There are many bramblings (bjørkefink) in the garden at the moment and yesterday I noticed them eating nettle seed for the first time! I’ve previously recorded bullfinches (dompap) on nettles. So, yet another of many reasons to have a large patch of nettles in the garden in view of the house: others include nutritious food for us, nettle water fertiliser, fibre, food for butterfly larvae…
This gives me an idea! Next year I’ll gather nettle seed outside the garden and put it on the bird feeder. Try to reduce the huge amounts of bird seed that are bought every year by providing as much natural food as possible! Bird seed is produced in large monocultures (mostly non-organically). I wonder how many birds are displaced or killed in the process?
Tag Archives: bjørkefink
Bramblings
As two years ago, large numbers of bramblings (bjørkefink) are overwintering here. This is probably related to it being a beech mast year (bøkefrø). There’s a large copper beech in the neighbour’s garden and it was full of mast. No surprise then that there’s a flock of up to 20 bramblings in the garden:
The return of the waxwings
Most of the thrushes were gone today, replaced by a flock of about 120 waxwings (sidensvans), picking up from where the thrushes left off!
The first two videos show waxwings eating apples opened up by fieldfares and blackbirds yesterday and also eating guelder rose (krossved) berries, so far not touching the elderberries (svarthyll).
Earlier in the day, the waxwings were hunting insects on birch trees and occasionally high into the air in pursuit of insects:
…and the morning after, they had discovered the yew berries!
…and on unharvested redcurrants (rips)….with a fieldfare (gråtrost) and brambling (bjørkefink) at the end of the video!
Brambling song in the garden
I was woken to the simple single-note song of a brambling (bjørkefink) atop a spruce tree in the garden! This is such a characteristic sound of Norwegian wilderness in summer!
Large brambling flock
A large flock of bramblings (bjørkefink) in the garden this afternoon, at least 120! This is double the highest winter flock ever recorded in Malvik, but small compared to a flock of 350 seen in February in the north of the county! Large numbers of brambling have overwintered in Norway this winter!
Birds in the garden 7th February 2018
Marsh tit (løvmeis)
Yellowhammers (gulspurv), part of a flock of 11 birds with a brambling (bjørkefink)
Hawfinch (kjernebiter) with nuthatch (spettmeis) at the end!
Bird diversity in snow
Fieldfare (gråtrost) in snow
Siskins
Every day there’s something different birdwise to see in the garden. This morning, a flock of some 20 siskins (grønnsisik) were looking for crumbs under the feeder, but they were soon gone again! (together with bramblings / bjørkefink and redpolls / gråsisik in the videos)
Large Brambling flock
Over 50 bramblings (bjørkefink) under the bird feeder this morning!
More December birds
House sparrows (a flock of 25 taking turns on the bird feeder), with brambling and hawfinch (gråspurv, bjørkefink og kjernebiter):
Great spotted woodpecker (flaggspett):
Bramblings in the garden
A flock of some 30 bramblings (bjørkefink) were breakfasting in the garden this morning :)
