The garden has always been aimed at attracting wildlife and it has been interesting watching the changes over the years. We’ve put up several bird boxes and a bat box, but we’ve never seen any of them get more than an inspection. We do have plenty of trees and dense laid hedges.
Knowing the pros and cons, we decided that feeding birds, especially in winter, was beneficial overall and allowed us to keep an eye on changes. They provide entertainment as well.
I’ve been filming them from the house using an old smart phone and added lenses. I set the camera going, then edit later. When editing, I mainly just select, focus in, slow down or speed up to capture the interest as well as I can. I am just about to rearrange them into groups and this page will have the latest ones on.
See also the Bird Archives here
- Nest Box – Finally
It is nearly 20 years since I moved into this house and there were old, unused, nest boxes here then. Those were put up by Ruth who arrived here 10 years earlier. Despite that we’ve put up several since. One was hidden in a conifer about 20m away from where I film with an old Fairphone 3 but just about visible from that angle. Then wood pigeons nested and played trampolines on one of the branches and the following winter snows made a big gap in that part of the conifer.
Still no sign of activity, other than a quick investigation. Suddenly from another room, I spotted a bird going in, so rushed up and set things up. Over several days there have now been multiple sightings. Hurrah.
The first video is the best so far. The second just illustrates the effect of a change of wind direction on temperatures and thus insect activity in early April.
- Marathon Small Bird Session
- Fattening up for Winter
I happened to pass the window where the camera phone is set up when there was a rush of birds. Some bits are speeded up others slowed down. Originally they were there for around six minutes after I pressed the button.
- Accidental Time-Lapse
A clumsy fingered mistake edited to remove some gaps in activity.
- Long Tail Tits and a Robin