh winter anticipated...

Goldfinches

These beautiful, highly coloured finches with a bright red face and yellow wing patch first visited my garden on 24th December 2012 just 48 hours after I first located a feeder containing nyger seeds in my lilac tree. In 27 years of recording birds in my garden these were the first Goldfinches to be seen. Since this occasion I have added two feeders containing sunflower seeds and these have quickly become the food of choice. Seven months on and there is hardly a moment goes by when I do not hear their delightful liquid, twittering song and call and see as many as six in the lilac tree. Most encouraging is that the number now includes two juvenile birds that have not yet developed their red faces.

They are a delight to watch and incredible time wasters.