Birders' Nest

[owlice]

Gray Crowned-Cranes are lovely indeed (I love them!), and they make the most .... ummmm... interesting sound!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgUo8Rik4ME

(I still love them!)

[Elgarian Redux]

Gray Crowned-Cranes are lovely indeed (I love them!), and they make the most .... ummmm... interesting sound!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgUo8Rik4ME

(I still love them!)

[As he runs off after the brief exchange of insults] "I'm right! I'm right!  I'm right! I'm right!"

And he probably is.

[Iota]

Gray Crowned-Cranes are lovely indeed (I love them!), and they make the most .... ummmm... interesting sound!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgUo8Rik4ME

(I still love them!)

Ah yes, now I see the whole back of the head, the 'fascinator' I'd seen from a side view turns out to be actually more like a mohican .. And yes, what an extraordinary sound they make! Perhaps fitting for the extraordinary figures they cut. 

[Kalevala]

These photos made me smile.  Some birds and some other animals.  It's from the 2025 Nikon competition.

https://www.popsci.com/environment/comedy-wildlife-peoples-choice-awards-winner-finalists/

K

[owlice]

The death-ray stare of a protective parent

[Jo498]

a few days ago I was almost startled by a heron in low flight and I hoped to see him land and stalk around but apparently a dog walker scared him or made him fly/land further away, so I couldn't even see where he landed. Gray herons are not uncommon but there is no larger body of water where I live, just a few very small ponds and ditches but it's probably overall wet enough for an occasional heron.
And although I might have heard one before and forgotten, I heard the cuckoo yesterday. Unfortunately I didn't have any money on me*, so I am going to remain poor (except for the privilege of living close to beautiful fields and woods).

* there's a superstition that if one has money in one's pocket when hearing the first cuckoo call of the year, one will not lack money all year through...

[Kalevala]

a few days ago I was almost startled by a heron in low flight and I hoped to see him land and stalk around but apparently a dog walker scared him or made him fly/land further away, so I couldn't even see where he landed. Gray herons are not uncommon but there is no larger body of water where I live, just a few very small ponds and ditches but it's probably overall wet enough for an occasional heron.
And although I might have heard one before and forgotten, I heard the cuckoo yesterday. Unfortunately I didn't have any money on me*, so I am going to remain poor (except for the privilege of living close to beautiful fields and woods).

* there's a superstition that if one has money in one's pocket when hearing the first cuckoo call of the year, one will not lack money all year through...

I heard a woodpecker about two days ago (confirmed by a stranger walking past); though we tried, neither of us could see it--it was way up high (to me) by the sounds.

And neat story!  I hadn't heard that one before.   

K

[Elgarian Redux]

At Holker Hall again yesterday. No birds visible - even the tame ducks were somewhere else - but the fountain in the sunlight was extraordinarily beautiful, and the bluebells ... well...

[Elgarian Redux]

[Holker continued]
Meanwhile, the deer population were very willing to pose. Still no birds though.

[Jo498]

I heard a woodpecker about two days ago (confirmed by a stranger walking past); though we tried, neither of us could see it--it was way up high (to me) by the sounds.

And neat story!  I hadn't heard that one before. 

It might be a German superstition (not sure if it was ever taken seriously). I think I have also heard woodpeckers a few days ago, or at least a rather similar sound but it was so loud that I was not sure if it might have been some other, technical noise. But they are not rare here (both Great spotted and the Green ones) and while it's not easy to get a glimpse of the actual bird, the sound is frequently heard in the forest.

[Kalevala]

It might be a German superstition (not sure if it was ever taken seriously). I think I have also heard woodpeckers a few days ago, or at least a rather similar sound but it was so loud that I was not sure if it might have been some other, technical noise. But they are not rare here (both Great spotted and the Green ones) and while it's not easy to get a glimpse of the actual bird, the sound is frequently heard in the forest.

And no, it wasn't a hammer, etc.  I can tell the difference.   

K

[Kalevala]

It might be a German superstition (not sure if it was ever taken seriously). I think I have also heard woodpeckers a few days ago, or at least a rather similar sound but it was so loud that I was not sure if it might have been some other, technical noise. But they are not rare here (both Great spotted and the Green ones) and while it's not easy to get a glimpse of the actual bird, the sound is frequently heard in the forest.

I hadn't heard of either of those varieties before now.  The great spotted looks similar to our hairy and downy ones.



The downy one:



The downy one is a bit smaller.  The hairy (both males here) also has a longer beak and the downy has spotting on its white outer tail feathers.

The hard part is that they are often so high up in the trees plus (I swear to God) is that they always seem to be on the "back side" of the tree!   

We also have pileated ones around here; they are huge!  Also, red-bellied ones in the area too.

Those green ones of yours are quite cool looking.   

K

[Jo498]

yes, the green ones are pretty cool. I saw one a few years ago in the backyard but the pictures didn't turn out well, partly because it was green bird vs. green grass, so only the red on the head stuck out but it didn't show well on the photograph.
I would usually also be pretty sure to be able to distinguish the woodpecking noise from machinery but I was uncertain in that case.

[Mandryka]

a few days ago I was almost startled by a heron in low flight and I hoped to see him land and stalk around but apparently a dog walker scared him or made him fly/land further away, so I couldn't even see where he landed. Gray herons are not uncommon but there is no larger body of water where I live, just a few very small ponds and ditches but it's probably overall wet enough for an occasional heron.
And although I might have heard one before and forgotten, I heard the cuckoo yesterday. Unfortunately I didn't have any money on me*, so I am going to remain poor (except for the privilege of living close to beautiful fields and woods).

* there's a superstition that if one has money in one's pocket when hearing the first cuckoo call of the year, one will not lack money all year through...

When I was at school a standard reference book was The Oxford Book of English Verse. This was the very first poem


Sumer is icumen in
Lhude sing cuccu
Groweþ sed
and bloweþ med
and springþ þe wde nu
Sing cuccu

Awe bleteþ after lomb
lhouþ after calue cu
Bulluc sterteþ
bucke uerteþ
murie sing cuccu

Cuccu cuccu
Wel singes þu cuccu
ne swik þu nauer nu

Sing cuccu nu • Sing cuccu.
Sing cuccu • Sing cuccu nu


þ = th

Re herons, I used to get them quite frequently in Wimbledon visiting my wildlife pond. They're horrid -- they would hunt frogs, catch one and kill it, take a couple of bites and abandon the corpse. It was fun watching them hunt, so still, like watching someone do Tai Chi. At the moment, my garden is plagued by green parrots, which are naturalised here. They look nice enough, but they make a terrible racket.

[Jo498]

The superstition, apparently one is also supposed to shake the purse with money when hearing the cuckoo, seems common in German speaking countries but I didn't find any specific history how old it is or where it comes from.

[Mandryka]

[Kalevala]

yes, the green ones are pretty cool. I saw one a few years ago in the backyard but the pictures didn't turn out well, partly because it was green bird vs. green grass, so only the red on the head stuck out but it didn't show well on the photograph.
I would usually also be pretty sure to be able to distinguish the woodpecking noise from machinery but I was uncertain in that case.

Sorry to hear that the photos didn't come out well; I can understand though....those masters of camouflage!

K

[owlice]

But they are not rare here (both Great spotted and the Green ones) and while it's not easy to get a glimpse of the actual bird, the sound is frequently heard in the forest.

I love woodpeckers! They are lovely, and so interesting to watch as well; I saw this Red-headed Woodpecker listen to the tree as he hunted for what was in it:

I was completely enchanted by this!

I have only a few times seen these two (Great spotted and Green), but hope to see them again so I can improve upon the (few) photos I have of them:



One of our most endangered woodpeckers is the Red-cockaded:


I have seen them only once, and only due to the very good fortune of being in a forest when a flock (!) of them flew in for about 15 minutes before flying off.

[Kalevala]

Ran across this interesting article today.  It's about birds (and other animals) figuring out which foods are safe to eat:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/science/whats-safe-to-eat-birds-of-a-feather-learn-together.html

K

[Szykneij]

Ran across this interesting article today.  It's about birds (and other animals) figuring out which foods are safe to eat:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/science/whats-safe-to-eat-birds-of-a-feather-learn-together.html

K

Looks like an interesting article, but I couldn't read it as a non-subscriber.

Many years ago, I was given a couple of pet rabbits. They both expired, I believe, after eating some Lily of the Valley plants. The wild rabbits seem to know to leave it alone, so they have to have some method of deciding what to avoid.