Quote from: Last Hussar on 28 January 2021, 05:57:27 PM
Alternatively, as this is a Gentlefolk's club, for Gentlefolk, we should just bust you back down to Lance Corporal.

Discipline gone soft.

Back in my day, and outburst like that would be grounds for the Johnny Walker and the Webley.

Quote from: ianrs54 on 28 January 2021, 03:43:53 PM
Now I only got 9 posts to promotion !

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Steady on. Soon be a Field Marshall at this rate.   

 

Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on 28 January 2021, 09:45:26 PM
Discipline gone soft.

Back in my day, and outburst like that would be grounds for the Johnny Walker and the Webley.

I'm not wasting whisky on FSN.  Not even Johnny Walker.

I just spent a pleasurable hour this morning taking part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, which is the World's largest wildlife survey. I think I've been taking part for 15+ years, but sad to see a decline in some species that visit our garden even in this short space of time .

Von & I have done the same, Steve.

What you say about the decline in some species is SO true..

Birds that have disappeared from our garden, over the 17 years we've been here.....

Green finches.....Haven't seen one of those for well over 10 years.....(OK, there was a very nasty 'bug' that virtually wiped those out.)
Siskins....Not seen a single one of those for roughly the same amount of time.
Goldcrests.....Same again.

We usually see a handful of Bullfinches and Goldfinches (at the right time of year)....This year none......Same for Wood pigeons

Buzzards.....WERE fairly plentiful......Only seen a few this year......Same for the Red Kites......Ditto Ravens.

We seem to have plenty of Chaffinches, Sparrows, Magpies, (Bloody) Feral pigeons, Crows....and a fair number of Blue/Great/Coal Tits.....A few Blackbirds, Robins, Nuthatches, Jays, and Greater spotted woodpeckers.

Haven't seen a single Thrush this year.....Though there are a decent number of Starlings at the mo'.

Cheers - Phil

Greenfinches and Chaffinches we used to see almost daily when we first moved here, but when new owners on neighbouring properties got rid of loads of trees, shrubs etc, they pretty much disappeared, along with the effects of that horrible virus. We get loads of wood pigeons now, starling numbers are up but rarely pop into the garden, many more jackdaws than before, ditto magpies. We have had a blackcap again, which is nice and a goldcrest last week, which I haven't seen for a few years. Happy to be doing our bit for wildlife in the garden, but without other gardens doing the same, we feel like an isolated outpost of nature .

I'd forgotten about jackdaws, Steve.

They seem to come down every week or so....not every single day.
More often when they've got young.....which might be in few weeks time.

Only ever SEEN one cuckoo.....Though you can hear them at the right time.....Also hear grasshopper warblers....but never seen one of those, either.

We used to get house martins, when we lived in Notts......never seen a single one here....the swallow population has declined since we've been here.

Until last year, we'd have up to four nests in the outbuildings......last year....just the single one.
Not seen a sparrow hawk for a while either.

Cheers - Phil

Lots of:
Sparrows, Blackbirds, Magpies, Rooks, Jackdaws Woodpigeons, Starlings (but no big murmurations round here these days). Swallows, Housemartins in summer, but not as many as normal last year. Not in the garden but roundabout; Buzzards (not as many as ten years ago), Barn Owls,  Herons. Cormorants down on the estuary.
For some weird  reason Blue Tits have disappeared round here. Maybe the cat population?
There are still Robins and the odd Song Thrush still comes in the garden.
We've never had many finches of any sort round here that I've noticed but I haven't seen any for a couple of years.
Still Linnets, Pied Wagtails, Ducks (mainly Mallards) the odd Kestrel.
We've had a massive increase in Herring Gulls recently - spend a lot of time fighting with the Buzzards.

I had blue tits, sparrows, jackdaws (lots), magpies, starlings, wood pigeons, a couple of crows and a robin this morning. Usually there is a couple of collared doves who show up for breakfast, of course not today when I was actually counting them!

When I look out my window whilst working, I see goldfinches, blue tits, sparrows, starlings, collared doves, pigeons, sparrows and herring gulls.

I'd forgotten about Dunnocks....get quite a few of those.

I tried to take some pics.....so we could count everything on the PC screen....much easier.
The light was so bad, it looked like I'd switched the camera to black and white mode.

Cheers - Bill Oddy.

Quoteof course not today when I was actually counting them!

Yep, had something similar today with a Wren, Blackcap and Goldcrest show up, whilst I was having a coffee break!

Mostly coal, blue and great tits here. Plenty of robins. Blackbirds, wrens and dunnocks. Big wood pigeons and magpies. Sparrows sometimes I think. Had a lot of starlings a little while back but not seen them since. Sometimes get a clatter of seagulls but they don't really bother to land in the garden. I've definitely learned to identify a lot more birds this past year!

We were taking part as well, with great/coal/blue tits, loads of dunnocks, blackbirds, starlings, a lone robin, sparrows and goldfinches.  Plus crows and pigeons but they're not as much fun.  We've just started digging out the garden ready for a new shed so the birds might not be friends with us for a while now.