Birders' Nest

[owlice]

I have thought of a sort of elementary mini-project, to keep me off the streets and out of trouble, namely:
  To try to get at least one decent photo of every species of bird that visits our garden (or can be seen therefrom) over the course of a year. I have a few already, but surprisingly few, indeed, because most of them are plain rubbish. (The rules clearly state that the bird must be photographed in or from the garden. So a good pic of a goldfinch, say, taken somewhere else, can't count.)

(It seems as if it might be do-able with only a minimal amount of perseverance?)

What a lovely project, and already, you have some excellent results!!

But we both know this won't keep you off the streets nor out of trouble. 

[Elgarian Redux]

But we both know this won't keep you off the streets nor out of trouble. 

When I come up before the magistrate, I shall call on you as character witness!
'But he meant well, m'Lud'.

[owlice]

This afternoon there was a great flurry of wings and all the birds of Lancashire and Cumbria descended into the garden. Among them were about eight long-tailed tits who proceeded to play 'How many long-tailed tits can arrange themselves around a bird feeder?'.

Beneath them, wondering what the fuss was about and trying not to be noticed was a dunnock.

Ooooo, Long-tailed Tits! Such pretty little birds!! And a Dunnock, too; what a lovely start! and ooooo, the things I just learned about Dunnock breeding habits...  These are very interesting birds!

The robin popped out to investigate the racket, looking today not so much like a borb, but more like a sort of trainee sentinel.

And then, and then, and then .... how about the following one, Owlice?

What a birb!! They are so cute, and you have captured all of this one's cuteness!!

A nuthatch. Only the second ever seen in our garden since about 1980.

YAY!!!

Yes, today was Nuthatch Day!

YAY!! Today was nuthatch day for me, too, though I did not fare well in the photographing of them. I'm sure I heard them snickering about this...

Looking back through the nuthatch photos, I thought this one might be worth saving. I was trying to catch him so that the feeder didn't intrude but he didn't cooperate much.

Yes, of course it's worth saving!!

All of these are fabulous!! (And all are such cuties, too!!) They show the birds very well, and are great shots; what a fine start you're off to with this project!!

Character witness, you say? "Yes, m'Lud, he is a character!"

[owlice]

This bird (Red-eyed Vireo) led me on a merry chase yesterday if we define "merry" as "annoyingly annoying":



I saw Common Mergansers, too, which were more cooperative:




Like our migrating birds, I am now southbound.

[Elgarian Redux]

Ooooo, Long-tailed Tits! Such pretty little birds!!

I think there's a need for a collective noun that describes a gang of LTTs that huddle together like this, feverishly, as though someone is going to take the bird feeder away any moment. Quite extraordinary. How about A 'scramble' of long-tailed tits?

And a Dunnock, too; what a lovely start! and ooooo, the things I just learned about Dunnock breeding habits...  These are very interesting birds!

They are shameless in the mating season, truly. Our garden briefly becomes a centre for dunnock orgies.

YAY!! Today was nuthatch day for me, too, though I did not fare well in the photographing of them. I'm sure I heard them snickering about this...

Oh yes, they snicker alright.

All of these are fabulous!! (And all are such cuties, too!!) They show the birds very well, and are great shots; what a fine start you're off to with this project!!

When I publish my illustrated A Complete Guide to the Birds in my Garden in 5 volumes, I shall quote you as the inspiration for it.

Character witness, you say? "Yes, m'Lud, he is a character!"

Let's hope he has a sense of humour!

[Elgarian Redux]

This bird (Red-eyed Vireo) led me on a merry chase yesterday if we define "merry" as "annoyingly annoying":

Yes I think that's the usual birdwatchers' understanding of the expression 'merry dance'.

I saw Common Mergansers, too, which were more cooperative:

Lovely!

Like our migrating birds, I am now southbound.

Fly safely, Owl.

[Elgarian Redux]

For the second day in a row, at about 5.30 pm, the entire bird population of Lancashire arrived in our garden. It was mayhem! Hardly any bird stayed in one place for more than a few seconds, and I spent a lot of time photographing empty branches and feeders. But I did get some shots, including one bird in particular that made us shout with joy.

We have a transparent feeder box stuck to the window (gift from daughter no. 1), and a few birds are getting used to it. Like the little coal tit below. Rubbish photo, but a nice moment, as he is so close.

Also, a humble house sparrow made an appearance.

[Elgarian Redux]

Continuing ....

There was a little group of young goldfinches, who took over the bird bath and scattered water everywhere. And one in particular who posed very nicely on a feeder.

[Elgarian Redux]

A long-tailed tit called in.

And then. Oh gosh. I have not heard, or seen, a willow warbler for ten years around here. We thought we'd lost them all to climate change. But today we had one on the bird bath. Oh wow.
Oh golly.

[Elgarian Redux]

'And don't forget me! I was there too. I'm usually the Star!'

[Karl Henning]

International Nuthatch Day! Huzzah!

[Elgarian Redux]

International Nuthatch Day! Huzzah!

Yay! The International Nuthatches must be thrilled to bits.

[Kalevala]

Speaking of tracking birds that have come to your garden, does anyone here record which birds and how many of them come into your garden--regularly?  I have a friend who for years kept a journal and sent them to (I believe it was) the Audubon Society.  She had a great setup to watch them (good-sized windows and a kitchen table right in front of them along with binocs and a morning mug of coffee).

K

[Kalevala]

Yes I think that's the usual birdwatchers' understanding of the expression 'merry dance'.

Lovely!

Fly safely, Owl.

Hope that the weather is good for you.  If I might ask, do you spend much time at home?

Best wishes and happy and safe travels...

K

[owlice]

Fly safely, Owl.

Hope that the weather is good for you.  If I might ask, do you spend much time at home?

Best wishes and happy and safe travels...

K

Thanks for the safe wishes! The weather was beautiful everywhere; I'm now home wishing I'd not left milk in the fridge.

K, I made travel a priority for my retirement, so I'm home as little as possible!  But I do like to be home during chestnut season, so am glad to be home now, as chestnut season is soon! (I have a chestnut tree and harvest its nuts when squirrels allow a harvest.)

[owlice]

For the second day in a row, at about 5.30 pm, the entire bird population of Lancashire arrived in our garden. It was mayhem! Hardly any bird stayed in one place for more than a few seconds, and I spent a lot of time photographing empty branches and feeders. But I did get some shots, including one bird in particular that made us shout with joy.

We have a transparent feeder box stuck to the window (gift from daughter no. 1), and a few birds are getting used to it. Like the little coal tit below. Rubbish photo, but a nice moment, as he is so close.

Also, a humble house sparrow made an appearance.

I am sorry, but that is NOT a "rubbish photo"!! That is an excellent photo of a very cute bird!! Lucky for you, to have Coal Tits, and apparently, the ability to tell Coal Tits from all the other similarly-festooned tits, too!! YAY!!

The House Sparrow is very pretty! They are much maligned in the US, but your photo shows what so many here don't want to acknowledge: these little birds are beautiful, and your capture of this one is gorgeous.

Continuing ....

There was a little group of young goldfinches, who took over the bird bath and scattered water everywhere. And one in particular who posed very nicely on a feeder.

Oh, fun, to have young goldfinches to watch!! These are lovely shots, too!! Kudos!!

A long-tailed tit called in.

And then. Oh gosh. I have not heard, or seen, a willow warbler for ten years around here. We thought we'd lost them all to climate change. But today we had one on the bird bath. Oh wow.
Oh golly.

YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!!

'And don't forget me! I was there too. I'm usually the Star!'

The little birb almost everyone can name and everyone is happy to see!! And look how cute he is!!

All lovely shots, Elgarian! You definitely have the perfect camera for your needs, and use it very well!!

[owlice]

Not lacking in relations then! The Swiss cousin is a very dapper looking character, and I rather like the look of the Zimbabwean one too. Strangely the Eurasian Blackbird is the one that most resembles a robin to me, just one covered in soot. But perhaps the strangeness lies in my thinking that ..

@Iota, the U.K. has Fieldfares! They are migratory and prefer to breed farther north, but winter over in the U.K. "in large numbers," according to Wikipedia.

Maybe a contest is in order: who will see one first this winter, you or @Elgarian Redux? 

[Kalevala]

Thanks for the safe wishes! The weather was beautiful everywhere; I'm now home wishing I'd not left milk in the fridge.

K, I made travel a priority for my retirement, so I'm home as little as possible!  But I do like to be home during chestnut season, so am glad to be home now, as chestnut season is soon! (I have a chestnut tree and harvest its nuts when squirrels allow a harvest.)

Owlice,

I thought you had said something too about needing to work and meetings?  Is that a part-time thing or related to other "stuff" going on in your life?  Sorry, sleep schedule was a bit off last night.

In any event, enjoy the chestnuts and do mention (probably best under the "What are you eating now" thread) how you like to cook them, etc. 

And happy trails to you!

K

[owlice]

K, as do many retirees, I work on a few things for fun; that involves treating these fun things with some responsibility, and that can mean meetings, conferences, and such.

And for chestnuts, I roast them in the oven. I eat some of them while I'm shelling them (so good!), have in the past made chestnut stuffing (which my grandmother did) with some of them, and I make a chestnut purée with the rest and freeze it in ice cube trays to use (periodically) on my morning toast throughout the winter. I've also used the purée to make chestnut cream for dessert (chestnut purée with fresh whipped cream folded into it, chocolate shavings on top). A very enterprising squirrel¹ kept my harvest last year to two.. TWO!! chestnuts. I'm hoping for a somewhat better yield this year.

¹Damn squirrel!

[owlice]

Some recent wildlife sightings now including thread duty!


Chestnut-sided Warbler


Black-capped Chickadee
North American tits are called chickadees


Dinosaur!!! One of four that were flying/feeding together.
Pileated Woodpecker


Common Grackle


American Robin wondering what the heck Elgarian is doing


American Redstart wondering the same thing


Green Heron who had been wondering, but got distracted by nearby prey