February Blog..The one with tits in it!
February Blog…
The one with tits in it…And some finches and a few thrushes!!
At this point in time birds fascinate me far more than fishing does, the weather is shit and the river is out of the banks and running through like a steam locomotive, taking my mojo with it. 
I have no inclination to sit outside in the pissing down rain on the off chance that the Delkims will make a noise and I will avoid frost bite, the only highlight of my last session was a robin sitting on the butt of my rod begging for scraps.
Nope, the fishing has been dire although I did manage to snag a couple of pike the week previous with one going to 36lb 40z so that was nice…Although I have to be honest I have my doubts about the weight as the fish was weighed on this strange looking chaps scales, he seemed to know what he was saying so I just left it at 
that.
Although I did have one later in the day that weighed in at just over 7lb and looked to be a little bit bigger if I am honest, the bite it gave me was far more savage as well with the rod tip doing a “three foot twitch” more accustomed to what I would expect from a barbel.
Anyway that is all in the past, what is filling my days at the moment is bird watching…or more specifically sitting in my conservatory watching the birds come to my feeding station and when I say feeding station I don’t mean one of the fancy wrought iron jobs that cost about £70, no mine is two logs and 
an old maggot sieve with a few bargain basement feeders from Wilkos…
Don’t knock it, it does the job! In fact it does the job quite spectacularly with dozens of birds visiting the garden every hour to get a free feed and some of the birds have been quite stunning.
I am now getting a small flock of Goldfinch every day that number anywhere from 6-10 and tagging along with these are a few Redpoll, a bird that has seen its
numbers crash dramatically over the last 40 years so anything I can do to make their lives a bit easier is all good in my opinion.
The most frequent visitors however have to be the tits, now I have always been a “tit” man, they fascinate me with their bubbly
nature and ability to bounce from feeder to feeder with ease.
Up to now I have had the pleasure of playing host
to the Blue, Great and Coal Tits, I haven’t seen any of their smaller cousins the long Tailed Tits but they don’t strike me as the type of bird that would frequent my feeding station, preferring instead to stay over the back around Car Brook feeding in the trees and bushes besides the river…But I live in hope, they may pay me a visit.
Another bird 
that has frequented the table is the Bullfinch, it has to be said that the
Bullfinch is one of the proudest looking birds we have in the UK, they are so bold. The males in particular with their red chest are just stunning to look at.
It is a few years since I have seen a Bullfinch at close quarters so it is making a very enjoyable change for me to see them on a daily basis. It is tremendous the amount of wildlife that can be coaxed into the garden with just a few feeders of free food.
I have feeders that offer, Peanuts, Nigger seeds, Sunflower hearts and a mixed seed with meal worms plus the ubiquitous fat-balls.
The fat balls seem to attract everything, whereas the nigger is a little bit of a niche seed that goes down rather slowly in comparison to the sunflower hearts that I have to replenish everyday.
The only downside to having this feeding station has been the odd visit from squirrels and rats.
I have had to take measures to control the rat issue and I don’t see that they will be a problem in the long-term, several will no longer be a problem in the short term either.
As for the squirrel…
Lets just say “They makes for good eatin’”
Anyway that’s almost enough from me for now, fingers crossed the weather improves and remember, if the river conditions are dangerous stay away from the frigging rivers, in certain parts of the country the emergency services have enough on looking after the needs of the poor unfortunate souls affected by this outlandish weather, they don’t need to be out rescuing silly bastards that should know better.
STOP THE PRESS!!
!
I press publish and then look out of the window….
Tit species number 4 arrives in force!!
The Sikh’s come to the rescue!
I have always liked the Sikhs and if truth be told I have actually thought about becoming a Sikh myself, I like the way they think, I like the way they are a constructive asset to the UK or whichever other country they reside in, you very rarely see a Sikh with his hand out asking for free money.
They are also very integrated into the UK whilst at the same time keeping a distinct identity and so it came as no surprise to see the Sikh khalsa Aid on the front-line helping out thier fellow countrymen who are in need unlike Oxfam that says the UK is too rich to require help and would rather concentrate its efforts in Syria and Sudan
http://news.sky.com/story/1208653/disaster-charity-khalsa-aid-helps-flood-victims
If anyone would like to support Khalsa Aid in the future instead of giving to Oxfam here is a link to their site.
And whilst on the subject of helping our own, how about petitioning the Government to divert some of the 11 BILLION in foreign Aid towards those worst affected by these floods
Speak Soon!!
Lee
Agree: it is not all about the fishing when it is so cold and wet. Never had a redpoll on my feeders, but do get blackcaps which are rather nice, and all the others species you mention, plus others. Long tailed tits are odd, sometimes they will be absent for weeks, and then will be around for a few days. They will come, you just need to be looking at the right time. Keep feeding the sunflower hearts and the numbers of goldfinches and greenfinches will rocket. I get up to 35/25. Mine though get scattered occasionally by one of the pair of sparrowhawks that then regularly pose for photos.