Garden Birds June & July 2008
June can be an exciting month in the garden , as many young birds are fledging. The parents of finches particularly, bring their young to garden feeders.
Look out for young streaky Greenfinches at sunflower hearts and black sunflower feeders. Young Goldfinches have the striking gold and black wing bar but not their parents red and gold head and will be found at niger and sunflower heart feeders. Young Chaffinches resemble their mums in being pale and will also be found at sunflower heart feeders or on the bird table which has mixed seed. When the youngsters first appear they will sit near the feeders constantly begging for food from their parents; but as days go by they will come and feed themselves. By July these youngsters will appear by themselves –except Goldfinches which keep in family groups right through winter.
Young Blackbirds will also be much in evidence, many having been fledged several weeks and are now totally independent. They can still be separated from the adults by their speckly chests and young males start to produce a black tail! Their parents will be busy with a second brood or by July even a third. If the weather is particularly dry, mixed dried fruit, sultanas, suet pellets or as a special treat mealworms are readily appreciated.
Robins will also be busy with their second or third broods and also appreciate a handout of mealworms and suet pellets. Young Robins are a very dull and do not sport their parents red breast until well into Autumn, so as not to be attacked by any adult males including their own father!
Small flocks of young Blue and Great Tits should also be passing through gardens. Their persistent begging from thick vegetation usually betrays their presence. Their parents will come to the peanut and sunflower feeders and then dash off to feed their offspring. However towards the end of June and early July, these youngsters start to come to the feeders by themselves - look out for much paler versions of the adults.
If you are very lucky and have had Great Spotted Woodpeckers using your peanut and fat feeders, look out for their youngsters. They have a very red cap on their heads.
Also much in evidence are groups of noisy Starlings, the juveniles are a dull brown to their parents glossy black. They will eat any scraps you put out.
Small family groups of House Sparrows should also be around also enjoying scraps and visiting the sunflower heart feeders.
Dunnock youngsters are very streaky replicas of their parents and can be seen dashing out from under bushes, feeding on anything they find on the ground-particularly under feeders.
Remember in hot weather to keep your bird baths filled and you will be rewarded by many birds coming to bathe. Starlings and Sparrows often bathe together creating a big spray and emptying the birdbath!
