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dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45521
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Feb 20, 24 9:57 am Post subject:

dead ones can bite and scamper off

birdtown news, there are at least 7 NCO sparrows, an almost tweedy and one justinson line that visit
i think the NCOs are now resident in a bush about 30M away, sounds of sparrows are quite informative

tis mild, plenty of spring is springing, rather disturbing in mid-February

the daws are thriving, many species are at very low numbers or missing since the heat event( re the both ends of migratory, the heat event cleared my sky of swallows in two days, very few last summer, i wonder if the count at the other end reflected this)

grin pops round now and again, a sustainable hunter that takes a small toll is not a problem for a healthy ecosystem, in a food scarce one every sparrow counts both ways

a few days ago i saw something unusual, big, a few hundred feet up and flying steadily west
plenty of it was not a ....., still no idea what it was
robust looking, about 1.5M wing span
dark is not a colour scheme for ID, but with eyeball and pale grey sky it was dark and raptor shaped

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45521
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Feb 21, 24 4:24 pm Post subject:

pigeons seem to like smoked cheese

, it was a "pull a daw" experiment(i got one) but pigeons and a cheddar frenzy was a surprise

a pack of daws would be fun models for photos, i have elderly freezer sausage etc

queenie and handsome hand feeding is almost calm, a pack of daws playing finger or sausage? might be interesting, at a safe distance(hi tec command shoot is available) with them doing daw stuff is plausible

hand held and up close does require getting them used to and comfy with the snapper, it leads to better snaps of them doing critter stuff with most critters

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15603

Posted: Thu Feb 22, 24 9:40 am Post subject:
Judging by what they eat in towns, pigeons will eat virtually anything. Didn't know they had a thing about cheese though. Perhaps they are really looking for cheeseburgers when going through the dropped food in town.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15603

Posted: Sun Mar 03, 24 4:31 pm Post subject:

Had something interesting today. A queen bumble bee landed on the Marie Curie daffodil on my coat thinking it was real. Then went onto a sign we were reading and was sliding down it, so husband caught it and it flew off. Went round some other people, and he had to explain to them that swatting at it wasn't a good idea as it was very unlikely to sting. Glad to say it then flew off and hope it found something to eat.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45521
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 24 4:11 pm Post subject:
a very busy wren is hunting things in the twigs

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15603

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 24 9:34 am Post subject:

Haven't heard any wrens yet, or seen them, but it is usual for us to hear them first. A lot more small birds around in the woods, mainly in mixed flocks, which is usual for the winter and early spring.

A few weeks ago I found some sweet violets growing in a patch of downland turf at the end of a local road. Almost certainly a garden escape, but rather nice. Also found what I think must be some mouse ear growing at the edge of the same patch, and what I think is some Alexanders growing along a local footpath.

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8618
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 24 11:26 am Post subject:
We have a wren...but the past few days, all the birds have been fairly quiet in the morning..they can't all be sitting yet?!

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45521
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 24 3:36 pm Post subject:

of the small invertebrate munchers, the populations are much reduced or absent

1 wren and 1 dik in a space that has held many wrens and quite a few diks, that is it

there is a blackbird, young with a big territory and afaik he is still an eligible bachelor who inherited a worm fortune but has no wife
phone jane austen

spring is springing but still wet, the warmest feb since modern records has pushed spring at least a month earlier than it has been for a few centuries
the sparrows are starting to eat mealworms, a sign they are starting to breed, not seen any nesting work so far, but as they have such a big patch they may be shopping in a different builder's merchants

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8618
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 24 5:13 pm Post subject:
Up to know we have had wren, robin, great tit then blackbird ( saying "cat, cat, cat!!!!!") taking turns and sparrows by the horde..when the collar doves and jackdaws take over it is nearly over, the gulls get here and morning songs are finished It has just turned dreich though..really miserable

Ty Gwyn

Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 4563
Location: Lampeter

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 24 9:15 pm Post subject:
White tailed eagles well established on the West coast of Scotland,Mull for instance, But any recordings of them coming further South?

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8618
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 24 10:46 pm Post subject:
Haven't they now established in a couple of places on the South of England coast? Thinking back to "Spring watch"...

Ty Gwyn

Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 4563
Location: Lampeter

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 24 12:38 am Post subject:

On the Isle of wight they have been established,i googled that earlier on as well as the sighting of one in Gwynedd near Llanuwchllyn in January,

Week before last in the morning i noticed a big bird of prey eating a dead sheep,twice the size of carrion crows who stayed a few yards away,this afternoon while making tea in the kitchen something caught my eye through the window,it was the massive wingspan going through the tree`s into the next field.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15603

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 24 7:36 am Post subject:
The white tailed sea eagles were introduced on the Isle of Wight, but not sure where they are now. One was found dead in Dorset and there was talk of one having left and gone to East Anglia, but not sure about any others.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45521
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Mar 12, 24 1:01 pm Post subject:

birdtown news

if my counting is correct, the flock has increased to 5 male justinsons and 4 female justindottas, i will be delicate, there may be a pedigree flock this year

it worked on the galapagos islands
hopefully the swinging nature of sparrows will get a bit of a genetic mix from outside this flock, have i mentioned that

nest hopping and bigamy are popular along with "quickie in the bushes"

i told on them

it does scramble the genetics rather well, hybrid vigor is a decent parameter in breeding behaviour

a pedigree justinson flock might do well for one breeding cycle, they are robust and clever, to many cycles may have problems if the challenges are different

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15603

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 24 8:40 am Post subject:
Saw a brimstone butterfly wandering across our 'yard' yesterday. Also a pair of buzzards soaring above the trees and a lone bird but couldn't make out if it was buzzard or kite.

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