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, 11 May 2012
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
Moonshine
A couple of nights ago, when the Moon was at its closest, I took a few shots. These were hand held though I did rest the lens on some fencing to give a bit of stability.
Close view: (cropped)
Wider view which tended to over expose the Moon to get some detail in the foreground. Emphasised using the ReDynaMix plugin in Photoshop Elements.
Great Tit Nest
Yesterday I counted six gaping beaks as they reminded the parents they were hungry. I wonder whether the final egg will hatch. The parent birds are kept busy enough feeding them all as it is.
When available the video feed from the nestbox can be seen HERE. There are times when I have to switch it off as it slows down other uses, especially uploads, with the computer.
Close view: (cropped)
Wider view which tended to over expose the Moon to get some detail in the foreground. Emphasised using the ReDynaMix plugin in Photoshop Elements.
Great Tit Nest
Yesterday I counted six gaping beaks as they reminded the parents they were hungry. I wonder whether the final egg will hatch. The parent birds are kept busy enough feeding them all as it is.
When available the video feed from the nestbox can be seen HERE. There are times when I have to switch it off as it slows down other uses, especially uploads, with the computer.
Monday, 7 May 2012
Macro on Monday - Great Tits Feeding Babies
Well, I made a mess of last week's Guess What to start with. The plant I chose is growing in a thick hedge nearby and I had it fixed in my mind for days that I was looking as a Holly bush but no, I was wrong and gave a misleading clue to start with - sorry to all who were confused. It was in fact a Mahonia which fortunately was correctly identified by Keith, Jan and Wilma who thoroughly deserve the 
this week.
That will be the last Guess What for some weeks while I concentrate on the goings on in the Great Tit Nestbox. Many thanks to all who have had a go at identifying the various objects over the past months.
GREAT TIT NESTBOX
It is hard to tell whether there are five or six baby Great Tits in the nest now. My guess is five. They are keeping Mama and Papa very busy feeding all those hungry beaks. Here is a bit of video from this morning: (It took over 2hrs to upload this short clip to YouTube this morning!)
I will continue with the streaming video as often as I can. I have to turn it off if I want to copy any clips from the DVR as the computer can handle only one video input at a time.
The live stream can be found HERE. It will mainly run from about 7am to 8pm local time, sometimes longer. From about 9pm to 10pm I switch over to the Hedgehog camera as one often visits during that time.
this week. That will be the last Guess What for some weeks while I concentrate on the goings on in the Great Tit Nestbox. Many thanks to all who have had a go at identifying the various objects over the past months.
GREAT TIT NESTBOX
It is hard to tell whether there are five or six baby Great Tits in the nest now. My guess is five. They are keeping Mama and Papa very busy feeding all those hungry beaks. Here is a bit of video from this morning: (It took over 2hrs to upload this short clip to YouTube this morning!)
I will continue with the streaming video as often as I can. I have to turn it off if I want to copy any clips from the DVR as the computer can handle only one video input at a time.
The live stream can be found HERE. It will mainly run from about 7am to 8pm local time, sometimes longer. From about 9pm to 10pm I switch over to the Hedgehog camera as one often visits during that time.
Sunday, 6 May 2012
Feeding the Offspring
Yesterday two of the Great Tits eggs hatched which kept both parents busy finding small enough food for such tiny beaks. I was able to capture some of the activity on the DVR which gives a clearer picture than the streaming video: One time both parent birds arrived with food and they seemed to stare at each other wondering what to do next as ma had food in her beak and pa usually hands over his food for her to give to the babies. Notice how both adults carefully keep to the edge of the nest so as not to stand on the youngsters.
Live streaming video HERE. It takes a few seconds to appear.
It looks as though five of the eggs have hatched now - two more to go.
Live streaming video HERE. It takes a few seconds to appear.
It looks as though five of the eggs have hatched now - two more to go.
Saturday, 5 May 2012
Mrs GT is a Mum
Some time this afternoon the first eggs hatched in the Great Tit nestbox.
Now there are two babies to feed.
Here Mrs GT is eating the eggshell:
Video feed can be seen HERE. (approximately 7am to 8pm British Summer Time)
The video feed is quite small. The way I see it a bit larger in IE is to increase the page magnification in IE to 150% then right click on the video and change the zoom figure to 200%. A similar trick in other browsers should work in the same way.
Photo taken from my monitor as I can't take snapshots from the video feed while it is sending streaming video. Mr GT has just given Mrs GT a tiny grub to feed the babies.
Now there are two babies to feed.
Here Mrs GT is eating the eggshell:
Video feed can be seen HERE. (approximately 7am to 8pm British Summer Time)
The video feed is quite small. The way I see it a bit larger in IE is to increase the page magnification in IE to 150% then right click on the video and change the zoom figure to 200%. A similar trick in other browsers should work in the same way.
Photo taken from my monitor as I can't take snapshots from the video feed while it is sending streaming video. Mr GT has just given Mrs GT a tiny grub to feed the babies.
Friday, 4 May 2012
Friday at the Flicks - Experimental Nestbox Live Video Stream
Since I changed my router I have found that I can now stream live video from the Great Tit Nestbox.
Click HERE to access the stream which should open in a new window. It may take a few seconds for the picture to appear. I'm not sure yet how long or how often I will use this facility. Experimental as yet.
One thing I have found - unfortunately the video will not show on iPads or iPhones as it uses Flash which is not available on these devices. Camstreams are developing apps for Android and iOS and hope to have them available in a few months time.
If you have problems viewing the video stream on a PC or Mac have a look at the Camstreams help page HERE,
Click HERE to access the stream which should open in a new window. It may take a few seconds for the picture to appear. I'm not sure yet how long or how often I will use this facility. Experimental as yet.
One thing I have found - unfortunately the video will not show on iPads or iPhones as it uses Flash which is not available on these devices. Camstreams are developing apps for Android and iOS and hope to have them available in a few months time.
If you have problems viewing the video stream on a PC or Mac have a look at the Camstreams help page HERE,
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
Changes All Round
First, an apology. In a Senior Moment I mis-identified the plant shown in yesterday's Macro on Monday so I have changed the clue on that post.
No wonder the weather is one of the main talking points in this country. It can be so changeable. Sunday - raining all day. Monday - wall to wall warm Sunshine. Tuesday - awake to damp, dull conditions.
Today I change my broadband router. My present one is not wireless so to connect the iPad I have used a USB add on wireless connection which seems to have stopped working. Fortunately Zen Internet pre program the router with the information for it to connect to them straight away. All I have to do is work out the settings for the iPad and an internet radio.
Zen is far from being the cheapest internet provider but I have found their service and help to be second to none with UK based problem solvers who know their system inside out and go the extra mile to sort out any problems, not that there are many problems that need solving. When I compare their competence with Tiscali (taken over by Talk Talk) where any problems had to fit in with the script on the screen in front of them otherwise they just did not understand or have the ability to help I can only conclude that you get what you pay for.
After I had been with Zen for a while I found out that they regularly come out top ISP in the Which? report and I fully endorse that conclusion. My main reason for choosing Zen in the first place was their monthly contract rather than the usual yearly ones. After my experiences with Tiscali I wanted to be able to change provider quickly if things went wrong but happily that thought has never crossed my mind with Zen.
No wonder the weather is one of the main talking points in this country. It can be so changeable. Sunday - raining all day. Monday - wall to wall warm Sunshine. Tuesday - awake to damp, dull conditions.
Today I change my broadband router. My present one is not wireless so to connect the iPad I have used a USB add on wireless connection which seems to have stopped working. Fortunately Zen Internet pre program the router with the information for it to connect to them straight away. All I have to do is work out the settings for the iPad and an internet radio.
Zen is far from being the cheapest internet provider but I have found their service and help to be second to none with UK based problem solvers who know their system inside out and go the extra mile to sort out any problems, not that there are many problems that need solving. When I compare their competence with Tiscali (taken over by Talk Talk) where any problems had to fit in with the script on the screen in front of them otherwise they just did not understand or have the ability to help I can only conclude that you get what you pay for.
After I had been with Zen for a while I found out that they regularly come out top ISP in the Which? report and I fully endorse that conclusion. My main reason for choosing Zen in the first place was their monthly contract rather than the usual yearly ones. After my experiences with Tiscali I wanted to be able to change provider quickly if things went wrong but happily that thought has never crossed my mind with Zen.
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