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

[Richard Tarleton]

In Spain, they call Bonelli's Eagle the partridge eagle, Aguila perdicera...

One of the best meals I've had in my life was partridge in chocolate sauce, in a restaurant in La Alberca, near Salamanca.....

[oddoneout]

Thanks for the lovely description of partridge behaviour odders! One wonders if gamekeepers/breeders over the years have selected for 'clumsiness' so that their rich clients can get rich pickings.......

More a question of their natural behaviour. They are ground dwellers(as the RSPB site notes of the greyleg 'not likely to be found in peartrees!'), fairly reluctant to fly and certainly not needing to perch in the normal course of things. As I discovered some years ago on my allotment, disturbing a brooding hen partridge is not to be taken lightly. I hadn't been to the plot for several days and, unknown to me, a nest had been created next to the path close to the shed. As I walked by, the undergrowth exploded into a furiously noisy ball of feathers which proceeded to attack my wellies until I moved away. Seeing the marks, and feeling the force behind them, I was glad I was wearing wellies...and that there was alternative access to the shed. Another time I wasn't so lucky with damage as I got badly pecked as I was weeding under some fruit bushes. I was just unlucky to get too close; previous nestings on the site had tended to be in the hedge bank and so away from human traffic.

[cloughie]

Would you have been similarly surprized if I'd announced that I'd put my nuts in a bowl on Christmas Eve, reading to get cracking the next day? "Furtling" is used as an expression to hunt out something hidden - originally, IIRC, refering to root vegetables exploring under the soil to see if they were ready for digging up.

That the word was - as with so many others - reused to apply to other rootlings is no fit matter for this Forum, I would have thought? Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off for a quick session on my Jingling Johnny.

If the Jingling Johnny be your instrument of choice play on, ferney!

[Vox Humana]

As I walked by, the undergrowth exploded into a furiously noisy ball of feathers which proceeded to attack my wellies until I moved away. Seeing the marks, and feeling the force behind them, I was glad I was wearing wellies...and that there was alternative access to the shed.

You're lucky it wasn't a Capercaillie. They can be seriously scary.

[ardcarp]

not likely to be found in peartrees

I gather that the carol reference is likely to arise from a corruption of the French 'perdrix'.

Going right off topic, there's a lightgouse in France called 'the partridge'.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=lighthouse+perdrix+near+loctudy&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=TKmWkaTcs1vMvM%253A%252CxBFIzgNNkx8djM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kTrX-VxQ31XS1aMiELxFLPhfBjraQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjwos_mjd7mAhWCY8AKHbmDA1YQ9QEwA3oECAoQBg#imgrc=TKmWkaTcs1vMvM:

We often wonder how they paint it,

But not as tricky as this one:

[ardcarp]

Thought I'd better bring the thread back to birds. We saw our first redwing of the winter today. Usually we only get then in any number (near the sea in the SW) when the weather's cold...and it isn't at the moment. Do they know something we don't?

[ardcarp]

Today Mrs A and I spent a cold but sunny afternoon spuddling around Brixham Harbour. A few seals popped up, but the big attraction were Great Northern Divers (otherwise known as loons). We saw two ...see one in not very good photo... but a couple of blokes with big lenses said there were four present.



We always see loads of turnstones at Brixham. While we've seen them elsewhere behaving properly (i.e. turning stones) here they have become ultra-tame and scurry after tourists to beg sandwiches and chips. We even saw one feeding from a child's hand today. We missed the moment, but here's the chap looking quite plump.



They look especially lovely as they take off and fly in a bunch. Very fine wing-patterns.

[Padraig]

Birds are heard in these short videos - for which there is not a dedicated thread - but which share related features of the natural world. I find these videos of immense interest and of immense sadness for days and friends that are gone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7u7OCSB1zw

[Richard Tarleton]

Birds are heard in these short videos

Indeed - in the first 3 minutes, blackbird, chaffinch, robin, willow warbler, wren.....more....

[LezLee]

I hope someone can help. A few months ago one of you posted a great photo of a red kite on the ground, with one wing stretched out, about to devour its prey. I've been trying to find it to show my sister but no luck so far. I've searched under kite and red kite but there are quite a lot and I was wondering if anyone remembers and could take me straight there. TIA, Les.

[Richard Tarleton]

I hope someone can help. A few months ago one of you posted a great photo of a red kite on the ground, with one wing stretched out, about to devour its prey. I've been trying to find it to show my sister but no luck so far. I've searched under kite and red kite but there are quite a lot and I was wondering if anyone remembers and could take me straight there. TIA, Les.

Could it have been this one Lez??



Or was it the goshawk

[Bryn]

I hope someone can help. A few months ago one of you posted a great photo of a red kite on the ground, with one wing stretched out, about to devour its prey. I've been trying to find it to show my sister but no luck so far. I've searched under kite and red kite but there are quite a lot and I was wondering if anyone remembers and could take me straight there. TIA, Les.

Loads of images here, but I don't see any fitting the description you gave.

[Richard Tarleton]

See #1856, Lez, just above....

(Another 100+ pics of that goshawk if you're interested - PM me with email address!)

[Richard Tarleton]

Might have been this one

[LezLee]

[QUOTE=Richard Tarleton;773343]Could it have been this one Lez??



Thanks Richard, that's what I remember! Thanks to everyone else for checking too. Some great pictures, what a talented lot you are.
Many years ago, at a holiday cottage on North Uist near Balranald reserve, I managed to get a photo of a young corncrake! Unfortunately we only ever took slides (transparencies) and I've no idea if it's possible to transfer it to other media.