An unexpected visitor

[Charles Morgan]

My sister bought me a hanging bird feeder and stand as a housewarming present. The normal visitors are a pair of Great T its*, with the odd Chaffinch and Squirrel, although the latter get shooed off rapidly. This morning though I managed to get a photo of a recent arrival.

There is a flock of Green Parakeets in the open fields behind, but first time I have caught this one on camera.

* nasty bowdlerising censor filter.

 

[SavMan]

Snap! Well similar anyway I live just across the river from Greenwich Park which has a large number of these resident. We actually see them more than Sparrow's!


View attachment 33136

 

[Paul/]

The closest we up this way ever got to seeing such exotica in the garden was an escapee that seemed to enjoy voiding itself on inquisitive cats.

Interesting to note that we aren't allowed **** but we can have a Shag.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Americans don't have a shag.

Heavens, if innocent little birds get picked up then Lord help us. I loathe prudishness.

There was a flock in Battersea Park too. Evidently they are quite hardy. The feeder isn't particularly helpful for them - their curved beak makes it very hard work.

 

[Brian WH]

The most unusual bird I have had in my garden is a Great Spotted Woodpecker. He came as a Juvenile first then as an Adult.

The pictures are not good as they were taken from a distance through the glass of the French Windows.

Juvenile

Adult

 

[Charles Morgan]

I have a green woodpecker who occasionally is seen hunting for food on the lawn, plus there are several woodpeckers in the land around - totally unmistakeable sound.

I am very glad that there are no cats that use my garden. I am planning on putting up a number of nesting boxes around the edges of the garden this winter as I love having lots of birds here.

 

[grumpyoldgit]

Don't see any parakeets up here, in the wilderness of the West Midlands, but do get the usual Great ****, Blue ****, Long Tailed ****, Gold Finches, Green Finches, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Robins and even a couple of Nut Hatches. Last few months I've been getting a visit from a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. And of course a damn squirrel, which I'm having a battle of wits with and I seem to be winning at the moment. lol

Oops! **** = T its.

 

[Stratman]

Those bl**dy parrots are a pest. They'll empty a feeder in a few minutes.

I can thoroughly recommend the Squirrel Buster feeder. They also stop the parrots.

It works by having a sprung outer guard which drops down and closes the feeding holes by the weight of a robbing rodent or predatory parrot. The smaller birds aren't heavy enough to move the guard.

 

[grumpyoldgit]

Those bl**dy parrots are a pest. They'll empty a feeder in a few minutes.

I can thoroughly recommend the Squirrel Buster feeder. They also stop the parrots.

It works by having a sprung outer guard which drops down and closes the feeding holes by the weight of a robbing rodent or predatory parrot. The smaller birds aren't heavy enough to move the guard.

Friends in London SE12 have the problem with those damn parrots and have one of those feeders. It does the job perfectly.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Those bl**dy parrots are a pest. They'll empty a feeder in a few minutes.

I can thoroughly recommend the Squirrel Buster feeder. They also stop the parrots.

It works by having a sprung outer guard which drops down and closes the feeding holes by the weight of a robbing rodent or predatory parrot. The smaller birds aren't heavy enough to move the guard.

That is going on the Christmas list.

Mind you, if wet, the thin metal pole that holds the feeder is impossible for squirrels, one made it almost to the top and then slid down in a very undignified fashion. This reminds me I must get the cherry tree lopped as its branches are too close to the eaves and I don't want a squirrel taking up residence in the roof.

 

[Paul/]

I can recommend add-on cages in various sizes to keep out larger birds and squirrels (it's impressive how many of the local sparrow squadron can fit in one and it improves their odds slightly versus the sparrowhawks)...

Chapelwood Squirrel Blocking Cage for Wild Bird Feeders [CHAPECPW0736] | Capital Gardens

...they're particularly necessary for us as we have a squirrel feeder (I know we shouldn't, but everyone except cats is welcome and catered for here) to which the cheeky beggars would only turn once they've cleared everyone else's out.

The black ones (cages, not squirrels) are surprisingly unobtrusive considering their size.

 

[janner]

Interesting to note that we aren't allowed **** but we can have a Shag.

Lots of Shags around here...

 

[ShinyF1]

Don't see any parakeets up here, in the wilderness of the West Midlands, but do get the usual Great ****, Blue ****, Long Tailed ****, Gold Finches, Green Finches, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Robins and even a couple of Nut Hatches. Last few months I've been getting a visit from a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. And of course a damn squirrel, which I'm having a battle of wits with and I seem to be winning at the moment. lol

Oops! **** = T its.

Is it just me that thinks 'dunnocks' should be a rude word - now to agree on an alternative silly meaning for it...

Not meant to be a thread hijack - we get those parakeets all over the place in SW London - Wandsworth Common, Tooting Bec Common and every green space fom here to Richmond and beyond. Not so much into gardens though. I'm not a fan of them.

My favourite garden visitors are jays, but we tend to get lots of t its and magpies, blackbirds and wood pigeons.

My brother in law in Bristol arrived home to see a sparrowhawk dismembering a blackbird on his front garden path a few years ago. As a bit of a twitcher he was **** [sorry c ock] -a-hoop with that sighting and even got a picture of it

 

[grumpyoldgit]

Is it just me that thinks 'dunnocks' should be a rude word - now to agree on an alternative silly meaning for it...

Not meant to be a thread hijack - we get those parakeets all over the place in SW London - Wandsworth Common, Tooting Bec Common and every green space fom here to Richmond and beyond. Not so much into gardens though. I'm not a fan of them.

My favourite garden visitors are jays, but we tend to get lots of t its and magpies, blackbirds and wood pigeons.

My brother in law in Bristol arrived home to see a sparrowhawk dismembering a blackbird on his front garden path a few years ago. As a bit of a twitcher he was **** [sorry c ock] -a-hoop with that sighting and even got a picture of it

Close but no ******** (or cigar) for you this time

 

[Mike Walker]

We have a local flock of parakeets in leafy West Wickham too which are always screeching overhead. On a similar topic does anyone have a regular invasion of Starlings - young and old together - which mob our feeders and bird table on a daily basis?

 

[d w124]

Friends in London SE12 have the problem with those damn parrots and have one of those feeders. It does the job perfectly.

Plenty of them in my back garden (SE12) also,at times you get 20+ of them

 

[Red C220]

We have quite a few parakeets visit our garden, there's a group (or flock?) of about 18 of them live in the woodland behind our house.

We also get a woodpecker similar to the one pictured in this thread but I've never managed to photograph him yet.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Reading up on these they appear to be spreading all over - even some mad enough to nest in Sheffield - and they are now listed as a pest species.

 

[Farmergeddon]

Where is everyone who sees them? I live in Crayford Kent (Bexley way) and get loads of them.
They originated from someone who had an aviary in Sidcup. They were released or escaped then made a habitat at Five Arches park. From here they have slowly over time spread outwards.
There is a common conversation piece in this neck of the woods that nobody has ever seen one land on the ground and you only see them dangling in trees or flying overhead. No photographic evidence has been produced to prove there has been one on the floor. The OPs picture is the nearest I have seen ha ha!

 

[tanuie]

Best of luck with the squirrels, we gave up trying to outwit the squirrels so ended up feeding them instead.