Thursday 9 February 2012

Soup and Apple...

Reading Tim and Pauline's Aigronne Valley Wildlife blog this morning about Blackcaps eating apples it reminded us that we had put a box of old apples in the cellar as bird food. So just before morning coffee we strung a few apples together, cut a couple up and put them out.

Now; we spend hours at this time of year observing and photographing the birds on our feeders and in the garden generally; We have never seen a Blackcap ever!!! This morning within 1½ hours of putting out the apples we took this photograph...

We'd love to know HOW this bird found the apples in such a short time?

It was not the only one partial to a bit of apple...
 
At lunchtime we found a tin of "Lentil & Bacon" soup that had a sell by date of October 2010. WELL "Lentil & Bacon"!!! It must have been bought in a fit of healthy eating!!! or by mistake!!! Probably the only gluten-free tin in the shop...

Rather than flushing it away we thought we would try it as bird food... With the excess liquid drained off, into an old bowl it went and onto the top of our well. (a regular feeding station). First to try it was a Blue Tit...


Then a Starling - "Whats it like?" his mate is saying!
 "OK, I will try some!"

The rest of the birds were not impressed and preferred the seeds... We can't blame them...

It was worth a try. Perhaps a night visitor may eat it.

Lastly a big thank you from us and our birds to Tim and Pauline for reminding us of our apples. They went down a treat and best of all they cost nowt!! (that's 'nothing', for any southerners reading this).

6 comments:

Pollygarter said...

Glad you found our blog useful! I suspect if Tim had found that tin in our larder, it would have been served up with sausages and pumpkin... and not to the birds, either!

Tim said...

Thanks for the link... and very glad to have 'got' you a Blackcap.
The others you show are the more normal ones seen around apples... expect Song Thrush and other Grives.
And yes, the tin would have been served up!

WV is "etingr"... a foodie version of flickr

Colin and Elizabeth said...

Well had it been a tin of Oxtail or Tomato I would have served it up to, but not that. We are still eating the gallons of soup we made and froze in the summer. Just had some Carrot, Ginger and Apple, really nice... Stay warm...

Diane said...

Now I wonder if I put an apple out a black cap will appear? Worth a try. Diane

GaynorB said...

Great pics and I've never seen a black cap anywhere before!
Do you think I'll get a black cap in my garden if I thread up some apples?

GaynorB said...

PS We'd have eaten the soup too!