The RSPB’s top three ways to help your garden birds in Northern England this winter

Lard, ping-pong balls and holly feature on birds’ Christmas list

The temperature is expected to plummet over the next few weeks with ice and snow spreading across the country, and birds that have benefited from a mild autumn will begin to struggle as the weather changes. The RSPB is asking people to top up their bird feeders and provide fresh water and shelter for wildlife in their gardens during the frosty weather.

The nature charity says there are three key things that birds will need this winter: food, unfrozen water and shelter.

Blackcap eating fatcake

1) In chilly weather birds will appreciate a variety of food, but fatty food will be especially helpful. For example, fat balls, or homemade bird cakes made with lard and packed with seeds, fruit or dried mealworms are great treats to put out in your garden. Kitchen scraps will work well, and a recipe for successfully feeding birds over winter might include chopped fat from unsalted meat, cheese, dried fruit, and pastry.

Grey wagtail on garden pond

2) Unfrozen water for drinking and bathing may be hard for birds to find when there’s been a frost, but with a simple trick you can help to keep a patch of water ice-free. The RSPB recommends floating a small ball, such as a ping-pong ball, on the surface of the water. Even the lightest breeze will keep it moving and stop an area of the water freezing.

Fieldfare and song thrush on pyracantha

3) You can provide shelter with careful planting by planting dense hedges such as privet or hawthorn, or allowing ivy or holly to grow: these all provide great cover for birds to roost in. Nestboxes can also be good roosting sites. Roofs are also a popular spot for birds trying to keep warm. If birds are getting into a hole in your roof and you need to get the hole fixed, consider putting up a nestbox to replace the gap. Find out more about giving nature a home in your garden here: rspb.org.uk/homes

Chris Collett from the RSPB in Northern England said: “People can make a real difference to garden birds and improve their chances of surviving the winter. Birds don’t need much and by providing a supply of food, a patch of unfrozen water and somewhere to shelter from the elements, you will be rewarded with great views of wildlife in your back garden.”

Chris added: “At this time of year it’s also worth pointing out that while birds need fatty foods, you shouldn’t put out fat from a roasting tin, such as turkey fat on Christmas day, as this runny fat can coat birds’ feathers, making it difficult for them to move or fly.”

The RSPB’s annual Big Garden Birdwatch, the world’s biggest wildlife survey, returns on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 January 2015. To take part, people are asked to spend just one hour at any time over Big Garden Birdwatch weekend noting the highest number of each bird species seen in their gardens or local park at any one time. They then have three weeks to submit their results to the RSPB, either online at www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch or in the post. The Big Garden Birdwatch in 2014 revealed that house sparrows were the most recorded birds despite their falling numbers, and for the first time great spotted woodpeckers appeared in the top twenty. The full results can be viewed online at rspb.org.uk/birdwatch

The RSPB offer a large selection of bird food and feeders in their online shop rspb.org.uk/shop

Greenacres revisited and an invitation

Nipped into Greenacres this morning 

(https://www.greenacreswoodlandburials.co.uk/park/rainford/)

Emma woods Burial grounds

What a lovely serene place this is, and being enhanced all the time; today the grounds staff were busy planting out an orchard – to the left of the main drive in front of Emma’s Cottage, good news for the local wildlife.  I’m also told they have 2 new owl boxes to put out, pending RSPB advice and assistance on best places to situate.

On arrival I stocked up their bird table and went for a stroll. The first thing you notice as you head out is not necessarily what you see but what you hear, Grace wood was alive with the calls of long tailed tits, 

http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/l/longtailedtit/index.aspx 

Long tailed tit in spring - Laura

intermingled were also the voices of nuthatch, robin and blue tit. On closer inspection you could see these pretty lollipops flitting around the trees and hedges.

No sign of the squabbling kestrels I’d seen in September,

http://liverpoolrspb.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/giving-nature-home-at-greenacres.html in fact no raptors in the hour I was there, just plenty of jackdaws, crows and wood pigeons flying over. Never mind at treat was in store, ‘Redwings’, I must have seen well over 100 fly over Grace to Emma woods in several flocks, some stopped to feast on the shrub laden berries on the woodland boundary, before moving on across the fields towards the East Lancs Rd. What Splendid birds these Scandinavian thrushes are, with their distinctive rusty red markings under their wings - often heard before seen, especially of an evening during migration.

Redwing in winter - Laura

http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/r/redwing/index.aspx

In the grounds of Emma woods, there was plenty of other bird activity, blackbirds and robins, coal, long tailed, blue, great and coal tits flitting through the trees & hedgerows. Nuthatches were in good voice and clearly visible wandering up the tree trunks. A wren was searching through a log pile close by. The best was to come though a call alerted me to a gt spotted woodpecker hopping around the branches above, then a familiar waggy flight drew my attention to the small pond in this area of the wood, here a grey wagtail was skimming over the surface, great birds to watch a while.  

Tree sparrow  Andy Hay -RSPB

Leaving the woods and heading down the path towards Emma’s cottage, the well established mixed hawthorn, elder hedge was attracting more blackbirds, robins, tits, redwing and I’m glad to report - the tree sparrows.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/t/treesparrow/index.aspx

Additionally Chaffinch, pied wagtail and collared dove around the cottage grounds.

Back to the office to pick up some info on the forthcoming Christmas craft fair, a pleasant little excursion to a special place. 

https://www.greenacreswoodlandburials.co.uk/park/rainford/events/?mth=11&view=5&yr=2014

Come along and support  the local Willowbrook hospice, pick up a chrissie pressie!  all whilst doing a spot of  secret bird watching!

Willowbrook Craft Fair Sunday 02/11/14

Greenacres

Blindfoot Road, Rainford, St Helens
Merseyside
WA11 7HX

Doors open 10:00am – 2:30pm

Lots of stalls:

Anime, Hand made jewellery.

Dawn Jackson glassware.

Novelty Nicknacks - stocking fillers?

Angel creations,  bookmarks and cards

Vintage & artist creative photography cards

Willowbrook Hospice Merchandise and Tombola (http://www.willowbrook.org.uk/)

Hazles gifts & Non stoppers supporter group  (100% profit to Willowbrook)

Andrea brown Crafts

Bab-b bunting and vintage crafts

Sweet treats

Cake delights by Karen – beautifully baked cakes

Bill Chester Wood turning

Namaste healing, incense and candles

Charlwood crafts

Ann’s woolly crafts, knitted goodies

St Helens soroptomist club, knitted poppies

Staff from the Tartan Tea rooms, Rainford will be selling soup, sandwiches and refreshments throughout the day.

Laura 

Another Big Garden Birdwatch

So how did your Garden Birdwatch go?

I have to admit to being a little disappointed in my visitors today. Although I don’t appear to have been alone, for many on the RSPB community forums it was a case of the minute the snow went, the bird went with it!

http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/getinvolved/birdwatch/f/3711/t/95161.aspx

Most of my usual friends were about,  although  some of these were down on expected numbers.

The Garden seemed unusually quiet today. The weather was fine; the heavy snow of Friday evening had thawed. It was windy though and those arriving seemed easily spooked especially by gulls flying over? I assumed there may have been a Sparrowhawk about it, but if it was I didn't see it.

My Count

Starlings    6    (Usual 9+)

Blackbirds  3   (Recent 8+)

Sparrows  16+  (Normal, but difficult to count very skittish).

Blue tit  2     (This year's nestbox pair- female roosting)

Great tit  2    (Another pair for the garden)

Robins  2    (Another pair for the garden)

Dunnock 1   (Usual 2)

Pigeon 1   (Missing the rest of his pesky flock thankfully)

Goldfinch 1  (Recent 7 up to 14)

Coal tit 1     (Normal)

Jackdaw 1   (Infrequent 1/2)

Missing recent daily visitors: Wren, Grey Wagtail, Magpie, Song Thrush, Jay, Chaffinch.

A moment with the ones that stayed away.

Pondside mealworm eater - Grey Wagtail

Water louse on the menu for our pond foraging Wren

A long awaited winter visitor, arrived in the snow on
 21/01/13,  dined on apples.

Monkey nuts, a Jay's favourite  snack

Well that was my day, how about you?
Laura

Return of the Wagger

Glad  to report my winter visitor has finally dropped into Bimson's nook.
This Grey Wagtail has been visiting my garden pond area for the last few yrs, knows I can't resist buying in live mealworms to put out!!
Happy day.

(Are you listening Cherry?)

Laura

Liverpool members. Site visit report

Seeing as it was a nice sunny day and I had chosen a good day to take off work! I had a quick  looksy at one of  'Stores' favourite local patches today; Mab Lane Community Woodlands (site guide to follow). Similar in concept to Huyton Lane Wetlands , a neglected site has been developed for the community  www.rspbliverpool.org.uk/Huyton%20Lane%20Wetland%20Park.htm

This is a little wild oasis between housing estates.  The new woodland links two old waterlogged sports fields, Mab lane fields and the Backfield. Situated close to Stockbridge village aka Cantril Farm this has had a reputation of an area of unsociable behaviour and I was a little tentative in my exploration, however I only came across a couple of dog walkers, cyclists and  walkers probably on their way to Tesco! 

Open grassland, natural grasses(wildflowers in summer) boggy in places with shrub/woodland around edges and  an interior area alongside the 'Brook'. 'Stores' reckons Kingfishers are here but I wasn't so lucky today. The Brook is running fast and is clear but I didn't see any fish or supporting pond weed so I'm not sure what the fisher is eating! There is a small reed bed by the brook. 

Good paths are laid through the park  leading to several entrances. 

The woodland has been planted  by the Forestry commission/Mersey forest's access to nature project with a myriad of trees including patches of Silver birch, Beech, Oak and Conifer. An impressive trees - 20,000 were planted between 2009-2010. I didn't notice any berry bearing trees? I'll take another look. 

.  Birds noted today. 5 raucous Jays fighting over Acorns in the large Oak at the  Deyesbrook lane entrance.

Charming Goldfinches, Great tit and long tailed tits, Blackbird, Robin,Wren, Magpie, Crow. 5 Mallards, a Moorhen and a Grey Wagtail were on the Brook.

Website: http://www.mablane.com

In 2008  Chris Storey commented: 

'I think shallow ponds,walkways and foot paths to get around the bogged areas would be a good idea. I would also like to see a wild flower meadow to attract the insects which in turn would bring in more birds, also blue bells planted in the woodlands would bring a bit of colour. Possibly a bird feeding station and a screen to watch from.In all i think it is a great idea to see a disused field put to some use.

No feeding station,probably not going to happen. 1 shallow pond I think.  Bluebells - Chris?

Laura