uff
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Posts: 22
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Post by uff on Feb 22, 2010 22:42:56 GMT 1
Thanks all for your kind comments. One of these days OD I will enter the Countryfile calendar competition. ;D Attachments:
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Post by Old Dragon (Al) on Feb 22, 2010 22:54:35 GMT 1
And one of these days I'll pick up a paintbrush again, Uff and try to capture some of your photos in watercolour or oils, they are so inspirational. ;D
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uff
Member
Posts: 22
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Post by uff on Mar 23, 2010 20:25:59 GMT 1
Here's another picture of the sparrow hawk that I took this afternoon. Imagine those claws wrapped around your throat if you where a tiny bird. Attachments:
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Post by Old Dragon (Al) on Mar 23, 2010 21:38:07 GMT 1
What a beautiful photo, Uff, and yes, I wouldn't wish to be a victim of those talons! Not seen the sparrowhawk around here lately, but the buzzard is flying over the fields regularly, although often mobbed by the crows or seaguls if they have come inland. Didn't see many birds apart from the robin and lots of starlings at LT today, although I wasn't there long. Dai had alread seen to the old horse and ponies by the time I got back there after my appointment. It was raining, too, but having had a belated birthday present of two Bramley apple trees, I needed to pop in with those. They are in the building at the moment, and awaiting planting. I'd actually been anticipating crab apple trees, but apparently nowhere had any for sale at a sensible price. I don't suppose the birds will mind large Bramleys instead of little crabs, and there can't be much to choose between them on the 'sour' front! (I may just pink a few fruits for a crumble, though, if we get any!) ;D
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uff
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Posts: 22
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Post by uff on Jun 17, 2010 22:10:22 GMT 1
I sat watching a nest of swallows after I had set up a hide in the barn this afternoon. If you look carefully you can see the flies in the parents beak and one that got away to the left of it. Attachments:
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Post by Old Dragon (Al) on Jun 17, 2010 23:08:47 GMT 1
What an amazing photo, Uff. (Think if I were a swallow, I'd not want to build a nest for my young under all those sharp pointed nails, though! ) I really must start making a list of all the birds I've seen in our bird garden, although I've still not set eyes on a wren in months, or a goldcrest. A trio of greenfinches - a male and two females - came really close to me today, but I'd no camera with me. The colour of the male is just fabulous. He perched on the gate between the two yards for a little while, and as the sun was shining, and he was gleaming magnificently. Lots of tits appear to be feeding young, and were flying back and forth from several directions ant at very frequent intervals. One great tit kept appearing from between the buildings at intervals of less than a minute for about ten minutes or longer, whilst I took a tea break. Fairly sure it was the same bird, as it's looking a bit tatty, so perhaps has a very large brood to look after. I'm thinking of getting some waste meat from the butcher to hook up somewhere out of reach of cats and dogs, and to encourage flies and maggots for the birds! We could get away with it down there, as no residents near enough to complain about the smell. After I'd cut some of the docks and grass on the lower area of the bird garden and racked it up, lots of LBJs and a robin flocked to that area looking for insects. The place is already teeming with life, and it will be so much better once the trees and shrubs have grown and plants better established. I earthed up the potatoes growing in the manure heap, disturbing a very large number of small worms in the process, and once again, the birds just appeared for a feast as soon as I was out of their way.
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uff
Member
Posts: 22
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Post by uff on Jun 18, 2010 21:54:48 GMT 1
I felt sure that the babies would fledge this morning but still there this afternoon. One of the parents thought so too because it constantly flew to the nest with a piece of dried grass and sat waiting. Presumably wanting to repair the nest for the next egg laying session.
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Post by Old Dragon (Al) on Jun 18, 2010 23:33:05 GMT 1
I wonder if they are all little boy swallows? Human boys always seem to take longer to leave the nest, so perhaps swallows are like them?
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Post by Old Dragon (Al) on Jul 15, 2010 22:45:13 GMT 1
There were EIGHT great tits; FIVE bluetits; a nuthatch; a chaffinch; a greenfinch; a coal tit; a robin, and two hen blackbirds on one feeder by the building today, and all at the same time! There were a further two robins on the veranda helping themselves to the mix I'd left there to cool down and solidify a bit before scooping it into the half-coconut shells, and also two dunnocks under the feeder grabbing what all the others dropped!
Once the caravan is sited properly, we'll have to get another feeding station set up just outside its window for visitors to enjoy watching them close to hand.
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Post by Old Dragon (Al) on Jul 23, 2010 21:29:48 GMT 1
There was a sparrowhawk in the bird garden yesterday, and causing quite a stir. I think it killed a fledgling house martin, as the adults were doing their best to defend it by mobbing the hawk and making a dreadful racket. There's an incredile number of birds appearing on the feeder nearest the building and at the same time. I am sure they are watching for when I refill the coconut shells, because they clearly love the homemade mixture and come flocking in almost before I am out of the way. Yesterday, there were nearly 30 birds at one point on or beneath that feeding station within minutes of me topping things up. By far the greatest number being great tits and blue tits. Two baby robins barely out of their nest were feeding on the ground with three young chaffinches, and even trying to beg for food from them. It was quite a funny sight. They tried it on with the dunnocks, too, but when an adult robin appeared, it attacked one of the little robins and that hid under the neighbour's chicken shed until the adult left - then it popped out again to see what the other birds had dropped off the feeding station. We are starting to identify some individual birds and giving them names, especially the hen blackbirds, known as 'No-Tail' and 'Gutsy'.
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Post by RuthE on Jul 25, 2010 17:46:20 GMT 1
The water I am putting out is attracting as many birds as the feeders right now. With only a couple of hours of rain over the last couple of months water must be harder for them to find than food. Besides the birds on the feeders and water we've had huge flocks of swallows and house martins flying around every day, and occasionally stopping for a rest on the telephone wire.
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Post by Jazz on Jul 25, 2010 19:48:56 GMT 1
I have noticed there are a lot less birds this year, what a shame
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Post by Old Dragon (Al) on Aug 13, 2010 11:25:46 GMT 1
Yesterday, on just one of the Llys Trerobert feeding stations or beneath it, I counted the following visitors at the same time - a record for us, I believe, and as observed... Goodness knows how many visit when people are not around!
It is no wonder that they are getting through 12 kilos of lard and 12 of porridge oats; 100 fat balls; 4 kilos of peanuts and a sack of 20 kilos of wild bird seed every month!
8 great tits 5 blue tits 1 coal tit 6 chaffinches 2 greenfinches 5 blackbirds 6 robins 3 dunnocks 1 nuthatch
I make that 37 birds feeding at the same time, and not counting the ones on the other two feeding stations during the time it took for me to drink one mug of tea!
I should add that 5 of the robins were fledglings and the adult present wasn't too happy about them being there.
I'd moved a rotting log from under the feeding station and exposed quite a lot of worms. The young robins and blackbirds appeared, as if from nowhere, and almost before I'd sat down for my cuppa, the worms and bugs had disappeared inside the birds.
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