Bird Story

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MISSING PIGEONS - lost and found

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Mute swan

August 31st 2010 07:53

The Mute swan is an year-round inhabitant of the British Isles. It resides on Lakeland, ponds and rivers and is partially domesticated. Unlike wild swans, the mute swan has an orange patch on its bill, rather than yellow.

Also known as Cygnus olor, this 60-inch bird lays between 5 and 12 greenish-white eggs, usually in April. The nest is made close to water and the ground and consists of down and vegetation. Both parents protect the eggs and young, which are carried for a time on the parents back when hatched.

Although often seen consuming human scraps such as bread and cheese, when not fed by human hand the mute swan consumes vegetation and insects.

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Posted By: sandeye - Category: No Category

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New facts and Arundel view

August 27th 2010 17:47

Just by glancing out of the kitchen window for circa two minutes, I learned two new peices of information regarding birds today:
* Starlings eat elderberries
&
* Blue-tits eat unripe blackberries.

Continuing with the theme of my recent visit to Arundel wetlands reserve, I offer a photograph taken from the restaurant. It portrays my father's silhouette along with a scenic view of the waters that one can peruse whilst dining, snacking, resting, or waiting. In our case post walking around prior to transport home.

As you can see, there is a swan serenely passing by - most of the other birds have not shown up in this photo.

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Posted By: sandeye - Category: No Category

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Yard Bird Update 5

August 24th 2010 17:09

Once again, my father has kept me away from much of my bird observations. He has been quite poorly and needing much attention. A few moments spare have allowed me to glimpse a little yard action however.

I was standing at the window exhausted, taking a breather, when a robin came and sat on the sill staring in at me. It is pleasant to be reminded that I have some local friends, if not quite as friendly as my dear pigeons at the former home. I put a piece of cheese out for him in case he came back, but he hasn’t yet.

WP has been busy in the front yard. I spotted him fly down and peck about munching a few seeds whilst waiting for Dad to wake from his post-lunch nap. WP then flew up into the tree outside next door’s house and stared at me for a time. The photo did not come out very well though - you cannot spot him; it is seemingly all tree and no WP!

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Posted By: sandeye - Category: No Category

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ARUNDEL WETLANDS RESERVE 4

August 20th 2010 16:18

If my bird guide tells the truth, this bird is known as the Emperor Goose. As I know very little about wildfowl in the wetlands reserves of England, a bird guide is somewhat essential. I only have a basic guide with pictures and names - no details. So, for bird buffs like me, I need to consult a secondary source and swat up on things…

[ Click here to read more ]

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Posted By: sandeye - Category: No Category

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ARUNDEL WETLANDS RESERVE 3

August 17th 2010 16:29

This is one of the easier ducks to identify - the mandarin duck. With its bright plumage, it is often caught on film - or digital apparatus - and this bird did not escape my May trip to the wetlands reserve. I managed to get pictures both in water and on land to share with you.

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Posted By: sandeye - Category: No Category

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ARUNDEL WETLANDS RESERVE 2

August 13th 2010 16:47

Walking along outside the restaurant area directly after my dad’s group ate their cream tea we came across a multitude of birds - mostly geese and ducks. For a while we hung around a bench, as my dad is quite elderly and not able to walk the circuit enthusiastically right away. Here are a couple of shots of some birds taking it easy as well.

Um yes - another pigeon - you probably know by now that I cannot resist photographing pigeons! I promise that most of my photos are of waterfowl though - even if a few pigeons crept into the view of my camera!

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Posted By: sandeye - Category: No Category

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ARUNDEL WETLANDS RESERVE 1

August 10th 2010 16:27

It should be no surprise to regular readers that my first photo is of a show pigeon - having spent circa 25% of my camera usage on pigeons over the past 3-4 years since obtaining my first digital camera.

Naturally, spotting this little fellow, I snapped him quickly. However, most of the rest of my wildfowl reserve photos are actually of waterfowl… as the next few show.

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Posted By: sandeye - Category: No Category

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BABY BLACKBIRD

August 6th 2010 16:56

My father's aged persons’ church group visited the Arundel Wetlands Reserve in West Sussex during May this year. I took a total of 118 photos of the 2-hour excursion and have deleted the duds - such as ducks’ tails, headless ducks that ducked into the water at the wrong moment, and blurs that were supposed to be geese or ducks until they went too fast for the camera to capture.

The rest of the pictures I can share with you in my next few postings. However, they are preceded by two photos of a baby blackbird who graced the tree outside my window recently. The photos are somewhat blurry - mainly because the bird moved so much, and so it was difficult to take decent pictures.

& here is a quick pic of Mr and Mrs Coo, before moving on to the waterfowl….

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Posted By: sandeye - Category: No Category

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Yard Bird Update 4

August 3rd 2010 17:34

I have not had much time to glance out of the window, let alone sit back on the bed and relaxingly observe the tree antics. I have been on 5-6 hour hospital visiting shifts followed by my father coming home and needing 24/24 care.

However, I did encounter a baby wood pigeon sitting on the garden frame for a while and then flying to the water bowl this afternoon. It landed on the rim, then fluttered to turn around as it had landed facing backwards! It took a drink before I lost sight of, rushing off to attend to my dad

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106

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Photos from Dec 09-May 10 - 8

July 30th 2010 16:26

One further photo of the adult goldfinch….

And then the promised snap of the baby goldfinch. As you can see, the head markings of the juvenile are not as vivid as that of the adult bird. The identification took me through several pages of my bird identifying guide before I checked - and discovered that yes, baby goldfinches do not have the head markings of the adult - so it was just a youngster and not a new species I had found in the yard.