Showing posts with label birds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birds. Show all posts

24 Mar 2024

Migrant birds - NOT amateur radio


As we move into British Summer Time (BST) I look forward to the arrival of migrant birds from Africa. Sand Martins are already in Devon. 
Chiffchaff
I have yet to hear a chiffchaff. Some chiffchaffs winter here and some migrate.  

Swallows are usually seen here in early April, but there are far fewer of these birds these days. Swifts are still common locally, but these are normally seen mid May.

Rape
Although many don't like the smell, when the rape comes out fields are carpeted in yellow and spring is truly here along with the blossom on trees and bushes.

8 Sept 2023

Having a chat? - NOT amateur radio

It looks like these two are having a good old chat about something. Seen in St James' Park, London on Wednesday.

2 Aug 2023

Birds - NOT amateur radio


This photo of a stonechat (if it was on before, blame me!) was taken a couple of weeks ago on the Dee estuary near Liverpool. I spotted a swift yesterday, but I suspect the adults have started their migration southwards.

UPDATE 1630z:  5 swifts seen this morning. Young?

6 Apr 2023

African migrant birds - NOT amateur radio

Swift
About now, I start to watch and listen for the returning migrant birds from Africa. Already swallows have been seen in Devon and even in East Anglia, although I have seen none. Last year I saw very few indeed. 

Locally swift numbers did not seem down on normal. Swifts usually arrive here in numbers mid May. Often they are heard screaming in the sky before they are seen. "They are back", goes out the cry and all is still well with the world. Not yet...

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/swift/.

17 Jun 2022

Young birds - NOT amateur radio


This is the season for nests and young birds. Yet again, we have some house sparrows nesting in our roof (they were there last year too) and we have dunnocks, robins, blackbirds, pigeons, collared doves and goldfinches nesting in our hedges or very nearby. There are probably others as well. This young thrush (I think) was being fed on our back lawn.

20 Nov 2021

The birds - NOT amateur radio

Starlings gather on the sails on the windmill next door. 

They do not roost here, but seem to gather here then fly off to their roost. 

They remind me of Hitchcock's film "The Birds".

24 Nov 2020

Bluetit on fatballs - NOT amateur radio

 

It was very hard to take a good photo of this bird as it kept moving! It is a bluetit eating our fatballs. Often jackdaws try to eat them too - they are as big as the feeder!

There were lots of long tail tits flitting about too. These were too fast for me.

2 Feb 2020

Magpies - NOT amateur radio

These magpies (see photo) were at Anglesey Abbey recently. A few years ago magpies were rare in this part of the UK. In nearly 40 years of travelling 12 miles into Cambridge for work I saw not a single magpie. These days I see them almost daily. At one time, buzzards were rare up here . Now we regularly see them. Red kites were limited to Wales. Now we see them often near major roads. Since the  1980s little egrets have become common in the UK.

25 Jan 2020

Big Garden Birdwatch - NOT amateur radio

Every year about now, the RSPB carries out an annual survey to find the health of our bird populations in our gardens. I have done this now for many years. You are asked to record the maximum number of each species seen at one time. I chose to do 1530z -1630z thinking I might catch birds coming in to feed before dark. What a disappointment! In all just 6 species seen , mostly larger birds. The bird table was well stocked. Quite a few common birds were absent.
  • Starling 9
  • Woodpigeon 2
  • Crow 9
  • Robin 1
  • Blackbird 1
  • Collared Dove 1
You do not have to be an RSPB member and the survey runs until Monday.

12 Oct 2019

Summer migrant birds - NOT amateur radio

At the end of September we visited our son near Canterbury. There were plenty of young swallows overhead getting ready to migrate south. Already most of the summer migrants have flown south. By now most have gone. It will be March or April next year before we see them again.

14 Jul 2019

House martin nests - NOT amateur radio

There were several nests over the bakers where we stayed in Brittany.  I am pretty sure these are house martins judging by the tail of the adult.

25 Jun 2019

Windmill starlings - NOT amateur radio

Apparently starlings are in decline in the UK. Well, not here! The photo shows the starlings gathering on "our" windmill next door last night. They roost elsewhere, but gather on the windmill sails before flying off.

The photo was taken from our front garden.

23 Mar 2019

Nest building time - NOT amateur radio

We get lots of pigeons these days. Earlier, I noticed a pair busy building a nest in our garden. This one is gathering twigs.

9 Mar 2019

Returning summer migrants - NOT amateur radio

Slowly, the summer bird migrants are returning. Already in Devon there are wheatears, sand martins and swallows. At first just the odd one, whereas by mid April, many will be commonplace once again.

9 Feb 2019

Love is in the air? - NOT amateur radio

As I put food on the birdtable this morning, I saw these collared doves together on the tree in the orchard next door. Until 1955, these were rare in the UK. Their range spread west and now they are very common here.

27 Jan 2019

UK Garden Birdwatch

Every winter for the last 40 years the RSPB (our national bird society) has organised a Garden Birdwatch. You simply sit watching the birds in your garden or park for any one hour and record the maximum number of each species seen in the hour at one time. This year I saw 9 species, but missed some quite common birds usually seen. As in earlier years, larger birds seem to dominate. We have plenty of starlings as these congregate on the nearby windmill. They do not roost there, but seem to use it as a stopping off point.

16 Aug 2018

Disappearing swifts (birds) - NOT amateur radio

About this time of year, swifts start to fly south. For a few months they are part of the British summer. They sleep and feed on the wing. The screaming swifts are a common summer sound.

Then you realise they are not here. I am sure we'll see more still, but they are moving south. By early September most will have gone. They winter south of the Sahara in Africa.

Funny how I treasure the day when the first swift of the year is seen. To me, it is a sign that life goes on. This year we seem to have had fewer swallows and house martins. Luckily here swift numbers have held up. Several people have erected swift nest boxes.

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/swift/

7 Aug 2018

Young birds - NOT amateur radio

It gladdens the heart to see young birds in our garden. There are young swifts overhead, young blackbirds and starlings, and today and yesterday, a young goldfinch (see photo).

23 Jun 2018

Baby fieldfares - NOT amateur radio

Usually in the UK we get fieldfares only in winter when they migrate across from Scandinavia chasing our "mild" weather and food, so it was a real treat to see baby fieldfares in Estonia yesterday.

15 May 2018

Migrant bird numbers down - NOT amateur radio

Although we saw plenty of swallows, house martins and a few swifts in S. Devon last week, I feel numbers are lower. By now, up here in East Anglia, swifts should be everywhere and they are usually one of the most common birds seen in late spring and summer. I have only seen a handful of swallows and not one swift or house martin up here yet! I have heard quite a few chiffchaffs in Devon. I hope numbers of migrants recover.

UPDATE 2154z: As it was warm and pleasant, we enjoyed a cup of tea in the garden. In the time we were there we saw 3 swifts overhead.