Hungry Corvids

It has become a regular event to see four or five Jackdaws in the garden along with three or four Rooks eating the left over seed I scatter on the lawn. They have quite different eating habits. The Rooks gather and store seed in the pouch under their beaks whereas the Jackdaws eat there and then.

Yesterday there was one Rook among three Jackdaws. It was getting quite annoyed as they encroached on its feeding area and kept trying to chase them off but it was no match for a group.







In the end it waddled away to a different part of the garden leaving the spoils to the Jackdaws.





I usually put a slice of bread in one of the feeders which helps to fill up the larger birds. Yesterday a Rook had managed to pull out quite a large piece and was sat for a while with it in its beak as if it was working out what was the best way to deal with its prize.



There is never a dull moment watching the larger birds as I can often see them stand and look carefully from various positions as they work out how to approach a problem.

Quite a surprise this morning when we got back from an earlier than usual early morning walk as there was a tight group of eleven Rooks feeding on the lawn. Still too dark to photograph unfortunately.

Colourful Starling, The Moon, Pond Water Tastes Best

Look at a Starling in dull weather and they seem to be a very drab bird, black or dark grey. On the other hand when the Sun is shining at the right level their feathers appear to glow with a multitude of colours.



As the sky was clear last night I decided to take a sturdy tripod outside so I could try the 100-400mm lens to see how it would cope with photographing the Moon. I was quite surprised and not a little pleased with the results which contained good detail even after cropping.





I wonder what is special about pond water. Although Bobby has a bowl of water next to his food bowl it seems that the water in my nursery pond must have a taste more to his liking.



A good job he was drinking from the opposite end to the place where I had put the frog spawn for safety.

More Frenzied Spring Cleaning and Hedgehog Visits

Yesterday morning the Blue Tit was once again working hard to clean out the nestbox. The video runs at about double speed to keep the file size down. No soundtrack on any of these video clips.



Once the bird had had enough of cleaning the interior the outside was given a thorough examination.



During last night a Hedgehog made two visits to the feeding area. This one has been seen twice before this year but I'm fairly sure it is not Henry from last year so I will christen it Horace as from its size it could well be a male.



The IR light only reflect from one of his eyes so I guess Horace is blind in one eye for some unknown reason. This should not affect his ability to find food as Hedgehogs have poor eyesight and rely mainly on their excellent sense of smell.

Friday at the Flicks (The Early Rook, Bathing in the Rain, Frogs)

It's the early Rook which catches the left over mealworms:
(Silent video capture)


Once again a Wood Pigeon was making the most of a rainy day to have a wash and brush up. They often stand on the raised edge of the pond and use their heads to splash wather.


Some video clips of the Common Frogs which visited the pond a few days ago:
(It was a windy day so there is some noise on the soundtrack)


 Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

Different Hedgehog Visitors

An earlyish visit from a Hedgehog last night. I am not sure whether it is the same one seen two nights ago as the marking look different though they appear about the same size. It stayed for nearly five minutes helping itself to dried mealworms, unsalted peanuts and raisins. No sound on this clip which shows the final part of the visit.



On checking back this is the Hedgehog which visited on my birthday. There is a dark mark on its left flank where the one two nights ago has a light patch on the left hand side.

The Bees are a Buzzing

After a session of Heath Robinson experimentation in the morning the weather was so nice in the afternoon I took a chair out and sat with the camera hoping to catch a few photos of the birds which come to bathe in the little waterfall on the garden pond. As usual, in the hour I sat there, not one bird came anywhere near the pond.

All the activity I saw was centred on a new tree I had planted a few weeks ago. One day when I was looking round the local Focus store I spotted some small grafted weeping pussy willow trees and though that one would look nice next to the pond. With the warmer weather the catkins have started opening and yesterday there were constant visits from the local bees. I watched as one bumble bee flew over the roof of the building and made a bee line for the tree.







Love the way this bee clings on to the branches and squeezes through to get at the nectar.


Fill those pollen sacks


 With the warmer weather there is less strain on the seed feeders as the birds find more of their natural food but I still get quite a few corvids first thing each morning. This Rook presented a lovely side view for a portrait.

Henry Enjoys His Food

Since I last spotted Henry the Hedgehog four nights ago he had been nowhere to be seen. Last night he turned up early and soon tucked in to dried mealworms, crushed peanuts and raisins. In all he made three short visits to the food dish.