Bedlam at the Feeders

An abrupt change in the weather this morning brought a gusty wind with rain and snow mixed. It is a long while since I had to top up the seed feeders during the morning but the birds had obviously taken notice of the weather forecast for a cold spell which may last into next week and decided to stock up with as much as possible in the shortest time.

Clear off mate. I was here first.


Go find you own feeder. This one is occupied.


Tally Ho. We will soon knock all those Sparrows off their perches.


Ah. A free space at last.


How do you get the seeds out through those tiny slots?


It's all mine.


 It has been a while since so many Greenfinches came to the feeders near the kitchen. They usually prefer the feeders nearer the bottom of the garden.

ProStalk Wildlife Camera

Back in the Summer I purchased a ProStalk Wildlife Camera. The camera has built in passive IR detectors and a set of LEDs for night time flash illumination. Although the camera body is weather proof I decided to give it some support as it is quite heavy and some cover to keep the worst of the rain, snow and bird droppings away.



It was after missing shots of a visiting Kingfisher and the first visits by a Grey Heron I decided to  have an automatic camera watching over the garden pond. The camera takes four D cells or it can be run from an external 6V battery. Up to now I have been using rechargeable D cells but they only last a few days.

The ProStalk can take still shots or movie clips. The once I tried the movie facility I was very disappointed with the quality so I keep it set for still shots. There are a few choices when setting it up. I have it set to take three photos in succession when it spots any heat source and there is then a one minute rest before it will take any more. This to conserve battery power. Photos and video are stored on an SD memory card.

So far it has spotted very little, sometimes because I forget to change the batteries in time, sometimes because I think it is slow to react. During the icy weather it did manage to capture some Blackbirds and the occasional cat walking on the surface of the frozen pond or the occasional Collared Dove flying past.



 Although I have been somewhat disappointed with its performance so far it is still handy to have a camera which will automatically record visiting animals and birds. The next thing I will do is connect it to a rechargeable sealed lead acid 6V battery so that it can keep operating for longer periods without me having to keep an eye on the power levels. The batter will also be constantly trickle charged so it should never run down. The camera has the facility to plug in an external battery so no modifications have to be made.

More information about the camera can be found HERE.

Just Good Friends

A couple of House Sparrows were sat next to each other calmly ignoring the constant arguments between the Blackbirds on the ground below.



Here a pair of Collared Doves were sat on top of the artificial wagon wheel taking it in turns to preen each other. It was probably this pair I saw mating the day before and one of which was snapping small branches off a miniature tree to take up to the tall Leylandii.



They stayed there for about ten minutes so I was also able to take some video which I will probably keep for Friday.

Nest box news.



A Blue Tit made a very brief visit to the nest box yesterday so at least they haven't forgotten about it.

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.

Determination

Every now and then a Blackbird decides it wants to eat from one of the seed feeders. The problem is that the ring perches are too small for them to balance and get their head in the hole so they have to flap like mad to maintain their balance.



The Pheasant continues to make the odd appearance. This time it was interested in a fat ball I had placed in the ground dish so the Blackbirds could get their share.



Whoops - clumsy!


There should be a video clip of this action on Friday.

As far as the Collared Doves are concerned Spring must be round the corner. This morning I spotted one breaking a thin branch off one of my dwarf trees and flying off with it into the large Leylandii.

When is a Blackcap not a Blackcap?

There I was standing just inside the conservatory with the door open trying to get some clearer shots of the local bird visitors in the nearby bushes. After a couple of false alarms I spotted a small bird with a jet black cap and thought to myself, "At last" as I had never seen a Blackcap before. Although it was roughly twelve feet away it took no notice of me or the sound of the mirror clattering in the camera as I took a few shots.

Once I had transferred the photos to the computer and cropped them I decided to check with my trusty Collins Complete Guide to check whether what I had seen was really a Blackcap. Of course I had been wrong.



The body colouring was completely wrong. What had visited was a female Bullfinch. The first one of those I have seen. A couple of years ago I had briefly seen a male Bullfinch but no other sightings since until this female turned up yesterday.



I hope there are a couple breeding in the area.  It would be really great to have them visit the feeders.

Pigeons in Flight

There can be up to five Wood Pigeons in the garden at the same time these days and they are often flying around the neighbourhood. Yesterday I stood just outside the back door to see what I could get in the way of flight shots.

Just about to land on the telegraph pole - a favourite vantage spot.


Racing a Greenfinch to the trees.


Wings and tail spread for a glide down.


Touch down -
The Angel of the East Midlands? - with apologies to the Angel of the North.


After spending two nights in a tree at the bottom of the garden and staying around long enough to be counted the Pheasant seems to have moved elsewhere.

So far I have seen no more activity in the Blue Tit nest box since my last piece of video.