Tags
Birds at Ninewells Wood, Birds in Ninewells wood, Feeding station, Ninewells Wood, Species seen at Catbrook Wood
Well its been a bad Autumn for road kill, so a good Autumn for squirrels. Last year I picked up quite a few and so far this year just one. I did see a wild boar at the side of the road a few weeks ago but it was in quite a busy place and I had to be somewhere so did not stop. Next time I passed it had gone, no doubt to be turned into sausages and pate. I was able to take the left overs from a village hog roast up to the wood a couple of months back and that was appreciated by the local Buzzard, Crows and the Magpies, possibly foxes and others.
Throughout the year I have been taking bird seed up and scattering it on the logs that form my so called ‘feeding station’ This has resulted in regular visits by Robins, Hedge Sparrows, Magpies and Crows but very little else. I have occasionally seen a vole dash out and grab a seed and then dash back under cover. There are various other birds about, during the summer Chiff Chaffs and /or Willow Warblers were often in the vicinity, also in the trees quite often, there were Blue Tits, Great Tits and sometimes Long-tailed Tits but they never left the trees and partook of the bird seed on offer at the feeding station.
There are various spots in the Forest of Dean where locals put out food for the birds, one in particular near Speech House is a hive of activity and you can park close by and watch a multitude of birds in and out visiting the old fallen Oak to feed on the bird food. The list is long but includes all the Tits, Nuthatches, Chaffinch Stock and Collared Doves, Great Spotted Woodpeckers Starlings and many more.
Nuthatch at Speech House Feeding Station.
So I am hoping to create a similar set up in my wood, but it is slow to develop, possibly I am not feeding the birds regularly enough although the Robin has learnt that when my truck turns up food is at hand, He/she arrives within seconds of me getting there and the Crows are not normally far behind, not so the other birds Tits and Nuthatches etc.
So I have placed a bird feeder in a tree close by, I am sort of against making the wood too much ‘garden like’ so I wont be adding a bird table and coconut shells stuffed with fat and peanuts.
On some of our local walks I have come across several Crab Apple trees and this year there are lots of apples on the ground so I have collected some and randomly placed these around and on my feeding station. They have been nibbled and I suspect it is Field Mice and Voles but I did spot a Redwing the other day so it could attract these and Blackbirds and Fieldfares. There was also a Green Woodpecker about last week.
Ninewells Wood/Catbrook Wood 
Are you against planting any native plants for the birds like hawthorn or holly?
Well no, I have not introduced any species into our wood which are not already there. Now there is quite a lot of Holly, so I dont think adding more would make much difference, However ther are only a couple of Hawthorns and I had thought that increasing the number would be a good idea so now you have prompted me I will get to it and see what I can do. All the best A and A.
🙂