- Home
- Nature notes
- Bird photos
Click to enlarge a photo and see any descriptive text attached
Bird Photos
Mahonia berries are proving very important at the moment especially for the fledgling blackbirds that are being fed a lot of them by the parents.. blackcaps are eating them too … good energy and fluid !
Gaping beak to help cool down. Birds don’t have sweat glands so open their beaks and allow moisture to evaporate by vibrating their throat .. just like a panting dog except scientists call it gular fluttering
I followed some begging calls yesterday to discover a young goldfinch and its parent. Very lucky to see this as the goldfinches usually stay high up in the taller garden trees.
Wood pigeons are not everyone’s favourite, but the birds in the garden are good value at the moment as anyone who sits a while on one of the benches will testify. It’s not long before you’re joined by one or two plucking seeds from rye grass, struggling with twigs for their nests, or sunning themselves with outstretched wings and allowing close up views of their subtle but beautiful plumage !
The blackberries are ready ! A vital source of water for young blackbirds too.
A lovely encounter with a nuthatch in the garden today … searching crevices for insects!
Keep a look out too for the young robins hiding in the bushes. Some are 2-3 months old now and growing their first red feathers!
Just a quick mention of how important the areas of dead leaves are around the churchyard at the moment. Lots of birds, particularly blackbirds and robins rootle underneath them looking for hidden snacks .. an occasional slug, moth etc !
Over the last few days a flock of around a dozen long tailed tits have been feeding in the garden, constantly calling a hitch pitched tsee…tsee… tsee to each other. They are probably a single family unit and a real treat to watch them busying about. If you look carefully at the photos you can see the colour of their upper eyelids which apparently changes colour with their mood… It can range from yellow to red !
There are quite a few goldcrests around the garden, at the moment, particularly in the conifers near the main bench. If you have the patience there are pairs foraging together with the male having orange in its crest and the female having only yellow. Tricky to see when the crest isnt raised ! Amazing to think these are the smallest birds in the Uk weighing 6gms, less than a 20p coin .. or 6 paper clips !