We love snail shells my four-year old collects snail shells and I’ve become quite a big fan, too. I’ve even launched a new snail ‘new home’ card. In summer 2022, Piglet began collecting snail shells. It started when we found a whole lot of empty shells strewn across a path on an evening walk. Piglet …
I have chosen the siskin as my bird of the month for May. These little yellow sweethearts have been our constant companions in the garden this month. We haven’t really seen siskins on the feeders here before – except the odd fleeting sighting in the winter – but this spring there has been at least …
We really love putting food out for the birds. Pig helps me scoop the peanuts and sunflower hearts and roll lovely round fat balls into the feeders. He’s very serious about carrying them back out to the garden without spilling any seed. Ross gave me a window feeder for my birthday and it has been …
Over the past month we have been enjoying watching a family of Great Spotted Woodpeckers on the feeders in the garden. I usually think of woodpeckers as quite aggressive birds but it has been so nice to see them tenderly feed the youngster. We call our family: the dad is Pecker Purves (my husband’s surname …
Great Spotted Woodpeckers: How to Tell Male, Female and Juvenile Apart Read More »
We currently have a large group of Long Tailed Tits who come to the feeders every day to feast on the fat balls. They pop to and from the tree to the side of the feeders – some feed, some keep a noisy chattering watch from the tree. The best view of them is from …
Long Tailed Tits Are Rubbish At Social Distancing Read More »
Although many different species of birds frequent our bird feeders in the garden, it is the kingdom of the Great Tit. These handsome, squabbalacious tits are the no-nonsense rulers of the peanut feeders. They pester, bully and quarrel with the smaller birds. It seems that the coal tits and blue tits are mere subjects in …
We moved house at the end of the summer so this is our first spring in New House. It’s been completely joyful discovering the spring flowers, one by one, as they make their appearance. Neither of us are gardeners, really, so we don’t always know what it is we are looking at, or how to …
This is the time of year when it’s good to get your nest boxes cleaned out and ready for a new generation of feathered inhabitants. Here’s the RSPB advice on how to clean out your nest box. Small birds tend to pair up and prospect for their nesting site in the latter half of February …
One thing we were delighted to discover when we moved into The New House was that the peanut feeders in the garden were frequented by nuthatches. They are a bird I’ve always admired but not known a great deal about so I decided to do some research. Here’s what I learnt: Nuthatches seldom travel far …
This is the time of year – in the midst of the peak autumn glory – that I start to think about hibernating. I feel the creeping darkness shortening the day, the cold wind nips at my ears, and I have to scrape the car windscreen for the first time since last winter. I take …
