This one, caught as it left, seems to have a large thick beak but closer examination shows that it is making off with a black Sunflower seed. They never stay to eat, just fly in, collect what they want and leave for the safety of nearby bushes straight away.
Seen every day now will be one or more Jackdaws. They are extremely nervous birds, always on the lookout for danger. One quick glimpse of me with those white shiny eyes and they are away like a shot. To think it was January when I saw one in the garden for the first time. Now they are daily regulars, sometimes joining the Rooks on the lawn or trying to find a way to raid the fat ball feeders.
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| From MIDMARSH JOTTINGS |
They grab food so fast I am beginning to wonder whether the bulge under the beak is a place to store food in the same way as the Rooks. I have read that adults have been observed sharing food.
A piece of video of Jackdaws gathering seed from the lawn. There are two episodes and as they were taken on different days they are probably different individuals.
The second, close up, section shows off the leathery black legs of the Jackdaw. They really do dig deep to find the seeds, sometimes pulling up tufts of grass in the process. The sound on the second section is of those pesky Starlings again.
Silence is Golden
As we came back from the afternoon walk, instead of seeing the normal couple of dozen Starlings I was greeted with the sight of a couple of score all heading towards my tall leylandii. I though I was in for a very noisy late afternoon. Having dumped the bit of shopping I unlocked the back door to have a look. Not a bird moving and only the sound of one lone Sparrow. All the Starlings were very still in the tree. Even the youngsters were perfectly quiet!
Looking around the sky I spotted what appeared to be a Sparrow Hawk hovering high up about a quarter of a mile away. Needless to say by the time I fetched the camera it had vanished from sight but the beautiful silence continued for five to ten minutes more. Even the Sparrow had fallen silent. Every bird kept quite still in its resting place. Slowly the bravest flew from their perches. Some Starlings went on their way but the usual gang came down to feed and deafen me again. All was back to normal.
A real treat to see Coal Tits in the garden John, and good catch of him flying off.
ReplyDeleteFascinating clip of the Jackdaw, he's really digging at your lawn there.
Morning...love the shots of the Coal tits. The shot of the one taking off with a sunflower seed rocks!! Love the shot.
ReplyDeleteCrista
Hi Keith. I had missed the Coal Tits for about a month and was really pleased when they returned a few days ago. One of my favourite regulars.
ReplyDeleteThe Jackdaws really do 'go for it' when they scavenge on the lawn. I've often seen little clumps of grass go flying. I just wish they would pull out some of the weeds for me instead :)
I think your visit was just before I wrote the last bit. A beautiful 10 minutes or so of absolute silence and stillness while a Sparrow Hawk was hunting in the area. Didn't manage a photo of it though.
Hi Crista. Thanks. I really have a soft spot for the Coal Tits. I think they are the smallest bird to visit my garden but never bother about the bigger birds and always get the food they want. It was pleasing to get the shot of one taking off. They are so fast it is pure luck to fire the shutter at the right moment and I love to get action shots of any of the birds.
ReplyDeleteNice one. I could do with a Sparrowhawk round here at times. ;)
ReplyDeleteYes Keith. Do you think we could invent an inflatable one which automatically rises up in the air for a short while every hour or so - could make a fortune here. :)
ReplyDeleteHi John,
ReplyDeleteGreat Coal Tit photos, we haven't seen one in our garden for a while. You are absoloutely right about the Jackdaws, they can be very shy.
Thanks for sharing
Great photos of the Coal Tit - especially the one of it flying off with the seed in its beak. re the Hawk overhead - I have had similar experiences of all the bush birds falling silent and when I looked up there were eagles overhead - but a good long way up!
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ReplyDeleteThanks Joe. It's great to see the Coal Tits back. They disappeared for about a month, I assume to bring up a brood but I haven't seen any youngsters.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mick. I'm always trying to get photos of birds doing something other than sitting on a branch but usually fail for one reason or another.
ReplyDeleteI find it amazing that little birds can tell the difference between the silhouettes of large birds which are OK and those which are a danger. Probably the hovering of the Hawks. That absolute silence is certainly eerie.
Ah John, I do love seeing the coal tits visit too. Great pics. Our Starling Juveniles have periods of noise but they are also having quite times too thank goodness. Just spotted the tail feather of a Sparrowhawk swiftly glide through the feeders yesterday – don’t know if it caught anything. Haven’t seen them in a while – guess this is them back for regular visits :-( I agree, the silence of a bird of prey around is really an eerie moment.
ReplyDeleteNow the Jackdaw I do find fascinating. I am guessing it has a good memory as it returned this year tirelessly looking in the area I normally hang a little open basket (nesting egg). It was on this bracket for two year and for two year it practically took the lot leaving little for the blue tits and other smaller birds. I moved it deliberately, however after sitting on various spots looking and looking it discovered the new location and removed 90% once again over a few visits! I usually only ever get one visit and perhaps this is this one. It also comes looking for peanuts and if gets it right goes away with a few :-D
Yes Shirl - I really have a soft spot for the Coal Tits, they look so fragile but don't seem to be the least bit afraid of the bigger birds.
ReplyDeleteThe Starling juveniles here are giving me a few quiet periods at last. Not for long though.
The corvids are indeed very intelligent birds. Some days I can almost see them thinking as they carefully size up a problem which needs solving. Fascinating to watch but expensive to feed!
Love that Coal Tit in flight! Great photo. They look so much like our Carolina Chickadees. I wonder what his call is like. I'll have to Google it! The video of the Jackdaw is so nice. Since I've never seen one in person, it's all new to me and quite fascinating, but I get the feeling he is a common bird in your parts. (As for the Starlings, yes, silence is golden! I know very well what they sound like!)
ReplyDeleteThank you Kelly. You can find the song of the Coal Tit on this page of the British Garden Birds site:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.garden-birds.co.uk/birds/coaltit.htm
The jackdaw is certainly common here at the moment though this year is the first time I have ever noticed them though they are a common bird. They often live near Rooks and there are two rookeries not too far from me. Both scavenge on bare fields and grassland but of course don't miss out on an easy free meal.
Their call is on this page:
http://www.garden-birds.co.uk/birds/jackdaw.htm
I always remember from the film "W. C. Fields and Me" where he used to call his lady friend "My Little Chickadee". At the time I had no idea what a Chickadee was. I just though it was a term of endearment!
I could have sworn I had commented on this post John although strangely I don't remember anything past the Jackdaws, oh dear I must be losing it ;)
ReplyDeleteAnyway I love the Coal Tit photos, such busy little birds and the Jackdaw photos are lovely too, I have never seen one in our garden at all.
Well at least you had a very short respite from the raucous Starlings, shame you didn't get a photo of the Hawk but perhaps you don't want it lingering too long around your garden!!
Hi Jan. Thanks. The Silence .... section I added much later in the day so you may have seen the earlier parts in the morning. The more blogs I follow the harder I find it to remember which I've just glanced at and which I've commented on.
ReplyDeleteLast year I had two garden visits from a Sparrow Hawk and I don't really want any more close encounters.
Not much going on here at the moment as I am suffering a bad gout episode at the moment. Should be back to normal soon - all being well.
HI John, we've had Rooks, Hooded Crows and Jackdaws come into the garden since we moved into our house, 8 years ago, and they are lovely photo models, I think.
ReplyDeletethey do indeed have a crop, underneath their beak, like Rooks and birds of prey. It is amazing how much they can store in here.