What birds (are you/have you been) watching? What birds have been watching you?

[Dave2002]

Is it unusual to see them (owls) in daytime?

Today I saw a pied wagtail ground feeding. Not too thrilling, but not seen one for a little while.

[Richard Tarleton]

Is it unusual to see them (owls) in daytime?

Today I saw a pied wagtail ground feeding. Not too thrilling, but not seen one for a little while.

Barn owls, little owls and short-eared owls are all regularly seen in daytime, tawnies and long-eared strictly nocturnal - you're normally alerted to the presence of the last two in daytime if their roosts are discovered by other birds who then mob them noisily.

I have had some amazing daytime encounters with owls on the continent - an eagle owl flying along a mountainside near Ronda in Spain, a Ural owl in ancient forest in Croatia (carrying a dormouse it had just caught...)

[Vile Consort]

I'm not a great bird expert, and can only identify a handful of species.

Since moving into a new house last year, I've been fascinated by the sight of kestrels hovering in the updraught caused by the retaining wall just beyond the garden, as the westerly wind blows up the field towards the house. They hover no more than 15 yards from the lounge windows. It is unbelievable how they manage to stay exactly stationary, even in blustery conditions.

I have also become very aware of magpies dancing on the roof in their clogs early in the morning. Fortunately, they are the nearest thing I've got to noise neighbours.

[Richard Tarleton]

Article about kestrel hovering here - the windier it is, the better

Clog-dancing magpies - yes, we have those

[Vox Humana]

Clog-dancing magpies - yes, we have those

Us too. Mrs Humana woke me up the other morning because she thought we had an intruder. <sigh>

[cloughie]

Clog-dancing magpies - yes, we have those

We have jackdaws!

[vinteuil]

We have jackdaws!

... and Cornish Cloughs, I hope



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[cloughie]

... and Cornish Cloughs, I hope



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I wish!

[oddoneout]

... and Cornish Cloughs, I hope



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AKA Brians?

[Richard Tarleton]

... and Cornish Cloughs, I hope



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Ha! For a long time, the only choughs in Cornwall were on the county's coat of arms. They returned there in 2001. Pembrokeshire, however, has long had a healthy population, though Tarleton Towers (while close to the estuary) is just a bit too far from the coastal cliffs they inhabit (60-odd breeding pairs around the coast) for them to be on the garden list .

[ardcarp]

Interesting to watch a kestrel's head as it hovers. Whilst the wings and body are moving slightly to maintain position, the head stays absolutely stationary, presumably so that the bird's eyes can focus intently on the whereabouts of its prey below. It's almost as if there's a gyro-compass at work in there!

[vinteuil]

Ha! For a long time, the only choughs in Cornwall were on the county's coat of arms. They returned there in 2001. Pembrokeshire, however, has long had a healthy population, though Tarleton Towers (while close to the estuary) is just a bit too far from the coastal cliffs they inhabit (60-odd breeding pairs around the coast) for them to be on the garden list .

... there's a cornish chough on the old version of the coat of arms of Exeter College :

https://www.chairish.com/product/1273813/vintage-exeter-college-of-oxford-wall-plaque

[ ... actually derived from the arms of Wm: Petre, second founder of the college, and (sorry Cloughie) - a Devonian... ]

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[Richard Tarleton]

[QUOTE=vinteuil;732827]... there's a cornish chough on the old version of the coat of arms of Exeter College :

Never spotted that, in spite of having spent time, ahem, just across the street

[vinteuil]

... there's a cornish chough on the old version of the coat of arms of Exeter College :

Never spotted that, in spite of having spent time, ahem, just across the street

... Welsh boy, is it then?

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[gradus]

Two male bullfinches visiting a friend's bird table patiently taking their turn with blue and great tits and chaffinches.