Birders' Nest

[Szykneij]

The chap in the video trawls the streets for fallen leaves and fills twenty odd builders bags of them.
I don't go that far! Just filling one builders bag a season - though I must admit, making sure no one looking, I did scoop some up from a pavement last week. It is surprising how far they compost down to leaf mould. Starting with a huge amount, a year later less then a quarter. Lovely sweet smelling stuff though.

He also picks up compost dumped at the roadside by cannabis growers. Growing cannabis must be a thriving industry in the West Midlands.

He certainly seems to enjoy his gardening and provides a nice series of videos.

Question: When you refer to your "allotment", do you mean what we usually call here a community garden plot  -- a section of town land set aside for residents to use for planting? Or is it land that you personally own?

(Merry Christmas Eve!)

[Irons]

He certainly seems to enjoy his gardening and provides a nice series of videos.

Question: When you refer to your "allotment", do you mean what we usually call here a community garden plot  -- a section of town land set aside for residents to use for planting? Or is it land that you personally own?

(Merry Christmas Eve!)

Nearly there, so I wish you a Merry Christmas day!

Allotments came about during WWII. The slogan "Dig for Victory" really meant - grow your own vegetables otherwise with the German blockade we may lose the war due to starvation!

A large area of Council land where individual sections are leased on a yearly basis to the general public. Demand is high, our particular site has a waiting list of 32 at the present time. We have a committee with a site manager and treasurer. Also a "Hut" which is open on Sundays selling anything connected with gardening although we are prohibited to sell produce. Non-profit making  all monies go to the upkeeping of the site which covers 6.5 acres with 90 allotments.

[Szykneij]

Nearly there, so I wish you a Merry Christmas day!

Allotments came about during WWII. The slogan "Dig for Victory" really meant - grow your own vegetables otherwise with the German blockade we may lose the war due to starvation!

A large area of Council land where individual sections are leased on a yearly basis to the general public. Demand is high, our particular site has a waiting list of 32 at the present time. We have a committee with a site manager and treasurer. Also a "Hut" which is open on Sundays selling anything connected with gardening although we are prohibited to sell produce. Non-profit making  all monies go to the upkeeping of the site which covers 6.5 acres with 90 allotments.

Interesting. Thanks for that! In my area, some cities and towns have what are called community gardens where city land is set aside, but not to the extent and organization of what you have. During the World Wars, the U.S. did encourage "Victory Gardens" to aid with the food supply and build morale, and one of our more popular public televison programs is titled "The Victory Garden".

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Interesting. Thanks for that! In my area, some cities and towns have what are called community gardens where city land is set aside, but not to the extent and organization of what you have. During the World Wars, the U.S. did encourage "Victory Gardens" to aid with the food supply and build morale, and one of our more popular public televison programs is titled "The Victory Garden".

I don't believe that my town charges anything for a plot--haven't looked into it in ages.  They are popular though. 

Soundly slept last night.  No idea whether or not "my" owls came back.  Yesterday, I dropped by my neighbors' house and found out that they too had heard the birds--though they had thought that they were dogs and were further away.    I did my best impressions of what I had heard and she agreed that that was what they had heard.  I'm learning!

And a warm Merry, Merry to you!

PD

[Szykneij]

Woke up this morning to a 2-degree outside temperature (-17 C) with a wind chill way below zero. I made sure the feeders were full and put out extra suet.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Woke up this morning to a 2-degree outside temperature (-17 C) with a wind chill way below zero. I made sure the feeders were full and put out extra suet.

Your birds certainly are lucky! 

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Watching some of the bird cam of a great horned owl (in Savannah, Georgia).  I received a notice from Cornell that the cam is now streaming and that there is an egg in the nest.  As I was up fairly early today, I went to check it out.  Went from a sleeping owl on top of the egg to it's now turning the egg and was faced towards the camera for a short bit.  Sadly, it's now facing away.  In any event, it's fun to check them out.  And what a huge nest!

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/great-horned-owls/

PD

[Szykneij]

Watching some of the bird cam of a great horned owl (in Savannah, Georgia).  I received a notice from Cornell that the cam is now streaming and that there is an egg in the nest.  As I was up fairly early today, I went to check it out.  Went from a sleeping owl on top of the egg to it's now turning the egg and was faced towards the camera for a short bit.  Sadly, it's now facing away.  In any event, it's fun to check them out.  And what a huge nest!

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/great-horned-owls/

PD

The owl looks very comfortable and content.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

The owl looks very comfortable and content.

Yes, s/he does.    I was surprised to see it sleeping on its side earlier (at least that is what it looked like to me).

PD

[Szykneij]

Yes, s/he does.    I was surprised to see it sleeping on its side earlier (at least that is what it looked like to me).

PD

It's nice that they have 3 different camera angles. I also enjoyed checking out some of the other camera sites that were listed.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

It's nice that they have 3 different camera angles. I also enjoyed checking out some of the other camera sites that were listed.

Yes, and they even have volunteers who help to man them so you can often see closeups or the surrounding area, etc.

Glad that you are enjoying them.  I particularly enjoy watching the Cornell Feeder cam one (one time I saw three different varieties of woodpeckers there at the same time--including a huge pileated one!) and the red-tailed hawk cams.  Cornell has mods and camera operators who monitor those from when it's getting close to egg laying time to when the last chicks fledge and stop returning to the nest.  The same pair of hawks have nested at one or the other of two places at Cornell for many years [Though Big Red had to find a new mate after sadly her long-term mate Ezra passed away].  They also have several chat sessions a week, so people can ask questions and learn about RTHs and raptors in general too.

I like how with the feeder cam one, they have a bunch of common local birds who visit the feeders listed below with photos.  It's handy for identifying what you are seeing and if you click on them, you can learn more about the various species. 

PD

[Szykneij]

I just returned from house-sitting in Maine. This guy was a daily visitor.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I just returned from house-sitting in Maine. This guy was a daily visitor.

Cool!    Lucky you!

PD

[Irons]

I just returned from house-sitting in Maine. This guy was a daily visitor.

And I think I have cracked it with a daily visit from a robin!

[Pohjolas Daughter]

And I think I have cracked it with a daily visit from a robin!

Robins are fun to watch too.  It always makes me smile when I see them on the sidewalk with me approaching them from behind (as in walking back home).  They go running ahead at the last moment, then pause, repeat several times, and then eventually scurry off onto someones lawn or into their garden.   

Was very happy to see some red-tailed hawks flying together two days in a row.  There were actually three of them which I have seldom seen 'til now.  Not certain whether one of them was a juvie trying to visit with mom and dad or an intruder into the couple's territory.  The last time, other than one scree, they were all circling in big loops and didn't seem to be dive-bombing/attacking whichever one was the "intruder".

PD

[Szykneij]

Robins are fun to watch too.  It always makes me smile when I see them on the sidewalk with me approaching them from behind (as in walking back home).  They go running ahead at the last moment, then pause, repeat several times, and then eventually scurry with onto someones lawn or into their garden.   

They're smart, too. In the summertime, when they see me pick up the garden hose, they perch nearby knowing the water will be bringing some worms to the surface.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

They're smart, too. In the summertime, when they see me pick up the garden hose, they perch nearby knowing the water will be bringing some worms to the surface.

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Some excellent news:  Big Red (the female RTH at Cornell) has returned to her familiar nesting site and has laid two eggs!

I hadn't checked out the Cornell hawk cams lately and alas, missed seeing her and her partner Arthur prepping the nest for their latest brood.  First egg was laid on March 30th.  In the past, if I'm recalling correctly, they have been every three days.  You can watch the birds live (they have two nest cameras).  Just type in Cornell and hawk cams and you'll easily find them.

Amazed also to find out that Big Red is now 20 years old!  Where did the time go?

PD

[DavidW]

There are a few hawks that like to fly around near my house.  A couple of times on my morning walk I'll see them on the ground and realize how HUGE they really are.

[Szykneij]

I think I've made a new buddy. Somehow, this guy wandered into my man-cave office (i.e. garage) last night and worked his way into an inaccesible corner. I finally got him out this morning and sent him on his way, but he keeps coming back. He doesn't seem injured, but can't fly. I'm not up on my pigeon knowledge and am wondering if he's a juvenile. He seems a little smaller than most of the others around the bird feeder, but has all of the adult markings. I'm keeping him in the toolshed tonight to stay safe from nocturnal predators and will send him on his way again tomorrow, but I'm concerned about the hawk that comes around ocassionally. Pigeons are its favorite target and this guy would be easy pickings.