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Birds singing outside

(40 Posts)
gillybob Sat 18-Jan-20 00:58:44

It’s 00.56 am on Saturday 18th January . It’s pitch dark and yet the birds are singing outside. Maybe like me, they just can’t sleep.

Very strange .

Millie22 Sun 26-Jan-20 16:57:28

I sat down all ready to do the garden birdwatch this morning. Suddenly a sparrowhawk flew in and stayed quite a while so the smaller birds understandably took a while to come back. I'm always surprised by all the different birds we get in the garden so nice to see.

3nanny6 Sun 26-Jan-20 12:19:24

I am not sure if two male robins would fight Ginny 42 because I see many robins in my garden and they are not usually fighting. I see larger fatter ones and then smaller ones which I thought are baby ones. Also there are some foreign robins with the red breast but they have some white speckled feathers going into tail area and mostly come in the winter months then go away again whereas our British robins are here all the year round.
I have many types of the tits , all colours from the blue to green and the coal tits they make me smile to see them swinging off the fat ball treats whereas the robins prefer the shelf with the meal worms or even just to forage.

No more sighting of any sparrows I believe it was a sparrow because it turned around several times and no red breast on it ,it was the right colour for a sparrow. Nice to see if only the once.

vampirequeen Sun 26-Jan-20 08:56:46

Don't get me wrong, lavenderzen. I love robins. They're cheeky, fun to watch and some can get quite friendly with humans. But they're little Jekyll and Hyde characters. Once breeding is on their mind they become very, very territorial and woe betide any other male robin which enters their territory.

gillybob Sun 26-Jan-20 08:53:07

We had blackbirds nesting in our Bay tree last year. There is a patch of lawn that is quite mossy and we enjoyed watching Mr and Mrs take turns in pulling up bits of moss and disappear into the tree with it. We got to watch the young ones fledge and were entertained by the antics of the parents almost pushing the young ones out . Such a joy.

lavenderzen Sun 26-Jan-20 08:40:10

pretty little robins are little thugs

Are they? I think they are lovely and glad we have some around here. Ah well, there is always something or someone isn't there.

vampirequeen Sun 26-Jan-20 08:33:10

We have three robins in the garden. In winter the number increases as the tourists come in from Scandinavia. A twitcher friend told me that they have a different accent but I've never been able to hear any difference. Robins get very territorial once they start thinking about breeding by which time the Vikings have returned home

Ginny42 Sun 26-Jan-20 07:23:47

I noticed what I thought was a sparrow in my garden too 3nanny6. I've not seen one here before. There are two robins with red breasts and I thought they are two males, but wouldn't they usually fight over territory? Could my sparrow be something else?

There are so many tits of different varieties swarming on the fat balls they look like butterflies flitting to and fro. Stunning. I've had a blackbird visit too and they're not common here. I think the wren is wintering in last year's nest, but I could be mistaken. I hear it most mornings and noticed the entrance to the nest has been closed over a little.

timetogo2016 Sat 25-Jan-20 13:42:36

We hear the birds from 2am and we haven`t got the new LED lights so maybe they are naturally waking up early.
Lots of robins/wrens/coal/blue tits/song thrush etc and tbh I love them.

3nanny6 Sat 25-Jan-20 13:26:43

In one of my posts I said I had a lot of noise one weekend from birds and foxes.
The foxes were noisy overnight it was probably when we had all that frost and they must have been hungry. Also yes it was strange to hear the birds chirping during the night although they seem to have gone back to normal again and are not starting until about 5 am.
I for one know our homes are built on their habitats but I do what I can to help them get food and feed them everyday even though the pigeons come for most of the meal worms.
I had such a wonderful sight yesterday for the first time in maybe 10 years I saw a sparrow come to the garden for food and was waiting at the window to see if anymore would come but they didn't. I do see sparrows when I take the dog out but never in the garden it surprised me.

gillybob Sat 25-Jan-20 13:13:24

Ooops sorry quizqueen smile

gillybob Sat 25-Jan-20 13:13:05

I’m not sure anyone was complaining about the birds singing quizquuen confused Just that it’s strange to hear them
In full voice in the middle of the night . smile

quizqueen Sat 25-Jan-20 12:35:47

My street lights go off at 1am. It's a very sad world when some people complain about birds singing or foxes barking. Our homes have been built on their habitats; it's us, and our noises, which are a nuisance to them!!!

gillybob Sat 25-Jan-20 12:09:17

I’m close to the sea glamma so we do usually get a lot of seagulls. They stand guard in the roof of the shed and scare the little garden birds away . I think I must be keeping the local bird population going at the minute with delicious offerings of mealworms, sunflower seeds, general
Seed mixes , fat balls etc. smile

glammanana Sat 25-Jan-20 09:38:48

I heard the birdsong about 3am this morning my robins call in every morning very early they always have done they seem to manage to get enough food from our trays even though they are in competition with the seagulls that land in the garden,we live very close to the River so we have plenty of seagulls they seem to march up and down the garden telling all the other birds that they are in charge.
Just back from filling up the mealworm table for my little friends.

vampirequeen Sat 25-Jan-20 09:32:34

We forget that those pretty little robins are little thugs who only have one thing on their minds lol.

lavenderzen Sat 25-Jan-20 09:31:48

On my walk yesterday, through the trees, a little robin joined me hopping from branch to branch as I called my dog his little head was bobbing from side to side. I love to hear them.

gillybob Sat 25-Jan-20 09:26:00

Aaah missed that vampirequeen so maybe it’s the Robins that are singing in the middle of the night?

gillybob Sat 25-Jan-20 09:25:12

I wonder if it is because it’s so mild that the birds are confused Ginny42?

We seem to have an extra lot of garden birds at the moment although I am topping the bird table up regularly . We have seen quite a few Robins of late, or perhaps just the same ones returning ? Not so many “rats with wings” seagulls around at the moment so giving the garden birds half a chance .

Mind you we have one of the very few proper gardens around these parts as most of my neighbours have paved theirs. Plenty of soil for digging around in and a tree too.

vampirequeen Sat 25-Jan-20 09:20:57

Forgot to say it's usually in Dec and Jan.

vampirequeen Sat 25-Jan-20 09:20:36

Both male blackbirds and robins sing at night. Apparently robins are beginning look for love so presumably blackbirds are doing the same.

NannyJan53 Sat 25-Jan-20 09:17:30

I leave the house at 7am in the week to take my Partner to the train station. It is still dark and the birds are merrily singing away. Only really noticed it this winter.

cornergran Sat 25-Jan-20 07:00:33

Weird here this morning, absolute silence. I’m missing the singing,

Ginny42 Sat 25-Jan-20 06:47:34

I read that the mild winter has been good for the small birds. There is a parcel distribution hub not far away and the lights there are so bright it's like daylight all night. I'm sure the birds are affected by it. I think it's unnecessary for it to be so bright.

A robin sits on the wall near my kitchen window and sings its heart out in the dark each morning. There are a lot of great tits and blue tits this year There are some magpies though, and I worry for the little song birds when they're around.

absent Sat 25-Jan-20 05:22:28

I would rather be woken up by birdsong than by people parking their cars while their "music" thumps out its persistent rhythm at top level.

Juliet27 Sat 25-Jan-20 04:55:37

When I made my first cup of tea at 6 am yesterday I recorded two robins competing with their songs and sent it to my daughter in Sydney. As she says, birds in Australia shout whereas birds in UK sing. Songthrushes are already singing at dusk and blackbirds will be joining in soon, if not already. Don’t forget the RSPB Garden Birdwatch event is this weekend.