For WHO's birders

[Nurse Ratched]

"I thought you might like this video.



It's a compilation of different birds singing. Beautiful photography. If you expand the 'title' under the video it gives a list of species and the times they pop up in the video. Most of the species are familiar to us in the UK, but there are some 'exotics' (the cranes - wow, what a noise!) It was filmed in Belarus. The guy has a channel you can subscribe to. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and maybe it'll take your mind off you-know-what for a few blessed minutes."

[Nurse Ratched]

Oh, and monkey nuts. The birds and squirrels prefer them in their shells. When I put out shelled raw peanuts, they weren't that keen. 

[Nurse Ratched]

In case you were looking for inspiration, I buy large sacks of sunflower hearts off Amazon. The sacks are about 15kg. Cheaper to buy in bulk, of course. The suet balls I buy are called 'Extra Select Insect Suet Balls'. They have little bits of insects in them. They come in a big, tough plastic box. The empty tubs are really useful when repurposed around the house. Storage, whatever. I even use one for cold/fridge fermentation of bread dough. I also buy the RSPB's 'Buggy Nibbles' for the ground feeding birds and dried mealworms. I buy live mealworms during the spring and early summer to help the robins and tits feed their chicks.

[Nurse Ratched]

And today, for the first time, two flittery chiffchaffs.
I presume they followed the blackcap: 'warbler see, warbler do'. Can't stop grinning. Truly fantastic birding lately.

Also watched a red kite flying after a pigeon in the air with great determination. I don't know whether it was hunting it on the wing, or just got fed up of being harried and turned the tables. Do they hunt pigeons on the wing?? Also saw my great spotted woodpecker bully a parakeet off a feeder. The woody never behaves like that towards other birds, so I suspect there is aggro between them. Maybe competition for resources, nesting sites, etc. 

 

What food do the Woodpecker and parakeets go for?

Both of them eat suet balls and sunflower hearts from the vertical hanging feeders.

[stubbo]

And today, for the first time, two flittery chiffchaffs.
I presume they followed the blackcap: 'warbler see, warbler do'. Can't stop grinning. Truly fantastic birding lately.

Also watched a red kite flying after a pigeon in the air with great determination. I don't know whether it was hunting it on the wing, or just got fed up of being harried and turned the tables. Do they hunt pigeons on the wing?? Also saw my great spotted woodpecker bully a parakeet off a feeder. The woody never behaves like that towards other birds, so I suspect there is aggro between them. Maybe competition for resources, nesting sites, etc. 

 

What food do the Woodpecker and parakeets go for?

[Nurse Ratched]

Yes, song thrushes were really common in the 1970s, even in urban areas. 

[One Sunny Day]

See red kites, daily, above my house. Shame I've only ever had one land once though they do hover really low over my garden. Huge fuckers! 
I did have a song thrush in my garden, the other day, for the first time since I lived here. Used to be really common when I was a kid but hardly ever see them anymore. 

[Nurse Ratched]

And today, for the first time, two flittery chiffchaffs.
I presume they followed the blackcap: 'warbler see, warbler do'. Can't stop grinning. Truly fantastic birding lately.

Also watched a red kite flying after a pigeon in the air with great determination. I don't know whether it was hunting it on the wing, or just got fed up of being harried and turned the tables. Do they hunt pigeons on the wing?? Also saw my great spotted woodpecker bully a parakeet off a feeder. The woody never behaves like that towards other birds, so I suspect there is aggro between them. Maybe competition for resources, nesting sites, etc. 

Get a lot of kites up here in The Chilterns near High Wycombe. From what I've heard to call them birds of prey is a bit of a misnomer.  They're mostly scavengers and picnic raiders. Easily bullied by crows etc.

Indeed. Scavengers, roadkill, small mammals, etc. But also baby birds, which is why red kites get mobbed and driven away by other species. Pigeons breed all year round, so I imagine their nests get targeted a lot by kites. I've seen small groups of pigeons, gulls, etc harrying red kites, but I have never seen a kite chasing down an adult pigeon before. I don't know if he caught it, they flew beyond view. Believe it or not, red kites are now very common in London. 

[Splodder]

And today, for the first time, two flittery chiffchaffs.
I presume they followed the blackcap: 'warbler see, warbler do'. Can't stop grinning. Truly fantastic birding lately.

Also watched a red kite flying after a pigeon in the air with great determination. I don't know whether it was hunting it on the wing, or just got fed up of being harried and turned the tables. Do they hunt pigeons on the wing?? Also saw my great spotted woodpecker bully a parakeet off a feeder. The woody never behaves like that towards other birds, so I suspect there is aggro between them. Maybe competition for resources, nesting sites, etc. 

Get a lot of kites up here in The Chilterns near High Wycombe. From what I've heard to call them birds of prey is a bit of a misnomer.  They're mostly scavengers and picnic raiders. Easily bullied by crows etc.

[Nurse Ratched]

And today, for the first time, two flittery chiffchaffs.
I presume they followed the blackcap: 'warbler see, warbler do'. Can't stop grinning. Truly fantastic birding lately.

Also watched a red kite flying after a pigeon in the air with great determination. I don't know whether it was hunting it on the wing, or just got fed up of being harried and turned the tables. Do they hunt pigeons on the wing?? Also saw my great spotted woodpecker bully a parakeet off a feeder. The woody never behaves like that towards other birds, so I suspect there is aggro between them. Maybe competition for resources, nesting sites, etc. 

[Nurse Ratched]

I just weighed a monkey nut: 3 grams. 

A bluetit weighs 11 grams.

So that money nut was about a quarter of the bluetit's bodyweight. 

That's nothing, African swallows have been observed carrying coconuts

[Mr Anon]

I just weighed a monkey nut: 3 grams. 

A bluetit weighs 11 grams.

So that money nut was about a quarter of the bluetit's bodyweight. 

That's nothing, African swallows have been observed carrying coconuts

[Nurse Ratched]

Blackcap

First one ever in my garden

[Nurse Ratched]

I just weighed a monkey nut: 3 grams. 

A bluetit weighs 11 grams.

So that money nut was about a quarter of the bluetit's bodyweight. 

[Nurse Ratched]

I just watched a bluetit peck into a monkey nut on the ground, then fly off with it! WTF??

[Nurse Ratched]

This woman's channel is good fun.

[Nurse Ratched]

I've seen videos on YouTube of kookaburras turning up each morning in people's gardens to be social with the humans. 

[One Sunny Day]

I've never seen a kingfisher. Would love to. 

 

You'd be surprised at how regularly they can be around but hard to spot. Get one in the pond in my town park in winter and people walk past oblivious to it. They fly fast and normally you just see a blink of bright blue flashing past. They are also much smaller than people imagine, probably not much bigger than a sparrow. Also, when they are perched, they often face you and their orange breat is really good camouflage in the reeds of embankment vegetation.
My kingfisher highlight was in Australia. The kookaburra is the world's largest kingfisher and unlike here gets very tame and shows up.anywhere, even not near water. I was in the bunya mountains and one.landed on my table at a bench outside a cafe. I was able to hand feed it chips.

[Nurse Ratched]

I've never seen a kingfisher. Would love to. 

[John Coffey]

I’ve developed a bit of a fascination for Kingfishers. Bloody gorgeous little things. 

[Nurse Ratched]

Chaffinch ! In my garden

I know that generally they are common, but not where I live. This has been a very good week.

[zebthecat]

I love firecrests. Mwrlin pick them up but have never seen in the garden but there are a few nearby woods that have lots of them. They are as close as you get to a humming bird in the UK.
There was starling who used to park himself on the roof of my old office at dusk and go through its impression routines on top the usual starling beatboxing. It did blackbird, wren, tawny owl, robin, grey wagtail, the default android ring tone with others and, best of all, truck reverse. We had a Scania garage on the next unit in the industrial estate and that one made me laugh.

[Nurse Ratched]

Speaking of lovely coloured birds, I saw my first YellowHAMMER of the year at the weekend.

What a brilliant spot. Jel.

[Lee Trundle]

Speaking of lovely coloured birds, I saw my first YellowHAMMER of the year at the weekend.

[Nurse Ratched]

Clever cat!

My firecrest spot, in my scruffy urban neighbourhood, will not be bettered this year, I think. First one I have ever seen. I heard it calling in a tree on my street and whipped round to look for it because I wasn't familiar with the call. I knew it was something 'different'. Then I saw how tiny it was. It hung around for a while, flitting from branch to branch, still calling. I realised it was either a goldcrest or firecrest. I whipped out my Merlin app and it confirmed 'firecrest'. Just before it flew off I caught the bright head streak and eye stripe. I've had a spring in my step all day.

[WHU(Exeter)]

Just googled, what a lovely coloured little bird

Most exotic it gets in my garden is jays, I do love their colours.

That cat, no word of a lie has now twice mimicked nearby magpies. The first time I heard him doing it, I initially thought he had something stuck in his throat, but the second time he did directly after two magpies had been noisy. I googled cats mimicking magpies and apparently it's not unknown and there's some youtube footage of their efforts.