Fledgling Song Thrush

A week ago I spotted two juvenile Song Thrushes in the garden. I only managed to video one of them as I couldn't catch them close to each other.



More than a bit grainy as the video was taken at 9.30 p.m.

Thrushes

I have heard a Mistle Thrush singing most mornings for several days but haven't spotted it as yet.

At tea time today this Song Thrush did make a short appearance in the garden just beyond mine:





It appeared to be singing but I couldn't hear it above the noise from the microwave cooker.
Just as I decided to try moving the camera outside it flew away. I swear they can read my mind.

Song Thrush a Singing

This Song Thrush was in full song when we went walkabout at 7 a.m. and still singing when we returned so I set up the camera:




Background songs include Blackbird singing, Wood Pigeon droning on and House Sparrows chirping.

Song Thrush

Once again a Song Thrush was belting out its varied songs in the twilight this morning.
Later on I saw it high up in one of next doors apple trees:





Those were taken through the kitchen window.
I moved the camera to get a better direct view with the intention of filming it.
As ever, as soon as it was set up and I switched to video it flew away.

Catching Up

Nice to see a Song Thrush visiting the garden this morning:

 

In fact, not just one but two together.
I don't think I have ever seen two together before now. Hopefully a breeding pair.

Thanks to Adrian of Adrian's Images for the suggestion that the field with two apparent crops has brassicas along side Ley Grass to reduce leatherjacket damage. Sounds reasonable to me. A closer view:



Now what can Penny have possibly found to be of such interest?


Oh, just a dead one of these:

Escargot for Breakfast (video)

Song Thrush using a gravelled part of the garden as its anvil to crack open a snail shell:



Sound track:
Psychedelic Crater, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Song Thrush

Just happened to glance out of the kitchen window at the right time:







and a bit of video from the previous day:

Friday at the Flicks - Song Thrush

Spotted at Dusk

Spotted in more ways than one:



 It was very nearly 8 p.m. when I spotted this spotty Song Thrush hunting round the back garden.



On occasion I have noticed a pair under the seed feeders but it has always been too dark for photography.

Song Thrush Serenade - Video

Returning from our early morning walkies I could hear the deafening sound of a Song Thrush which must have been very close. After a cautious walk round the garden I spotted it high up in a tree next door. I half expected it to fly away as soon as I set up the camera but for once it stayed in view though I did have to move the camera when the Thrush decided to change trees:



Clips two and three also have loud House Sparrows as they were in a bush next to me while the Song Thrush was about 100 feet away.

Song Thrush

Sorry, no new flicks for this Friday.

One of our walks across one end of the cricket field gave an opportunity to see a Song Thrush foraging. It was a reasonable distance away from us so I had to put the Nikon on maximum zoom, point and hope as it was bright Sunlight and I could hardly see the screen on the camera.







I frequently see a couple of them on the field but they usually fly away. This one, though keeping an eye on us, didn't seem particularly bothered by our presence.

Song Thrush

Thursday a Song Thrush was singing from before 6.30 in the morning until at least 7.30 p.m. with a few breaks. Often it was in the top of a tree near my back door which was when I managed to photo and video it.







It stopped singing for a short period while three House Sparrows were having a noisy argument.

Song Thrush Sings

I have heard a Song Thrush singing very close on several occasions but it usually remains well hidden from sight. Finally, yesterday I spotted it high up in one of next doors apple trees but still out of clear sight:



Fortunately it would move its position from time to time and eventually it was in the clear for a decent shot:




The Song Thrush even stayed long enough to catch a video clip of it deafening me:

Friday at the Flicks - Song Thrush, Grey Squirrel, Nestbox

No apologies for another Song Thrush video. Every day as the light begins to fade a Song Thrush sits at the top of a tree close to my back door and tries to drown out the song from the Blackbirds:



A Grey Squirrel has become a regular early morning visitor trying to find any left over seeds from the previous day:



The remaining four chicks in the Great Tit nestbox continue to thrive and are growing rapily:



Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

Song Thrush

Firstly - sorry if you were trying to take a peek in the Great Tit nest last night. While a video was uploading I had to stop the streaming video. Unfortunately it took ages to get the file up to YouTube.

Recently there has been a Song Thrush belting out its song very close by. Up to yesterday evening I was never able to see where it was but by the volume it must have been close. Finally it decided to choose a place where I could see it from the kitchen window so set up the Hitachi DVD cam to get some of the song. It shows how loud the bird can be when the sound had to go through the conservatory open door through to the kitchen.



A Blackbird can also be heard in the background. That was a very short section of the song which went on for about an hour.

Song Thrush

The past couple of days a Song Thrush has been singing nearby every dawn and dusk. It is especially nice to see and hear them as they are on the RSPB red list of species whose numbers have diminished greatly. Even at -1C this morning we were greeted with its easily recognisable repertoire of repeated though varied songs. This somewhat wobbly clip was taken as the Sun was setting yesterday.



It is rare for me to see one in the garden. This shot was taken in December 2010.

Friday at the Flicks - Woodpecker - Thrush - Young Great Tit

It has been a better week for taking some new video clips. First is the unexpected visit from a Great Spotted Woodpecker helping itself to the peanuts.



On the same morning there was a rare visit to the back garden from a Song Thrush hunting for and finding a snail. Behind the wood is gravel which the thrush is using as its anvil to crack open the snail's shell.



Finally from earlier in the week a young Great Tit on a peanut feeder.



Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

Friday at the Flicks

This first video was taken a while ago when we had a particularly wet day and parts of my garden started to disappear under water. In spite of the weather the birds still had to find food. Starlings and Blackbirds took advantage of the wet grass to hunt for worms and grubs which had been forced to the surface.



Yesterday this years brat pack (Starlings and juveniles) made their first appearance.



Finally, even on dull days the birds still sing. This Song Thrush was perched on the highest point of my Leylandii tree for ten minutes.




Great Tit Nestbox:

The parents continue to feed their ever hungry offspring. It looks as though six of the seven eggs were viable which is better than last year when only four out of six hatched and fledged.

The live video feed is HERE. Yesterday I had problems with the feed as I tried out a couple of well recommended alternative firewalls to replace my usual, Zone Alarm. Unfortunately both stopped iTunes recognising the iPad and the second actually altered the settings in the router which stopped the live feed. That took me quite a while to track down and fix. Everything should be back to normal now.


Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

Friday at the Flicks - Bathing Birds, Clouds, Song Thrush

Juvenile Starlings are always good for a smile when they bathe. Sometimes they soak themselves so much they can't fly. Several times I have seen three or four in the bird bath going round in circles trying to get in the deepest bit of water. Also amusing is the way Wood Pigeons sit out in the open in pouring rain and lift their wings so that the rain can get at the feathers underneath.



It is quite a while since I last made a time lapse video. One sunny day a couple of weeks ago I set up the 350D, a wide angle lens and my home made intervalometer to take a shot every ten seconds. This is the result of just over four hundred individual photos. I forgot that the lens hood would mask the coners of the frame!



Finally a video of a Song Thrush enjoying the remaining rays from the Sun as it reached the horizon. The start of the video is as the recorder saw it. The bird was two houses away from my garden. The second section is a crop I made using Aiseesoft Total Video Converter so the definition suffers somewhat. Also heard in the background are a couple of Blackbirds and a Wood Pigeon.



Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

Song Thrush

This morning's video feed from the Great Tit nest box was reasonably successful. Once again some people get straight on to the video stream and others seem to have a problem. I don't know enough about the finer workings of the system to work out why as yet. If you do have a problem it may help if you refresh the page after a few seconds to give the system a kick start.

A couple of days ago a Song Thrush rested a while on my fence and stayed long enough for a few shots. It did start to sing but even though I tried to set up the video camera inside the partially closed door as soon as I hit the record button the bird flew away.



All being well I do have some video taken several days ago when a Song Thrush was singing so, with luck, that will be available on Friday.