The Collard Doves are back in the garden.
Not one
or two
but three!
They arrive every morning for suet sprinkles and share them with the wood pigeons and starlings whilst the blue tits, great tits, sparrows and goldfinches take the sunflower hearts from the feeders and the robins, dunnocks and blackbirds feed from the ground feeder.
Yesterday was very cold so we had lots of bird visitors. The goldfinches chop each end off a sunflower heart and eat the middle letting the end bits drop to the floor. I love the way they swing on the feeders every so often glancing over their shoulders to check that all is safe. I ventured out to clean and replenish the hanging bird feeders and the window feeder. The bird baths were iced over and fallen leaves had become trapped in the ice so these were cleaned and fresh water added.
The birds are rather fond of these berries too.
Yesterday was very cold so we had lots of bird visitors. The goldfinches chop each end off a sunflower heart and eat the middle letting the end bits drop to the floor. I love the way they swing on the feeders every so often glancing over their shoulders to check that all is safe. I ventured out to clean and replenish the hanging bird feeders and the window feeder. The bird baths were iced over and fallen leaves had become trapped in the ice so these were cleaned and fresh water added.
I love the dove pictures! I can see how happy you are to see they are back!We have our visitors here and they are part of my family!
ReplyDeleteSandra xXx
Thank you Sandra, we hadn't seen the doves for ages so it was good to see them back and for them to stay around the garden for most of the day:)
DeleteApologies Rosie - have only just spotted this post - somehow I missed it. Love all the bird photos.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly we used to get a lot of Collared Doves and then, as the Wood pigeon and feral pigeon numbers increased, they disappeared and we only saw about one a year. But this year I think they have nested close by and have been regularly seeing one or two. They are such gentle looking doves :)
Our goldfinches have disappeared sadly - not sure if it was because I had to stop feeding for a few months in the summer (next door had troublesome rodents move in under their decking :( ) but I haven't seen any on the feeders yet this autumn.
Thank you RR, my fault that this post has only just appeared as I thought I'd scheduled it for Wednesday but it didn't publish so I published it when I published today's post. I counted 12 goldfinches earlier today, they are quite bossy with each other and scrap over the feeders, I hope they return to your garden soon:)
DeleteYou have a wonderful range of birds that visit your garden.I am wary of ground feeders because we have two cats next door.The birds that visit us are voraciuos.They can empty a feeder in under two hours.
ReplyDeleteCats are a worry aren't they? Luckily most of the cats that visit our garden prefer chasing the squirrels to catching birds. The squirrels are very cunning though and can move a lot faster than the cats whom they tease with twitching tails. It's amazing how quickly the feeders empty, we've just been to Wilco for supplies:)
DeleteWhat a great variety of birds visit your garden. A delight to see the Collard Doves.
ReplyDeleteThank you, yes the doves are lovely, I'm so glad they have come back to the garden:)
DeleteGreat photos Rosie. The first one would make a wonderful Christmas card! x
ReplyDeleteThank you Simone, I hadn't thought of that:)
DeleteVery pretty!
ReplyDeleteThank you William:)
DeleteA great variety of feathered friends visiting your garden.
ReplyDeleteThere seem to be a lot of berries this autumn, a harsh winter they say we will have?
They do say that lots of berries means a harsh winter, I hope it isn't too harsh:)
DeleteWhat a lovely post! We have collared doves in our garden too, although I hear them more often than I see them - "Me shoe hurts!" x
ReplyDeleteThank you Mrs T, yes they are very vocal birds aren't they? They flew in this morning to take advantage of the new food - the birds get breakfast every morning and when it is very cold they get afternoon tea too:)
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