Birds

Blackbirds

blackbird, koltrast
Blackbird on the bow surveing the neighborhood. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

Across the road in the tree I see from my outside place and the livingroom the blackbirds sit daytime. I feed them during winter and have done so for several years. They always come back. They are fun to look at. I recently stopped feeding them as a mice had discovered their feed and I want to get rid of that. But the below are the visitors this winter. They normally were 6 in numbers but occasionally they were 13 at the same time.

Today 2 of them were back again since I stopped feeding them. They have to find food elsewhere from now on. The blackbird restaurant is now closed for the season.

Posted by nini in Birds, Nature, Thoughts, winter, 0 comments

Birdbaths in the garden

birdbaths, fågelbad

Birdbath in the garden. The second birdbath in the background. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

During this hot and sunny summer (not ended yet…) it became obvious that the birds and the bees and the bumblebees need water. They got thirsty, like we humans too. I’ve always had birdbaths in the garden for that reason. Occasionally I’ve seen a bird or two drink from them, but seldom bathing. Now I’ve got two (2) birdbaths. But almost no birds. Stopped feeding them in the middle of the summer. It got too expensive.

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Birdbath. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

The green one above with the stone in it (an island for bees and bumblebees) I’ve had for a couple of years. Got via my neighbour from her ex-husbands sister who lives in a flat and don’t really needed it. Ceramics, glazed. A little bird on the edge of it.

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Birdbath. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

The second birdbath, above, is of concrete. Got that recently from my newest next-door neighbour. He got it from the previous owner of his flat who left it in the garden when they moved on. As the current neighbour didn’t use it and tucked it away under a bush and a jumping-platform, I asked if he wanted to keep it or if I could have it. He gladly gave it up and I moved it to my garden instead.

Both sit on top of pieces of old tree-trunks to get them up somewhat from the ground.

Do the birds use them? Not what I’ve seen. But the cats do. They love drinking from them.

Important with birdbaths (or drinking stations for the cats) is to regularly change the water in them so it is fresh and free of drowned insects. The green one I take in over winter as I am afraid it otherwise will freeze and crack. The concrete one I don’t think I have to take in over winter. It is concrete. Should withstand cold weather and snow and ice. I’ll leave it there.

The grass got green again after we finally got some rain. Grass is recuperating fast.

Posted by nini in Birds, cats, Garden, Outside, Thoughts, 0 comments

The blackbirds

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The tree across the road where the blackbirds sit. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

The blackbird is Swedens national bird. I love blackbirds.

I have some blackbirds that always visits me. They spend a lot of time in the tree across the road, opposite my outside place. From there they can watch if I go out and fill the feeders. Then they fly over the road and eat at my feeders (when the cats are not around). I like watching the blackbirds.

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Birdfeed in December. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

One of the feeders is in the garden near to bushes and I can watch it from my kitchen windows. That bowl with peanuts flew off last week when it was very windy. I took it indoors for cleaning and haven’t put it back there yet.

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Birdfeed. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

This winter I also feed the blackbirds on the table on my outside place. Here they get peanuts and sunflower-seeds. And another bowl with mixed goodies for birds. Dried flour-worms among other things that the birds like.

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Birdfeed. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

This winter it has been difficult to feed the birds as it until recently has been an extraordinarily warm and wet winter with no snow and plenty of rain. At times the birdfeed was swimming in water and had to be regularly thrown away and replaced…

Last week it snowed. This morning we hade -12.7C°. Warmer now, but still a bit below zero. The birds are hungry.

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Birdfeed with blackbirds and a great tit. Photo:©nini.tjader.2018

I feed them the year around, but particularly in the winter when they really need it. They compete of course for the food with the smaller birds, like the great tits and the blue titas and the occasional nuthatch. And during spring-summer-autumn also some woodpeckers.

Next weekend it is bird-counting weekend in Sweden. That’s a recurrent activity every winter. We count the birds and report them to an organisation that collects the results and by that can see if certain birds in certain areas decrease or increase. I use to participate best I can. I am not a “bird-nerd” but I find them interesting to watch.

The blackbirds are fun to watch. They are always arguing with each other and competing for the food even though there is plenty of it. The females rule and chase everybody else away from the food, male blackbirds and smaller birds alike.

I take pictures of the blackbirds when I can. Both with my iPhone 7 and my Canon G15. Always through the window, which means I don’t get all that close. This time of the year the natural light is also extremely poor so not that easy to get good pictures. But, here are some of my blackbird-pictures. And one of a great tit that took the opportunity to get food when the blackbirds weren’t there.

Posted by nini in Birds, Nature, 0 comments

Squirrel in the garden

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Squirrel eating birdfood. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

We suddenly got a squirrel in the garden.
A hungry squirrel.

He/she (?) loves that birdfood that has fallen to the ground. So far it has not managed to get up on the bird-feeder, and probably won’t. The bird-feeders are put on iron rods that are not climbing-friendly.
The birds tolerate the squirrel. They just move a bit to the side, or eat above him from the feeder. The squirrel only eats pealed sunflower seeds. The seeds from other, larger, bird-feeder has so far not been of interest. Here it is also close to the fence for escape. Probably feels more secure.

I haven’t seen one single squirrel before since I moved here in November 2009. Until this year. One I saw about two weeks ago on my way home from the gym. This is the second one. It appeared a couple of days ago. Very cute.

We just hope the cats won’t hunt it across the road in the traffic and every body getting hurt in the process. I doubt they would be able to catch it though. Also have to keep a closer watch on my open door so it won’t go inside… not that I think it will, but…

Here are some more shots I managed to take. If I get too close it runs off. Each time I approached it it has become easier to get close to it. Reload page for images to sort differently. Click a miniature image to see a larger version.

What happened to the squirrel?

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Squirrel in the garden. Photo:©nini.tjader.2017

The squirrel was last seen on June 4th. A day or two later Gustav, my neighbours cat, chased it up into the nearest birch tree. It hasn’t been seen since.

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Squirrel in the garden, on the fence. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

Posted by nini in Birds, Garden, Garden and Nature, Various, 0 comments

It is cold outside

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Blackbird. Photo. ©nini.tjader.2016

It is cold outside.

After a very warm autumn and what was supposed to be winter, winter finally came the other day. With severe cold and some snow. Not much snow though.

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My busstation. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

The above is my busstation, just outside where I live. One on this side when going down to Tumba, one on the other side where I get off. I live on the ground floor in the 2 story house just behind the red fence against road noise.

This morning we hade -17°C where I live (Tumba, Stockholm-area). It is a few degrees “warmer ” now (-8°C) after a couple of hours where a pale winter sun has been seen.

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Winter outside. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

I am no fan of winter and snow. Snow is nicest in pictures and not in real life.

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Snow. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

Snow can be beautiful though and quite fascinating. Particularly when it is really cold outside.

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Snow on outside chair. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

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The Christmas tree outside. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

The small christmas tree outside looks nice with snow on it. The cold plays badly with the lighting though. Last night it was lit the whole night, and blinking… the whole night. Either it is the cold causing it, or the batteries are about to quit. That would be about the right time for them to run out of power.

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Winterflowers. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

Some of the flowers still stand in the flower beds. All withered and brown, but still stand as there has not been so much snow. Yet.

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Dry grass in snow. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

The grass where Gustav (my neighbors male cat) loves to sleep during the warmer season) is still standing. It looks nice in the snow with frost in it and the sunshine coming through it.

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Winter trees. Photo. ©nini.tjader.2016

I am also fascinated by the trees south of the road. When the sun shines through them on a really cold winters day like today, they are particularly beautiful.

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Winter trees. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

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Winter trees across the road. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

Above is the tree just across the road, straight out from my patio. A very pale blue winter sky.

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Winter om the patio. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

It is winter also on the patio. The the black chairs (one above) can manage snow and cold quite well (of you don’t try to sit on them). They have been kept outside for all years that I’ve had them. The table I normally take off the legs of and lean it toward the wall but this year I didn’t. It can also stand the winter and the snow.

Did I go outside in the cold to take these pictures? No. Most of them are shot through the kitchen windows and the door to the patio. It is too cold outside.

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Gustav’s path in the snow. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2015

Gustav´s path in the snow is still there, or there again. He is not outside much when it is this cold but I can see that he has been here. There is bird-feed in various places, but almost no birds except for the blackbirds. Wonder where to they disappeared …

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Snow on the railing. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

Posted by nini in Birds, Flowers, Garden, Garden and Nature, Nature, winter, 0 comments

The Hungry Birds

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10 kgs of peanuts for the birds. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2015

My hungry birds are hungrier than ever this wet and cold summer. The spring was short of insects for them too because of the cold weather and they suffered. Feeding them was more necessary than ever, and not just to get help from them to get rid of bugs and insects on the garden plants.

I ran out of peanuts over the Midsummer holidays because of a distribution problem at Postnord. Then found that a local shop for dogs and cats sold peanuts for birds… so stocked up with some small bags of it temporarily until I got my ordered 10 kgs which finally arrived two weeks too late…No fault of the company I bought from though. But next time Iäll buy from the local dog and cat shop…

Every time it rains, which lately has been more or less daily or every second day, the birds are in a queue to the peanut feeders…

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Photo: ©nini.tjader.2015

And the woodpeckers (three of them) are still visiting too. No others are allowed onto the feeder when the woodpecker is there.

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Woodpecker. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2015

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Photo: ©nini.tjader.2015

I even got a new visitor I’ve never seen before. A hawfinch. At first looked like a parrot as it was much bigger than the usual guests at the peanut feeder.

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Hawfinch. Photo: ©nini.tjader.201§5

Photo: ©nini.tjader.2015

Photo: ©nini.tjader.2015

The great tit was waiting for it to stop eating but didn’t dare to go there as long as the hawfinch was there. The hawfinch seemed to prefer eating from the ground though, just like som other visitors normally do. They are fun watching.

All photos taken through one of my kitchen windows. I don’t get any closer than that.

hawfinch

Hawfinch. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2015

Posted by nini in Birds, Outside, 0 comments

Birds

birds

Birds in the rain. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2015

This time of the year, when the birds all have chickens, they are hungrier than ever. They hang in groups in the peanut feeders (I have two) an fight for the nuts. Above are a blue tit, a great tit and two tree sparrows. Usually there are also a couple of black birds hunting for nuts on the ground.

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Wood pigeon Photo: ©nini.tjader.2015

Every afternoon two wood pigeons arrive. They do not eat from the feeder but from the ground below it what the others have thrown down.

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Woodpecker. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2015

The woodpecker hangs in the feeder. It always throws nuts onto the ground that the smaller birds take care of. Probably not intentionally, but it has trouble getting them out sometimes. I’ve got three wood peckers this year. One male, two female. I think one of the females might be the chicken from last year.

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Chaffinch. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2015

The chaffinch is one of the birds that eat from the ground only. The chaffinch is a beautiful little bird with all the red feathers it has.

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Chaffinch. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2015

The peanuts won’t last until I get the next delivery – which probably will be next week. The birds are too hungry and I am out of nuts. Have ordered another 10 kgs though. Hopefully the birds will not fly away to other places during the time I will be out of nuts. And if they do, I hope they come back when there are nuts again.

Some think that birds do not need to be fed in the warmer season, but that is wrong. Especially after this years very cold spring there is a shortage of the insects the birds eat. And I want the birds in the garden as they also eat the insects and bugs there are, which means less bugs on the greenery.

Posted by nini in Birds, Garden and Nature, 0 comments