My Balcony Bird World

[Jacksparrow]

The general advice for siting bird boxes is to chose a site which faces away from direct sunlight and away from the direction of the prevailing wind. My thought is to put one up away from where you have the most activity and see how it goes. The birds will decide if it matches their needs and you may have to wait some time to get an answer. You could put the second box out in the garden where it might attract birds not so likely to come close to the house. There is not really a guaranteed correct answer to your question but it is really a matter trial and error. In a way it is fun to play around but it is a game of patience.

[Charles B]

The general advice for siting bird boxes is to chose a site which faces away from direct sunlight and away from the direction of the prevailing wind. There is not really a guaranteed correct answer to your question but it is really a matter trial and error. In a way it is fun to play around but it is a game of patience.

Thanks for your input Jacksparrow!
I was waiting for a good, playfull flock of young Great and Blue Tits to visit my balcony but got tied up in household chores and then fell asleep.

But I was awakend from my nap by the ruckass of birds and the loud, hollow sound of a Great Tit pecking open his sunflower seed atop the new bird house. And later other birds were buzzing around back there too. I really need a good BirdCam on the marquies support pole!

[Charles B]

I found a good way of 'recycling' odd pieces of suet-ball which eventually drop out of my nine-ball suet-cage hanger onto the balcony deck:

I put them in a clear, plastic meat tray and set it up ontop of the pergola structure up by my FM ring antenna. It's indeed popular with younger or more timid birds who can't compete so well for my other two feeding locations during 'rush hour'.

And not only that, 'Maggie' the female Magpie flys in and takes whole big chunks with her back to her nest or roost! (Take out food! )

Of course I bring all my feeders in shortly after dusk and set them back out again shortly before dawn. This solved my aggrevating rat visits.
I had first tried my best to play 'Pieded Piper of Hamelin' with a block flute which failed!

[Charles B]

The weather is Heavenly today, my wife still has vaction time off from her hospital job so we were again out in the garden today.

Our dining room window from the balcony and wild plum tree.


From our dining room looking west through the soiled window screen.


A new wild plum tree which came up on its own (like our other one) in a good spot. I used to chuck prune pits out there!

The rose mentioned in my other thread 'Last Rose of Summer 2025' has now been transplanted.


The tough old gooseberry roots have now been removed and the soil tilled under 30 cm for a new tulip bed. This spot was mentioned in my other thread under 'Rats! I've got a rat'.

[Charles B]

Here are some more of my garden photos from the 16th of May 2025. May was really beautiful and that's when the flock of Blue and Grest Tits started visiting my balcony and got me totally into birds!

My neighbor's cherry laurel bushes where most of my Blue and Great Tits live. Plus some of my white 'Beauty of Moscow' lilac blooms to the right.


My white 'Beauty of Moscow' lilac out back where the Tits and Chiffchaffs hang out as their 'club' before and after they feed on my balcony.


Another view of the 'Beauty of Moscow' lilac which buds out pink and then turns white. Plus a view of
our bird bath with fountain. And my first attempt of making a bird feeder out of a plastic tray held on by cable ties.


My favorite lilac 'Nadeshda' (Russian woman's name 'Hope'). It is very fragrant and the first to bloom when I need hope of spring!


My 'Happy Charles' lilac


My 'Madame Lemoine lilac


And my horribly thorney 'Theodore Reimers' blackberry brambles.
Also my red and black currant bushes are in the photo somewhere.

[Charles B]

This is unbelievable!!!
My wife and I dug out the gooseberry bush roots and tilled the ground deep in front of our balcony today due to previous rat problems there.

Now it was 19:25 and sunset was at 19:10 but it was still light out. So I was out on the balcony bringing in the bird feeders and sweeping the balcony deck of any stray seed.

I looked out over the balcony for any new rat holes and there sitting by our garden edge was this hudge, strong White-Tailed Eagle, brown with a yellow beak. We had quite the stare-down contest but then he turned his back to me and slowly flew away over the lawn to the south! It was then that I saw his white tail feathers! Truely Amazing!!!

But I hope the Tits living in the cherry laurel bushes next to where he was are OK! But my rat problem is now solved!

Something had landed so hard on the outside edge of my balcony's berry pergola the other evening as to tilt the pergola slightly with a loud thud. That must have been what it was!!! Heavens!

They live over in the industrial park and on the high voltage towers at the edge of the fields just south of me. The German state news agency 'NDR' also had reported about White-Tailed Eagles lately coming inland to small towns here in Schleswig - Holstein.

[Willpar]

One of those occasions you will never forget Charles. And a great garden.

[Charles B]

One of those occasions you will never forget Charles. And a great garden.

Thanks William!
I look at unusual sighting in nature as answers to prayer or maybe just good luck! Haha!

[Charles B]

Hi!
I got another delivery of bird stuff today:

Handbook of the Birds of Middle Europe by Swiss Ornithologist Urs Noel Glutz von Blotzheim - Volume 13/I Passeriformes (Part 4), Muscicapidae - Paridae
808 pages / German / Aula Verlag
(ISBN‑13: 9783891044358), 119,80 €

It's my very first bird book!



It's hard bound and even has a protective box.


It's all very technical stuff and no photos but the line drawings are very nice. It also has a lot of maps, charts and statistics.

I bought the book from 'Humanatis' who also sold me these protective metal plates for bird houses: 28 mm for Blue Tits and 32 mm for Great Tits.


Alas, some of my Blue Tits are so chubby now I think they indeed need 32 mm holes!

Here again are my bird houses from NABU

[Charles B]

Hi!
I was lamenting over my rat problem and guess who showed up in my garden yesterday, sitting right at our garden edge! A Brown-headed White-Tail Eagle (Hafliaeetus albicilla). We even had a long stare-down too but then he came to the conclusion I was too big to eat and finally left flying slowly and low over the back yard and then south beyondvthe woods.