We had Archie with us so we wanted a decent walk, we decided to take the Riverbank Trail, a path which runs beside the River Aire.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
A very big bird must have made this nest. There were a few of them clustered together in the tree tops, all packed with leaves.
.jpg)
We took a break at the Village Bay Viewpoint to look out on the lake.
.jpg)
.jpg)
It's the Big Garden Birdwatch this weekend, so don't forget to register. You'll get a free guide and a £5 RSPB shop discount. All you have to do is spend an hour counting birds in your garden, how simple can it be?
I'm stocked up and ready to go.
.jpg)
I always offer a variety of food in the garden, mixed seed, sunflower hearts, niger seed and suet blocks, as well as tasty treats from time to time. Offering an assortment of food encourages different species to visit. It's just as important to have water on offer too.
I hope I get plenty of visitors this weekend.
That looks like an enjoyable walk, and it's always good to see and hear the birds.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birdwatch! Flighty xx
Yes, it's a really lovely walk. Plenty of interesting things to see and Archie gets to stretch his legs.
DeleteYour photo's are lovely and I bet Archie had a good time too. My 3 four paws have been very lazy of late with the weather we've had of late. Hopefully the weather will be nice enough to get them out again this weekend. Hope your bird counting is a success. The land is so flat and open where we are that we don't get many birds as neighbours have cats and they are too vulnerable in our garden.
ReplyDeleteArchie loves to go on an off the lead walk. He's really good and never runs off, usually walking between the two of us, but it gives him a bit of freedom for a sniff around. It's a shame you don't get many birds around. There's lots of cats here too, but I've positioned the feeding station away from places where cats can hide or climb and it seems to do the trick.
DeleteI got a lovely feeding station with some of my birthday money and I dont think the birds have found it yet! Either that or it could be the fact the neighbourhood cats seem to think its their playground! I'm hoping if it snows the birds will come.
ReplyDeleteIt can take a while for the birds to find a new feeding station, though I don't think they're around as much at the moment anyway. The mild winter has meant that food isn't as scarce for them as in other years so you may find they use it more if we get a very cold spell. We have lots of cats around here too, but it doesn't seem to stop the birds.
DeleteThat could very well be a squirrel's nest Jo.
ReplyDeleteWhen the leaves have all fallen here it is not unusual to reveal as many as five or six nests in one tree... like condo living I guess.
Thanks for sharing your lovely walk.
Susan x
I never even considered a squirrel's nest, but I've just googled and it does look very similar, I think you could be right. I think I'll read up a bit more on the subject.
DeleteThat was a lovely walk by the look of it. That is the second time this week Fairburn Ings has come up. We also saw something on TV (oh, probably Helicopter Heroes which were reruns). Hope you see and get some good photos of the birds that visit your garden. Take care.
ReplyDeleteWe're only a ten minute drive away from Fairburn Ings, it's a lovely place to go for a walk. We often used to take Daniel and Eleanor when they were little to feed the ducks there. I'm hoping that I have plenty of feathered visitors at the weekend so that there's lots to count.
DeleteLove the bird food! I hope it works for getting more birds in the garden.
ReplyDeleteI think the birds will love it more, I hope they do anyway. I've got a few treats for them for the weekend hoping that they'll entice them in.
DeleteI was thinking about bird watching today when I was watching the birds in our garden, sadly I don't think that I will get to participate in the bird watch though. Hope that you have fun doing it and that you see lots of birds. xx
ReplyDeleteI've missed doing it some years too. It would be lovely if I had an unusual visitor to the garden this weekend, I can't see it happening though.
DeleteLooks like a great walk, Jo. I must try and remember about the bird count. I've noticed a definite increase in wee birds this last week. :o)
ReplyDeleteI've put a note in my diary so I don't forget to count the birds, I'm getting more and more forgetful these days. I too noticed an increase in birds visiting the garden this week, I think it's because we've had some colder weather. I just hope they stick around for the weekend.
DeleteWe've been doing this for several years now. My husband is a Scout leader and suggested the Scouts did it too and it was very successful
ReplyDeleteIt's a great activity for groups such as Scouts to get involved with. It's important to catch children while they're young and educate them about the decline of certain species. Events like The Big Garden Birdwatch allows them to get involved and really do something to help, so well done to your husband for getting them all involved.
DeleteI missed a walk with Bing yesterday so we are heading off to the beach shortly......after purchasing 2 new balls - we do go through a few.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to have the beach on my doorstep for walking Archie, he loves it there. He's not so keen on balls though, he prefers his fluffy toys, he's such a softie.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Jo, nice pictures! Thanks for the tip, will go and register, we get a lot of birds in the garden and they enjoy the food we fill the feeders up with, its just keeping the squirrel away!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that we're not bothered by squirrels here. My mum and dad used to be plagued by them and no matter what precautions they took buying squirrel proof feeders and hanging the feeders away from fences or anything squirrels could climb up, they always managed to get what they wanted.
DeleteLovely pictures of your walk, it still looks very wintery though. I need to fill my bird feeders too, you've reminded me!
ReplyDeleteI think some places are looking more wintery than others, Fairburn doesn't have many signs of spring, but other places have spring bulbs emerging and others still have plants blooming from last year. Your birds won't be very happy if they find your feeders empty.
DeleteLovely walk Jo.
ReplyDeleteWe put a variety of food out, but they seem to favour the black sunflower seeds. Of those that go to the mixed seed, many of them throw lots of it to the ground until they get to the things they prefer!
It sounds like you've got birds with a discerning palate. I've never bought black sunflower seeds, I usually get the sunflower hearts. It's funny how different birds favour different things.
DeleteI bet that walk blew the cobwebs away.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the birds enjoy their visits to your garden.
Lisa x
It looked quite cold before we set off, but it's surprising how you don't feel it once you get walking. The birds definitely have a good fill when they visit my garden.
DeleteWe did the RSPB Birdwatch on Saturday and chose the completely wrong hour to do it. We get Magpies, Wood Pigeons, Blackbirds, the usual Sparrows and Starlings, we've spied a Woodpecker, Jay and a Sparrow Hawk, and we've got our own Robin who lives near one of our sheds. However, on Saturday the weather was completely against us. The sky started out blue, but then it proceeded to rain. The wind got up and the rain turned into hail. Thunder and lightening followed close after. Needless to say - no birds.
ReplyDeleteOur weather was just the same most of the weekend. We had torrential downpours on Saturday and some hail storms too, then on Sunday we had persistent rain, no good for the Big Garden Birdwatch. I did spy a couple of goldfinches and some sparrows but even the starlings didn't venture out for the suet blocks I'd hung and they usually have them finished in a matter of hours.
Delete