Unknown Flower, Hogs, Web Building and Others

A bit of a mixture today. First off I noticed that the older Juvenile Starlings are now beginning to change to their adult speckled plumage. One look at the beak and you can tell how they get through four fat balls every day!



Writing about fat balls - this Starling had managed to grab a remnant which was small enough to pull out of the feeder. It was being hotly pursued by another juvenile. As it rushed around and dropped its prize a couple of times little bits fell off so the other bird did end up with a share.



Compo the Blackbird still hasn't been to the birdy barbers. Feathers sticking out in all directions but otherwise its behaviour seems completely normal.



For a few days now I have been admiring a small yellow flower. It's about nine inches high and the flower is about an inch across. From its growing position in a tub near the feeders I think it has grown from the bird seed mixture. If I can find out what it is I will grow a tub of them next year as I think it is pretty and the flower seems to last quite a while.





When Bobby and I had a walk round the garden about 9 p.m. I had a look in the pond. Something I don't usually bother with at that time of night. Some movement among the plants poking out of the water caught my eye. There were at least six black and yellow striped spiders of various sizes busily weaving their webs. I was going to get the Canon to take a photo but in the end decided to try for a video clip. The light was reasonable but fading and with all the surrounding vegetation I had, for the first time with the camcorder, to use manual focus. This is a compilation of several of the spiders. I was captivated watching how busily this group of spiders were working to build up their webs and could have watched them for hours. Towards the end a certain white hairy monster decided to have a barking session.

Any identification of the spider would be appreciated.



Today I went searching in case the spiders were in view. I found several resting in the leaves of some pond plants. They don't look quite so yellow in full daylight and the black hardly shows at all.






I had once again put out the Hedgehogs' supper earlier and by half past nine there was one taker. This was the small one I saw the other night. This time by itself. I didn't want to disturb it by going outside so I took a few flash photos through the back door. Again I had to use manual focus but didn't quite get it right this time. The small hog is a little larger than half the size of the adults.



The Hedgehogs seem completely indifferent to the single flash. If I put the camera on auto focus then it sends out a rapid series of flashes while it focusses. Then the hogs notice and disappear rapidly. Bobby and I watched through the conservatory door while this little hog spent a while eating and then rushed off. When Bobby went out about half past ten there was one of the adult Hedgehogs tucking in to the leftovers.

Of Magpies and Hedgehogs

The rapid changes in the weather and lighting conditions really make photography challenging these days. On the same setting on the camera one minute you can get clear crisp photos and shutter speeds are 1/000 or 2/000 sec. A few minutes later the slightest movement of the subject blurs the picture and speeds are down to 1/25 sec. At this rate I am going to wear out the ISO change button!



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!

The Early Early Shift

When I let Bobby out about 9 p.m. I was more than a bit surprised to see a hedgehog already on the paved area under the bird feeders. Normal early shift is just after 10 p.m. and the late shift around 1 a.m.. I hadn't even started to get the food ready for hogs. Of course I had just put the cameras away for the night. Bobby went in the front garden and by the time we returned to the back door there was not a hedgehog to be seen or heard.

I hurriedly prepared some crushed unsalted peanuts and added a slack handful of dried mealworms then scattered them on the slabs hoping the hog would come back again while it was still light enough to take a photo or two.

My luck was in - somebody was hungry. About half an hour later the hog reappeared. Not wanting to disturb him - I think it was Henry - I leant the camera against the glass in the back door. Too dark. Slow shutter, blurry pictures. Oh well, try with the flash. Had to focus manually but the idea worked - no reflection from the glass, probably as the camera was pointing well down and the rubber hood was against the glass.



I also managed a short piece of video from the outside camera. Henry was having a drink of water to wash down all that free food.





I hadn't realised until I looked at these photographs how large the feet are. I seem to remember reading that the legs are longer than they look - three to four inches long. Also they can run as fast as a person can walk. They certainly never seem to hang around and always seem to be rushing somewhere.

And now for Something Completely Different

When I had some overgrown evergreens cut down a few years ago I decided it would be a good place to grow some fruit. Having lost much ripe fruit to marauding Blackbirds in the past I decided to have a fruit cage. After looking around to see what was available I decided I would be better off building my own. It is not pretty to look at but is gale proof, large enough to walk in and does an excellent job of keeping the ripe fruit safe.

From album

Last year I had excellent crops of Blackcurrants, Strawberries and Blueberries with a few Raspberries. This year all my Blueberry plants died as did the Strawberries. The Blackcurrants were attacked by greenfly but did manage to grow new leaves and produce some fruit. The Raspberries have been groaning under the weight of fruit.

Nothing quite like fresh picked fruit for taste. Unfortunately, with the aid of a dollop of single cream, they don't last very long.

From album

Also in the cage are a couple of patio pear trees, yet to produce anything, and a patio plum tree which did start to form a few plums but then the cold weather caused them to drop.

Oh well - better luck next year. At least I have a bowl of Blackcurrants ready for today and more Raspberries ripening for another day.

Preening Feathers

Once again I am stuck indoors. A few weeks ago it was gout now, for some unknown reason, the Achilles tendon on my right foot is giving me grief.

Yesterday I noticed a couple of Collared Doves sat on top of the fruit cage and one spent at least five minutes preening. This is something all birds have to do to keep their feathers in top notch condition. It is fascinating watching them carefully arrange their feathers and zip up their flight feathers by drawing them through their beak.



You can see this happen when the dove works on its tail feathers. Phil at Beyond the Human Eye wrote about the technicalities of this process in his entry Zipping Up a Feather along with some macro photos of a feather. If you find a wing or tail feather you can try the process for yourself. If you gently pull along the feather from tip to quill the sections will separate and when you pull the other way they zip back together.

Further detailed information about feathers can be found at Peteducation.com with explanations of the different types of feather.

Food Glorious Food

The weather has been very variable of late. Heavy downpours of rain with sunny intervals. No matter what the weather the birds still have to eat, only taking shelter during the heaviest rainfall.



As normal, most of the birds go about their daily lives with little fuss. The one guaranteed exception being the Starlings who spend as much time arguing as they do eating.

From MIDMARSH JOTTINGS

Compo, the scruffy looking Blackbird, still visits several time a day always collecting as much food as his beak will hold. His feathers still stick out in all directions but he seems to cope perfectly well.



The Magpies also visit several time a day. The juveniles are now feeding themselves. As usual they are very wary and this is often the view one sees of them.



During one of the short sunny intervals I managed to spot a couple of Blue-tailed Damselflies at the garden pond. This time one obligingly settled on a lily pad which gave me time to photo it. The only other insect life about was a hoverfly resting in the sunlight.

A Different Noisy Bird

While sampling my first boost of caffeine this morning the peace was broken by a different group of birds. This time it was not the feathered variety but man made metal ones. All day passenger jets cross this area but they are way up in the sky and can rarely be heard. Today it was the turn of the military who fly a lot lower.



At first I thought it might be a couple playing chase as they do from time to time as they practice their manoeuvres. This time several were circling and then heading towards the coast a few miles north of me. Then it dawned, especially after hearing a few hollow explosions, they were using the coastal bombing range. I often hear the explosions of the practice bombs but it is rare for the craft to stack over this part of the countryside as they wait their turn.

After some ten minutes they had moved on and it was so peaceful. Even the Starlings were silenced though they too were stacking up, waiting their turn for breakfast.



From my kitchen window I often observe the cloud formations I can see between the trees at the end of the garden. Where I live the 'weather' is often split as the height of the Lincolnshire Wolds divides the winds and clouds in different directions. It can often rain heavily north and south of me and we will be virtually in the clear.



Last week I spotted the first damselfly to spend some time flitting round the pond. Unusually this one did not land once while I was watching, and trying to get a shot of it. This is the only near decent photo I managed. There should be more opportunities later as the dragons and damsels usually visit me during July and August.



Henry continues to visit on the early shift but I only see Honey occasionally. The other night Henry (the hedgehog) was drinking when Bobby went out. Bobby had to have a close look - too close as his nose met the spines - but Henry just carried on drinking. After we had been round the front garden Bobby went back to the water bowl but Henry was not there so Detective Bob went investigating.



It didn't take long to follow the scent. Henry had taken cover.

I keep forgetting to report back on the ringed Starling. I did get a message back after I had sent what details I could make out. Unfortunately, as I thought, there was not enough of the number showing to be able to trace that particular bird.

If you find a ringed bird in Europe, can read all, or most, of the information on the ring and want to report it then go to the following page on the BTO site and choose which type of ring it is. Then you will be shown a form to fill in with as much information as you can. If you are lucky you will get a report back telling where and when the bird was ringed. Reporting will help the various societies who ring birds develop their knowledge about each species. How long they live. How far they travel, etc..

British Trust for Ornithology Euring Web Recoveries.