One solitary juvenile Magpie visits quite a few times each day. I wonder where the other one went. It no longer bounces around on its invisible space hopper but now walks across the ground. Occasionally it will stay long enough for a few decent shots like this one which shows what a large array of colours there are when the light catches them in the right direction.
I had always thought of Magpies as being just black and white and it is only this year I have really noticed the blue on their wings. This young bird also shows quite a bit of green, especially on the tail feathers.
Also noticeable is the different arrangement in the feathers over what I assume is the bird's ear. This shows to a lesser extent on the adults as these feathers are only a slightly different shade of black and the light needs to be in the right direction for the difference to show up.
Hedgehog Update
After the early arrival of Henry a couple of nights ago I have put out the food at an earlier time but they don't play the game and nobody has arrived early since then. The night before last Honey was there by herself when I let Bobby out at bedtime. Last night was a complete surprise. At bedtime I could see two hedgehogs on HoggyCam with one travelling slowly backwards as I have seen many time in the past. When we went out I was taken completely by surprise. Those were both large hogs and on the paved area there was also a smaller Hedgehog. This is the first time I have seen three feeding together here. Of course as it was bedtime I had already packed the cameras away and I knew they would disappear before I could get one out - which they did!
How much smaller was the little hog? Maybe Honey and Henry now have a family:-)
ReplyDeleteJohn, you're telling me, just glad I've not blown a fortune on film. Worth the effort grand images.
ReplyDeleteLike Helen, I wondered about a hog youngster?
ReplyDeleteThe colours on the Magpie are lovely, like you say it is only when we see them closer that it is noticeable. That is a beautiful sky photo John!
Hi Helen. I did consider it may have been a juvenile. It was a little bigger than half the large ones.
ReplyDeleteHi Adrian - ah, those days with a hand held light meter trying to make sure it was set up correctly. Then the joy of being able to afford a camera with a built in meter. Still didn't guarantee perfect results though and it could be weeks or months before the film was finished. Now with the ability to shoot as many of the same subject as I want it tends to make me lazy and think less of what I am doing.
ReplyDeleteHi Jan. The sky one may be a 'pretty' picture but it was really a threatening sky and the rain and thunder followed soon after.
ReplyDeleteMagpies and Starlings have more about them colour-wise than we give them credit for. There is something about the pigments so they only show their best at certain lighting conditions.
I think it may have been a juvenile Hedgehog, Jan. It stayed around even when the larger ones had scarpered. It wasn't snuffling - sounded more like a whimper. Possibly fright having a four legged hairy monster and a two legged giant staring at it. It didn't even hide its face.
Beautiful photos of the magpie showing the lovely colors and sheen. I really must hunt up some magpies over here - they are quite different from yours - for some reason they don't visit my yard.
ReplyDeleteThose shots of the Magpie are excellent John.
ReplyDeleteGreat captures, and they really are a colourful bird, especially when the light catches them.
Maybe you have a Henrietta hog?
...he does look like he's wearing little earmuffs! We don't have them here. They are gorgeous birds with the blue...
ReplyDeleteHi Mick. Thank you. It's interesting that different birds have the same name in other countries.
ReplyDeleteThanks Keith. It posed for a lot more than the usual time. Yes, the light has to be in the right direction to get the effect.
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly. Makes me wonder if other birds also have 'ear muffs' :)
ReplyDelete