The Wanderers Return

What a week - started off really busy and then my broadband speed with Tiscali dropped from a normal 3500Kb/s to a drastic 110Kb/s. Not for the first time as the same thing happened towards the end of last year. All appears to be back to normal now.

After an absence of a few weeks I was very pleased to see the Goldfinches return to the feeders. I managed to take a very short piece of video before the hairy monster went out the back door and scared them off. As the clip was so short I slowed it down to half speed so it would be worth the effort of watching.



Also I was very pleased to see the hedgehogs had not gone AWOL but had changed their routine. Checking through my security video recordings I found that instead of arriving soon after 10pm they had moved their visits to a quarter to one in the morning for several days. Last night though, Honey was back on the early shift so Bobby was able to say a quick hello before bedtime.

Jackdaws continue to visit the ground feeder. They are always on the look out for danger - forever glancing up and in all directions. This one can be seen placing seeds under its feet, presumably while it strips off the outer covering. I have often seen Blue, Coal and Great Tits hold a Sunflower seed on a branch while they peck off small pieces but it wasn't until I viewed this piece of video that I saw a Jackdaw do a similar thing.

Noisy Days

The Starlings continue to squabble over whose turn it is to eat the fat balls. Mostly it is the youngsters who fight off the adults!

Out for our morning constitutional a bit before 7 a.m. this morning I observed a flock of eight Magpies flying about making their normal grating calls.

I wonder how many UK residents remember the childrens programme Magpie and the song which started every show:

One for sorrow, two for joy;
Three for a girl, four for a boy;
Five for silver, six for gold;
Seven for a secret, never to be told;
Eight for a wish, nine for a kiss;
Ten for a bird that's best to miss.

I forgot to make my wish.

On the roof of a bungalow there was an adult Rook feeding two juveniles and what a racket they make when they are hungry. Virtually every type of bird is now accompanied by a few youngsters all calling for food. When we arrived back there were the usual pair of Jackdaws finding what few scraps were left over from yesterday.

On a more melodious note here is a Blackbird doing what Blackbirds do best. He was sat on my aerials singing his little heart out a couple of days ago. It was quite windy but fortunately it only affected the sound for one short section.

Young Jackdaw, Young Greenfinches

Whilst enjoying some welcome sunshine in the garden yesterday I noticed a group of Jackdaws constantly visiting the same area. Wandering down to the end of the garden I could see a baby Jackdaw at the base of a chimney stack a couple of houses away. A group of about six adults were flying around, sometimes landing on the chimney but never next to the young one.

From MIDMARSH JOTTINGS

They seemed to be calling to it and encouraging it to fly up to their level. After much coming and going the baby eventually joined them next to the chimney pot and after resting a while flew off with the adults.



At no time did any of the adults attempt to feed the baby. They just appeared to want it to move away from that spot.

AWOL

For the past two nights there has been no sign of either Hedgehog while I've been watching. Possibly a combination of lighter nights meaning a later start for them and the fact that I go to bed early.

Flapping Galore

This morning the Greenfinches visited with three babies. All the babies were sat on the shed cables and I though the adult was going to get blown off by the draught made by all three youngsters flapping their wings furiously at the same time.

A short video of one youngster being fed this morning:

Video - Greenfinch feeding a Juvenile

I was filming a Greenfinch and a Chaffinch at the seed feeder. On the cables above the feeder was a juvenile Greenfinch. The adult flew up to the juvenile and started to feed it. Fascinating the amount of wing flapping the juvenile does which must be to encourage the adult to pass over the seeds. Before and after this action it was perfectly steady and could fly easily.



There might have been more to see if a gang of Starlings hadn't barged in at the wrong moment!

Male Chaffinch Feeding Another

I just happened to catch sight of this. A male Chaffinch kept taking seeds from the lawn and flying up to another to feed it. I can't be sure whether the second one is a juvenile or his lady friend. What I found curious was the way the second bird kept moving its head from side to side. I managed to get three of these short episodes on video before the birds flew off together.




Later in the day it seemed the same pair of Chaffinches were either side of the feeder when the juvenile / female took off and flew round to the male with what appears to be a seed in its beak.



Yesterday there was a Great Tit at the peanut feeder which was determined to get one particular piece but seemed to end up dropping most of it before changing its mind. A Robin spent a while trying to balance on the smooth metal perch on a seed feeder. After several tries it eventually managed to fly off with a seed.

Bee Heaven

At the bottom of my garden is a very vigorous Buddleia Globosa. Every two or three years I cut it hard back and within a year it is back up to size - about 7ft high and 7ft wide. At the moment it is a riot of yellow / orange ball shaped flowers.

Just before tea time I wandered down with the camera to see what insect life was being attracted. It was swarming with bees, dozens of them all working hard flitting from ball to ball. They were all of the same black, yellow and orange colouring which I think may be Bombus pratorum. The bush certainly looked like bee heaven by the numbers attracted to it.



Yummy, Yummy - sweet nectar.

A Bit of Hoggy Colour

I thought I had everything set up correctly for Hoggy Cam to stay in colour so I was somewhat dismayed when it switched to black and white about 9.30 last night. There was still reasonable light outside so I went out and set it up again and this time it stayed in colour. Henry duly arrived a couple of minutes after ten and stayed for a brief while scoffing dried mealworms and then trundled off. I watched and waited until it was nearly 11pm but no other Hedgehog was seen.



Not as clear as a camcorder would be but using this method I can stay in the warmth these cool evening and I don't have to cope with my aversion to moths.
This is the only bit I managed to capture last night. The colour changes briefly a couple of times - that was me fiddling with the software settings. The only problem with colour pictures is everyone can see the paved area needs weeding!