Rook Raids Seed Feeder

Several times I found the lid on the seed feeder had been opened. It shouldn't have been gusty winds as it has a magnetic catch. I thought it may have been a squirrel though I haven't seen one in the garden for over a year. This morning I decided to check the camera recordings .....



I should have known that a corvid would have the intelligence to work out how to open the lid - as you can see with this Rook.

Corvid Visitors

I sometimes see a Jackdaw pay a fleeting visit to the garden. A few days ago I spotted a couple of them on the lawn:



After a short while they were joined by a Rook.



Recently a Rook has been making early morning visits to the bird feeders.



It usually manages to extract a suet ball or suet log which it enjoys on the ground.



This morning I spotted a Rook which seemed to be self identifying as a Blue Tit as it clung on the feeders to get its share of what was on offer. Fortunately the camera which monitors the feeders caught the action:



I sometimes think they expend as much energy trying to feed as they get from what they manage to eat.

Friday at the Flicks - Early Morning Corvids, Young Blue Tits, Hay Making

Long before I get up in the morning there are many birds visiting the Birdy Bistro. At the moment there are several young Crows and Jackdaws with the occasional Magpie:



When the young Blue Tits visited earlier in the week I was able to take some video of them as they helped themselves to the peanuts.



On yesterday afternoons walkabout there were scores of seagulls over the built up part of the village. They were there for well over an hour but I didn't see them visit any of the fields which is where they are usually found. We ambled across to lane which divides two fields to see if there were any gulls there. No gulls but the farm workers were busy gathering hay the modern mechanised way. The crop had already been cut. First the fallen hay stalks were raised up so the bailer could easily do its work. Then the bales were loaded on to trailers to take back to the storage area.



Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

Early Morning Corvids, Great Tit Nest, Moth

Among the earliest visitors each morning are the corvids. Even though there are two or more visits from hedgehogs each night there is often some food left in the dish. This never goes to waste as there are plenty of feathered visitors up at the crack of dawn.



Mrs Great Tit spends most of her time sitting on her eggs with an occasional visit from her mate.



Yesterday as I was checking the pond for any emerging damsels I spotted a large moth resting on the half logs which surround the edge of the pond.  Probably quite a beauty but with my aversion to moths it sent a shiver down my spine. As yet I haven't got round to identifying it, just making sure there was no way it could find its way indoors.



My thanks to Jan of ShySongbird's Twittering for identifying the moth as Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa).