ED Nature Watch

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Hurrah - two of the moorhen chicks in the Japanese Garden are still alive.

PS - if it turns out to be wrens, you have very keen eyesight L. I've never noticed them having a white bit.

PPS - binoculars on Chrissie list.

[SteveT]

Lidl have some very good 'bins' for ?6 small light and powerful.

Buy now and save till chrissimus.

[Sue]

SteveT Wrote:

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> Lidl have some very good 'bins' for ?6 small light

> and powerful.

>

> Buy now and save till chrissimus.

xxxxxxx

Blimey that's a bargain, have they got them in Peckham?

Hope I'm not becoming a twitcher :))

[louisiana]

louisiana Wrote:

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> Likewise dazeykat. I'm pushing against the big 49

> next month :-S

>

> Will check the RSPB site right now for pied

> wagtails...

Coal tits. A pair of coal tits.

[dazeykat]

That's quite exciting. Didn't even think of coal tits, have never seen them in the garden here in ED. Lucky you Louisiana.

[louisiana]

Thanks dazeykat. It really has been quite thrilling to see them woosh in and out. So unexpected. I guess they must be nesting in there, though there doesn't look as if there would be enough space to swing a... coal tit.

[Sue]

Hey, has anyone ever seen long-tailed tits in ED, they're my favourites.

Used to see a lot of them when I lived in Oundle, they used to come down to my bird feeders, but my garden was backing on to a little wood.

Would love to see them here.

[Sue]

Hey, has anyone ever seen long-tailed tits in ED, they're my favourites.

Used to see a lot of them when I lived in Oundle, they used to come down to my bird feeders, but my garden was backing on to a little wood.

Would love to see them here.

[SimonM]

Have had long-tailed tits very occasionally here....1 day last year there were five of them. Great and blue are the usual ones though, plus some coal.

Saw a nice male chaffinch on his own by Peckham Rye Park lake today, and a coot sat on her nest in the middle of it: then a robin in Dulwich Park. It was still quite wet out (although the rain had been stopped a while) so there seemed to be fewer people around, which of course is always good for seeing birds! :)

[louisiana]

Sue, do you use any feeders or boxes now? I'm current;y looking at feeding and homing options to try to encourage the dears.

But my even more exciting news today was *two* jays. First time. He's found a mate!

[Sue]

louisiana Wrote:

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> Sue, do you use any feeders or boxes now? I'm

> current;y looking at feeding and homing options to

> try to encourage the dears.

>

> But my even more exciting news today was *two*

> jays. First time. He's found a mate!

xxxxx

Hey, I love jays!

I'm embarrassed to admit that I have an empty feeder hanging up in the garden. I used to buy peanuts in bulk from eBay, but the supplier I used doesn't do them any more, I couldn't find anywhere else that was so cheap and I'm not rolling in money at the moment (or ever in fact :)) ).

Also I had a mouse and although I keep the peanuts in a closed plastic container the sack when it's full won't all fit in it, and I've got limited storage space.

However, in my defence, I have an urban jungle of a (very small) garden which has birds nesting in it each year (blackbirds and bluetits usually) and I do garden for wildlife with shrubs with berries etc..

I tried putting up a feeder with nigella seed to try and attract goldfinches, but so far as I know it didn't, thought something ate the seed!!!

[Sue]

Just found she's started doing them again so just ordered more peanuts, only trouble is I have to watch for squirrels ripping open the bird feeder and leaving whole peanuts about which baby birds can choke on.

?29.90 for 25kg, free delivery :)

My mouse died, hope they don't attract more :-S

[SimonM]

>?29.90 for 25kg, free delivery<

That is cheap - are they shelled?

[Sue]

SimonM Wrote:

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> >?29.90 for 25kg, free delivery

> That is cheap - are they shelled?

xxxxxxx

Yes - do a search on eBay, it's item number 120407721929, Economy wild bird peanuts.

Seller is misscardigan (but a search on that won't find it).

Alternatively www.wildbirdfood.uk.com - same seller but not on eBay, but has a very wide range of well-priced bird food.

[louisiana]

Nice info Sue.

Coal tit report: you can hear the little ones chattering in their tiny teeny nest if you get up close.

The comfrey has gone mad and the bumbles are all over it. It's like they're on drugs :-S

[SteveT]

I would dissuade the Jays Louisiana in favour of your coal tits, the Jay's (and Magpies) eat small birds, and rob their nests.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Just back from Peckham Rye. Saw quite a few butterflies that I think were Peacocks, but am not sure. The cow parsley is out v. early and seems to attract them.

Also a pair of mistle thrushes who are very bold and don't mind people or dogs.

[louisiana]

SteveT, the coal tits are front garden dwellers and the jays back garden. They never seem to interfere with each other. It seems to be the blackbirds that hustle the jays, which enjoy their privacy and buzz off if other birds are around.

[TheePope]

This is a bit random but it's nature based so I'll put it here! I'd always wondered what those weeds with pretty blue flowers are that are in abundance at the moment. There's lots of them around ED station at the mo. Anyhow they are called Green Alkanet and the flowers are edible. So now you know!

http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/alkanet.htm

[louisiana]

Good spot TheePope.

In the same plant family are comfrey and borage, also very common. I'm always being told by neighbours that all these are weeds, but all the critters love them to bits so they get to stay. And as you say, the flowers are quite pretty in a wild garden way.

[sanity girl]

Listening to some owls twit twoo outside the window right now. Does anyone else have them nearby? Any idea what types of owls live in London?

[Sue]

TheePope Wrote:

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> I'd always wondered what those weeds

> with pretty blue flowers are that are in abundance

> at the moment. There's lots of them around ED

> station at the mo. Anyhow they are called Green

> Alkanet and the flowers are edible. So now you

> know!

>

xxxxxx

They're very pretty but they're ******* invasive, and their roots go quite deep so they're hard to get rid of. They certainly seem to like it around ED, must be the soil I think.

The leaves are quite similar to foxglove leaves (though less broad and less grey) so if like me you're trying to encourage foxgloves but keep the alkanet to the back of the garden, it can be a problem trying to distinguish them.

Edited to say: Except when they're flowering, obviously.

Interested to hear that the flowers are edible, are they related to borage?

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

And they bloomin' well sting!

Saw another type of butterfly today. According to the Butterfly Trust it is a female Common Blue (but in fact brown).

identify a butterfly

Re the owl, probably a Tawny Owl. They like urban areas and give the familiar "twit twoo" sound.

[SteveT]

I thought it was the femail who twitters and the male who hoo's, or is that the other way around?.

[Sherwick]

SteveT Wrote:

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> I thought it was the femail who twitters and the

> male who hoo's, or is that the other way around?.

are you talking about owls or what? :-S