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."

[Crassus]

"Exe Bad news for your Chaffs, lovely little things and the more I watch them, when they are stationary for over a second or two, the more I appreciate their plumage Chief nutbars in my garden are the pair of blackbirds, I like a blackbird, elegant shape but mine have a movement that conveys absolute confusion with the world, amusing to watch and mine too have their domestics for all to see Had a treat yesterday, a woodpecker, a consistent visitor, came to the closest batch of feeders, it's usually down the end under a big eucalyptus, but this time I got a close, about 12ft, viewing of it feeding, outstandingly good looking and with a sense of knowing it! Plenty of birds arriving now, tits by the swarm, blues, greats and long tails, sparrows and this years yob squad of starlings. Now they are the chavs of the gaffe, ought to be donned in a hoody and headphones, spend more time loudly rucking with each other than feeding One bird that has gone absent, is my little wren, was around parodically for a month or so but now not to be seen, not seen the wagtails of last year either - bothered that the dreaded flu may have struck?"

[WHU(Exeter)]

"Crassus, that's strange with the chaffinch as the ones in my back garden have been a bit the opposite, sort of oblivious and naiive to what's around them, until it's too late. Particularly in relation to the little local cat :("

[Crassus]

"Exe Yep, I hear you Wonderful little characters. I have swarms of tits, if I venture to the back door, let alone go out, they are off as one except a couple of hardy individuals that look and carry on feeding When it comes to replenishing, they hover and sit on the fence right in front waiting Same as my cock robin, got to love a robin, they follow you about, albeit I understand the science behind that And chaffinches, is it me or are they the fallow deer of the bird world? Skittish is not the word. I have a growing number arriving now but they are nervous of everything, scared senseless of the sparrows let alone robin"

[Mike Oxsaw]

"While I was living in Muscat, a pair of Mynah birds ""adopted"" me after I started leaving offcuts of fruit on my balcony wall. Cheeky fuckers even resorted to pecking on my lounge windows if I missed a day. Messy, argumentative fuckers though; would gorge themselves stupid then stuff as much in their beaks and fly off. Should they have seen other birds attempt to feed after them, they dropped whatever they'd flown off with and came back to have a right royal dust-up. They eventually won and the other birds just gave up."

[WHU(Exeter)]

"Crassus, I do the same, I spend hours in the garden, many more than I ever used to and I get to notice the individual characters. It‚Äôs brilliant to watch it all. Just little things as well, like watching a male blackbird getting a proper telling off from his missus, for feeding with all the other birds around the bird feeder. She flew down from a tree and it was all ‚Äúwhat do you think you‚Äôre doing, we‚Äôre not eating that shit, get me some proper worms, NOW!‚Äù. He even dropped what he had in his beak on the floor. I love watching stuff like that. Had jays in our street the last couple of years as well, hope they come back, their colours are beautiful. The chaffinches are lovely little birds, but they‚Äôre really na?Øve when it comes to our neighbours cat."

[Hermit Road]

That doesn’t read so well. The interesting chap in question was mid-size bird up a tree in my garden not a clown riding a unicycle down the high road.

[Hermit Road]

I saw an interesting chap the other day but my eyesight was too bad to catch it so I bought some Binoculars from Amazon in the hope he pops by again. I’m also trying a new bird feeder that is supposed to be rat-proof. It doesn’t come with explosive traps though so it won’t be. I’m just hoping it slows them up long enough for me to pick them off with my air rifle.

[Tomshardware]

"Cleaned and filled the feeders at the weekend. Since then it's been like a Mcdonalds drive through. House sparrows and starlings most frequent visitors, blue tits and a robin plus a massive wood pigeon getting the dropped bits. I've been at home a lot as the weather has been rubbish so I've enjoyed watching the birds. Thanks to other posters with their stories and links to interesting articles."

[Crassus]

"Ex Good morning - thanks for the tip, I'll give that a go Like you, my feeders have attracted a swarm of various birds, all standard fayre but wonderful none the less I've noticed the varying characters of individual birds of the same species - fascinating that whilst most disperse when I go out there, odd individuals remain and some appear when I do, coming quite close, obviously associating me with food and not a threat The Duchess follows a wildlife photographer online who has befriended a robin, it takes food from his hand and comes to his call, beautiful little thing"

[Hello Mrs. Jones]

Just got back from the UK and was amazed at the flocks of ring-necked parakeets in Kensington Gardens. Beautiful vivid green against the white sky.

[WHU(Exeter)]

"Crassus, have you seen the documentary, 'All that breathes'. It's also from India, about brothers in Delhi who have cared for kites for many years. It's brilliant, the eldest brother says some really quite inspiring stuff in it too. Back garden has gone mad today, nothing exotic but a lovely blackbird, a pair of robins, couple chaffinch and a dozen blue tits. Lovely sight."

[Crassus]

"Lovely story from India Bloke nurses a crane, a bloody big bird, back to health and makes a pal for life Uplifting in these times https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-india-64833175"

[jack flash]

The main cause for the drop in song thrush numbers is down to morons using slug pellets The main part of a song thrushes diet consists of slugs and snails

[lab]

Tom 11:05….they struggle with cats and magpies mate .

[Tomshardware]

Saw a song thrush yesterday. Rare sight these days.

[BN2]

A Merlin going like the proverbial clappers yesterday Pair of peregrines overhead this morning getting all seductive with each other. Spring is in the air.

[Nurse Ratched]

Thanks all ?üòÅ

[Nurse Ratched]

Thanks all ?üòÅ

[Aalborg Hammer]

Nurse- wonderful you mention Stanley Unwin - nothing (and apologies for it) to do with birds but someone sent me the following youtube link when Stanley interviewed Peter Hawkins (the voice behind the Flowerpot men and Daleks) It's a delight - deep joy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNEWovL90sM

[zebthecat]

Nurse Ratched 8:56 Wed Feb 22 There is a great spot about 10 minutes drive from my house for warblers - The Ashdown Forest. Forest is bit of a misnomer as it is mostly open heathland. There are Dartford Warblers and Skylarks and I like to wander to a quiet part and just listen to the warblers (only seen one a couple of times) and listen to and watch the skylarks do their thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssEZWMsQg_8 Vaughan Williams would approve.

[Crassus]

"Ahhh bless it, having a right old go there I've heard them when fishing, now know cause Thanks"

[Nurse Ratched]

https://youtube.com/shorts/7dnDlKTgm1Y?feature=share Look at this mad bark. I flipping love warblers. They're all mental.

[Crassus]

"Me too and showing it with these memories I was very young mind but googling, he ‘did’ all sorts of animals, in feature films too He voiced, for want of a better phrase, the alien in the film"

[Nurse Ratched]

"Yep, but vaguely. I also remember Stanley Unwin. Again, vaguely. I'm very old, you know."

[Crassus]

"Bloody hell Nurse, that’s the bloke Do you remember him too?"