Tuesday 12 May 2009

Loads a Birds

Yesterday must have been a record here for a Starling invasion. At one stage fifteen of them descended on the feeders within a couple of seconds. At least that was the number I definitely counted, there may have been one or two more.

Today at one stage half the lawn looked as though it had turned into a low level Rookery. Actually it was a mixture of Rooks and Jackdaws which often arrive and feed together, There were too many to get in one photograph.

Rooks and Jackdaws

Every now and then a couple of Rooks would get too close together and there would be a short altercation. Nothing nasty, just a flapping of wings and opening of beaks.

Rooks Arguing

At one stage a Collared Dove decided that it was economical to drink and paddle at the same time.



Off and on during the day I got short snippets of various birds at the feeders. There is a health warning with this video - the wind was so strong the feeders were blowing all over the place and you may suffer from sea sickness. The sound track is general local bird song recorded a while ago. This is really an experiment while I learn my way round the software.



During our afternoon walk a few of the sheep and lambs were very close to the fence at the end of the cricket field so I managed to get a couple of shots with the camera in the mobile phone. It was too cold in the very strong wind which felt as though it was blowing straight off the North Sea to take the DSLR.

The lambs are growing fast and are now past the cute 'Aw' stage. The sheep was completely unruffled though it did keep a close eye on Bobby.

DSC00228 Sheep DSC00229 Lambs

Finally a short clip from Hoggy Cam of the Hedgehog's final visit last night.



Happy birding to all. John

5 comments:

  1. Lovely shots of the Rooks and Jackdaws John. Jackdaws are one of my favourite birds, they always look so cocky the way they strut.
    The feeder clip is great, certainly a bit windy there! The poor old Rook looked as though he was going to get blown away.
    Great post.

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  2. Hi Keith. Yes, the Jackdaws have a certain bearing about them the way they strut about but they are surprisingly shy and disappear at the slightest thing.

    It may have looked windy in the fairly sheltered garden - you should have been on the cricket field with us. Flat land right to the coast. The pitch was covered with leaves stripped from the nearby trees. I thought the Rook was chancing its luck on the apex of the shed.

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  3. Great feeder video and lovely with the added birdsong. I have never seen a Jackdaw in our garden but my sister-in-law who lives 10-15 minutes walk away has had one visit in the last few days for the first time, but she gets lots of sparrows too. Their house backs onto allotments though so they do see creatures in their garden which we don't such as Badgers.

    Loved the Dove clip as well and what very clear pics your mobile takes!

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  4. You definitely have been invaded John. My mother gets all three of the corvids in her garden and the Jackdaws have worked out how to cling on the feeders!!

    Hopefully the wind has abated up with you as it has down here now!

    The lambs still have some of their cuteness :D

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  5. Thank you Jan. The Jackdaws and Rooks are new visitors this year - since I started scattering the previous days left over seeds from the bird table on the lawn. Nothing gets wasted when they are about! I would love to have badgers visit but I am too well fenced in. The only holes are a couple of 4in square gaps for hedgehogs.
    When I bought my mobile phone I chose it for the camera quality. It was the best available at that time.

    Hi Tricia. Given a chance the Rooks and the Jackdaws manage to get at the feeders. With all the flapping of wings they must expend more energy than they gain from a quick bite of food.
    Wind a bit better for speed but still bally cold!

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Thank you for visiting. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Any comment, or correction to any information or identification I get wrong, is most welcome. John

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