Thursday 24 September 2009

A Dunnock and Some Geese

I have had the good fortune to see a Dunnock visit the feeding area several mornings recently. It usually stays in the shadows looking for any seed dropped by the regulars. Then I spotted this one resting for a short while on the camera cables. I assume by the markings that it is a young Dunnock so the adult I see could well have been feeding it.

Dunnock

Just as I was preparing my evening meal I heard the unmistakable sound of geese on the move. The sound was only just noticeable so I expected they would pass some distance away so it was a surprise when two formations each of about twenty birds flew almost overhead. Luckily I had grabbed the camera just in case and managed to grab one half decent shot. By the direction they were aiming they could have been heading towards the Wash.

Geese in Flight

There are some birds I don't expect to hear after dark. Last night it was a pheasant's distinctive alarm call at 9.45pm. Maybe something had disturbed it, possibly a fox.

10 comments:

  1. It always nice seeing a Skein of geese overhead John.

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  2. It was nice to see them pass over in full daylight Roy. I often see them skimming over the rooftops when it is virtually dark.

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  3. Hi again John, a lovely shot of the Dunnock. Funnily enough I’ve seen a number of visits at the moment by a couple of youngsters too. I do like seeing this little bird.

    Great capture of the geese too, that must have been a surprise seeing them getting so close. We often see geese flying over too but it’s the odd heron that really catches my eye flying so silently over my rooftop.

    Oh… don’t think I’d be able to ID the call of a pheasant even with an alarm call. I more associate them with their mad ‘crossing the road’ run :-)

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  4. Hi Shirl. To me it seems late in the year to be seeing youngsters as some nights are getting very cold now but it is nice to have them visit. For the first time today I saw an adult Dunnock visit the bird table and help itself to a lot of seed so I guess it is feeding one or more youngsters.

    I know the sound of a pheasant from the number of times they have made me jump when breaking cover a few feet away, squawking like mad.

    I often see geese flying very low in small groups but it is usually twilight and impossible to photograph them.

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  5. A beautiful photo of the young Dunnock John, such a sweet looking bird I always think. I love to see geese going over like that and hearing them is lovely too.

    Your Pheasant's night time alarm call reminds me of hearing a Blackbird's alarm call at around 2:30am back in February, a most unusual sound for that time of night!

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  6. Thank you Jan. First time I have seen a young Dunnock. The sound of those geese was so quiet. They usually make quite a din.

    A short while ago you asked about the Kingfisher Lodge carving. Well. It is still there. It is only easily noticeable when travelling in one direction which is probably how I missed it. Today I drove both ways on that road (a very tasty carvery between journeys) and there it was - large as life but the wood has mellowed so it doesn't stand out a much as in that old photo.

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  7. Lovely post John...Dunnock I don't think I have ever seen on...I wonder if they are native to my area or not...I think I feel a bit of research coming my way. :) Have a wonderful day John.

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  8. Thank you Crista. The Dunnock is a native of Europe and Asia so it looks as though you will have to make do with looking at photos of them. I have a piece of video of one for tomorrow.

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  9. Nice to see the young Dunnock and it's distinct markings. There's something about young birds that is very appealing! How gratifying to get such a clear photo of it, and the geese passing overhead. Interesting about the pheasant as well. So much going on around us!

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  10. Very true Glo. I think nearly all young birds and animals look so endearing.

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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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