Bird Table Cam - First Results

When checking to see what has been recorded the phone app looks like this:



The orange bars show when movement was detected and recordings made. Not all clips show birds actually on the bird table but here are the best so far:



Dunnock, Robin, Starlings and Blue Tit. As I thought, the seed is well in focus but the birds are just a bit too close so end up in soft focus but still recognisable.

Visitors to the new Bird Table

It didn't take long for the locals to start using the new bird table.
First brave soul was a Robin:


Others included.....
Dunnock:


female Blackbird:


Starling:


Great Tit:


and Chaffinch


I also noticed a Blue Tit but it was too fast for me. There were plenty of House Sparrows but they seemed to prefer the hanging feeder under the bird table.

Title was created with the Mac app Art Text 3 and the FeatheredFlight font.

Automated Bird Photography

Regular visitors may well remember my home brew motion detector which I sometimes use to photograph birds visiting the pond waterfall. This time I set it up to monitor any visitors to the bird bath:



Essentially the set up consists, in the background, a room type passive IR detector which activates a relay which in turn activates a wireless release for the camera. That is powered by a 12V gel cell.  In the foreground the Canon 350D with Sigma zoom lens set for auto focus mounted on a tripod. The camera being fired by a wireless receiver. Camera was fixed at 1/500 shutter speed with auto exposure.

This time there were many false triggers (over 60 birdless shots binned), maybe moving tree shadows and also me or Penny walking within range, but I managed a few captures. It is a question of things being set up at the right time as the birds tend to arrive at fairly set times of day. Unfortunately I had to cut the session short when it started to rain heavily.

Blackbirds.
Male:
 
Is that a growth or a ring on its leg?

Females:




 

Starlings:




Dunnock:


Great Tit:






I can see I will be having some automated sessions throughout the Summer. I keep searching for a decent quality, cheapish camera which would allow externally triggered video. I don't think the trail types are as good quality as they make out and anyway  I want something with a zoomable lens.

A Few of the Regulars

Male Blackbird:


Female Blackbird:


Dunnock:


Starling:

Basking in the Sunshine

First - Tricia Ryder's comment yesterday got me thinking about the mystery bird table visitor. She thought it looked like a Dunnock. Well it certainly isn't a mature one. I have several as daily visitors but a Google search for some Dunnock Juvenile photos showed several which almost matched my visitor - pale belly with bold black streaks. In fact when I search I find I had photographed a juvenile Dunnock a couple of years ago.  So it looks as though that is favourite. Whatever it is it has visited several times every day so far. Also visiting the bird table have been two juvenile Robins.

Today has been a scorcher. Cool with heavy rain and hail yesterday morning.
Many creatures have taken advantage of blue skies and temperatures up to 25C:

The Damsel flies have started emerging from my garden pond.
Here a male Blue Tailed Damselfly sunning itself on a rose bush:



and a female on a pond plant:



A Red Admiral taking a short rest:



A Dunnock looking quite bedraggled but actually having a quick sunning session:



On the cricket field a Crow which didn't really want to move out of the way, until we got too close for comfort.:



I say sunning themselves but maybe the birds were actually trying to cool down.

Dunnocks, Great Tits and Hedgehogs

Three videos today:

I though I had spotted the occasional bird inside the Hedgehog House and suspected it may have been a Dunnock as I have often noticed them investigate underneath my shed. I set the recorder to watch inside the house during daylight and there was the proof:



A Dunnock helping itself to the left over crushed peanuts put in the Hedgehog House for any visiting Hedgehog.


The female Great Tit continues to spend long periods incubating her eggs with the male bringing occasional tasty morsels:




Yesterday evening I was taken by surprise when I noticed two Hedgehogs in the Hedgehog House:



One was only interested in eating. I'm not sure whether the other was feeling amorous or just wanted to get out.

Some Surprises Are Nice .........

Yesterday it was a very pleasant surprise to see for the first time in the garden not one but two juvenile Robins? which seemed quite at home investigating all the places where seeds could be found.

Keith suggested these are juvenile Dunnocks so I had another look round the internet. I only found one site which had photos of a juvenile Dunnock and a juvenile Robin where the differences were clear. Looking at the shape of the beak (the Dunnock's is finer) and the colour of the legs (the Robin's are darker)  it would appear that Keith is correct. A lot of photos on the net seem to be wrongly identified which made things very confusing for me. Also it appears that a lot of people have trouble telling which is which, me among them.







Some Surprises I Could Do Without ......

The day before delivered a surprise which was more of a shock than anything. I was busy on the computer and the back door was open to let Penny come and go as she pleased. I noticed her come in the room but couldn't see what she was doing. She kept whining and coming across to me but I took little notice until I had finished with the 'pooter. Looking to see what Penny was up to I saw she had brought in a dead, part eaten Wood Pigeon. I was not best pleased and told her so very firmly. I disposed of it at the back of one of my compost bins which has a narrowish opening at the top of the front. I though no more about it until I saw madam coming across the lawn with the same object in her mouth. She must have leapt up to get in the bin. On my second attempt I disposed of it in a fully enclosed container. It still sends shivers down my spine when I recall the event.

I know Penny chases after the Wood Pigeons but they fly away before she gets near them. I am sure this one was dropped by a passing raptor . It looked well plucked and search as I could I found no feathers around the garden.

Friday at the Flicks - Collared Dove + Safe Cage

A while ago some Wood Pigeons found they could scrape through a gap through the wire mesh to feed on the Bird Table so I made the gap smaller. It didn't take the Collared Doves long to work out that the gap was still large enough for them to gain access.



About two years ago I looked at the commercial ground cages which allow smaller birds to feed but keep out the larger ones. I decided to throw together my own version but the birds didn't take to it when it was on the ground. A few days ago I decided to give it another try out. This time it is about a yard above ground and next to bushes.



It took a very short time for a Chaffinch to investigate and it has been constantly visited since.




Next job, if it ever stops raining, (10 continuous days with rain so far) is to rebuild it to fit the size and shape of the plastic tray which should raise the base where the camera can get a better view of the visitors. So far only finch size birds have entered, usually in the side and out through the top. Wood Pigeons have tried to get their heads in but the food is in the middle. At last the small ground feeders can get their share of the food in peace.

Wings on Wednesday G-BVDC and a Dunnock

Heard a light aircraft nearby yesterday so rushed out with the Canon. It was a Van's RV-3 kit aircraft dating from 1994. This monoplane is a single seater and capable of speeds in excess of 200mph with a 150hp engine. It can carry about 30 gallons of fuel giving a range of 600 miles.





Several birds seen in the garden yesterday including a Crow, a couple of Magpies, a couple of Great Tits and a Blue Tit but only one of the regular Dunnocks hung around long enough for a photo session.



The array of blunt plastic spikes are to discourage the local cats from getting too close to the camera nestbox which is below them.

Friday at the Flicks - Sparrowhawk, Sunlit Starlings, Dunnock, Finches

I was just setting up a different lens combination when I spotted a Sparrowhawk sat just past the end of my garden having a good look round.



Starlings can look so dull and uninteresting until the sunlight catches them to show how their feathers can be multi coloured.



One or two Dunnocks are regular visitors to the Birdy Bistro. Sometimes they visit the bird table but more often they are searching in the shadows. This was the first time I used a new tripod with a fluid head so it was in the way of being a test shoot.



Finally there is always fun and games when Greenfinches and Chaffinches want to use the same feeder.



Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

Friday at the Flicks - Nestbox, Bird Visitors, Tree Sparrow

A few days ago there was more interest in the nestbox with a Blue Tit examining the outside early in the morning and another internal visit later in the day from a Great Tit. Since this was filmed I have moved the outside camera a bit nearer to get a better close up.



A few of the regulars to the garden.
Dunnock, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Wren and Blue Tit


On the only visit to the garden so far  this Autumn here is the Tree Sparrow



Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

Dunnocks

No, not an expletive but one of my shy regular visitors. With the return of Sunshine after yet another rainy day I was watching the birds visiting the feeders. Creeping about the shadows was a Dunnock, every so often stopping to flutter its wings. I guess this was the female Dunnock equivalent of fluttering its eyelashes to attract the attention of a male. Sure enough a second appeared and seemed interested but never got close enough to get them both in one shot. Every so often the female would come out in the open and have a little flutter session.



I normally see just one Dunnock at a time so it was fascinating watching what appeared to be a bonding session. Then to my amazement a third appeared. I assume this was a second male as  there was a short altercation between it and one of the others and it beat a hasty retreat. After that the original two Dunnocks went their separate way in the garden and started gleaning any dropped seeds they could find.



Eventually they disappeared back into the dappled shade of the bushes. Just as I though that was going to be the only really interesting observation for the day I spied a Wren which spent most of its time partly or fully hidden from view but just for a few seconds it landed on the roof of my shed which gave a quick photo opportunity.



It was really lovely to see two of the shy visitors to the garden and look forward to capturing the pair of Dunnocks on video one day.

First Fledgeling, Unidentified Bird, Pond Rustler and Others

Yesterday was the first time this year I have seen a young bird arrive in the garden. To start with there was an adult Dunnock on a branch near the feeders. It was singing and flapping its wings over and over again. At first I thought it was a mating ritual until I spotted this juvenile.



On observing for some time it looked as though the adult was trying to call its youngster and persuade it to fly to the tree. The fledgling Dunnock was having none of it and stubbornly stayed where it was for several minutes.



In the end the youngster flew to the back of the garden and the adult followed it. At no time did I see an adult attempt to feed it.

While we were on our afternoon walkabout there were a couple of birds in the horse paddock. They looked vaguely familiar to me but for the life of me I haven't been able to identify them. The photos are not good as they were a long way off and nearly always on the move.





On the photos the markings look so much like a Song Thrush but I am sure they were much bigger and with longer legs. Their movement was reminiscent of a shore bird. I tried to get a better view but that scared them off.

Also during the walk through the back of the graveyard we saw the largest congregation of 7 Spot Ladybirds I have ever seen. There were these few on a fallen branch and the surrounding Ivy held not dozens but scores of them.



As usual there was at least one escapee from the neighbouring house. Normally the ducks or chickens retreat rapidly when I try to get closer but this fine fellow was more than happy to pose for a portrait.



Late on in the day I spied a female Blackbird which kept standing on the rim of the nursery pond, reaching in and taking something out.





Initially I thought it was rustling the tadpoles for a tasty snack but when I went over to the pond I could see the remains of pond snail shells. A good job there are dozens in there.

This morning it is dull and wet but I did my duty and tied Bobby up outside the Polling Station while I finally made my mind up which would be the least of the political evils on offer.

Friday at the Flicks (Chaffinch, Dunnock)

It has been difficult recently to get clean audio on taking video outdoors as the wind seems to be ever present. There have been several songsters around recently but I did manage to film a male Chaffinch singing towards the end of the day.



A couple of days ago I watched a Dunnock as it spent several minutes preening.  One thing I noticed on the close up was that when it stretches its wings it wasn't just having a good stretch but it was a way of tucking the wing under the lower layer of feathers so it could preen them. Every now and then the camcorder took a battering from a cross wind.



Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you. I am hoping that the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland will produce some interesting sunsets like the ones we got a few years ago when a certain oil depot went up in flames.

A Dunnock Comes to Call

When I noticed some activity on the outside of the Blue Tit box I took the camera down to the bottom of the garden to take some photographs. Needless to say, even though I was well away from the box, no Blue Tit was to be seen anywhere. About twelve feet from me was a tall Buddleia Globosa and every now and then a Dunnock would arrive and sit near the top of the branches.



There it would sit for a while, fly away and return a short while later.



It didn't seem to be too bothered by my presence or the camera mirror clattering. Every so often it would make a call.  Peep ....... peep ....... peep.



The number of times it kept coming back to the same bush to make its call I guess this was its chosen vantage spot to call for a mate. I did go back and collect the camcorder but the sight of a tripod seemed to be too much or it had given up calling for a while. There was a cold breeze and my fingers were growing numb so I left the Dunnock in peace and will try again another day now I know where it likes to perform.

Friday at the Flicks ( Pheasant, Rook, Dunnock)

It was quite a surprise to see the Pheasant helping itself to the fat ball I had placed in the ground dish for the Blackbirds. Two different views from different cameras.



This Rook had spotted me watching and spent a while in a tree waiting to see if I would go away before deciding to try elsewhere.



This clip of a Dunnock was taken a while ago and then forgotten about until I found it again a couple of days ago.



Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

A few Thoughts from the Regulars

"Look ma, I can levitate."


"Ah, that's why my toes are cold."


"Hey, Speedy Gonzales, where's the fire?"


"I'm sure someone said there was free corn here."


"Just look at that show off hanging down there."


Seeing the Blue Tit reminded me - a Blue Tit made a brief visit to the nest box on Saturday afternoon so it is still under consideration.