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

[ardcarp]

delighted to see so many song thrushes

The thrushes are so tame! They don't get out of he way when you walk along a path.

[gradus]

Some years ago when we we holidayed on Tresco, cafe tables were treated as perches by many birds, not only the boldest robins.

[DracoM]

Coal tits.

[Mal]

Flock of sparrows running around the pavement catching insects. It's a bit strange to see so many so earthbound! Must be tasty insects to risk the cats...

[johncorrigan]

It must be at least ten years since I heard a cuckoo around these parts, so what a delight this last three days to hear one calling from the woods half-a-mile away.

[oddoneout]

Flock of sparrows running around the pavement catching insects. It's a bit strange to see so many so earthbound! Must be tasty insects to risk the cats...

Flying ants emerging?

[gradus]

Red Kite near Woodbridge.

[Bryn]

Red Kite near Woodbridge.

Grasping the opportunity presented by the reduced early morning traffic this past Sunday night/Monday morning, I set up my little Zoom H3-VR ambisonic recorder among the rhododendron bushed near the 'newt pond' in nearby Lily Hill Park at around midnight, later using Zoom's Amnbisoics Player to convert the results to 5.1 surround sound. A generally successful operation, though I was sorry not to hear a single 'mew' from the local Red Kites. This weekend, weather permitting, I will repeat the effort among the Wild Service trees in the ancient woodland remnants in another local parkland, Hayley Green Wood.

[Serial_Apologist]

Flying ants emerging?

I mentioned on Sunday having eoncountered some swarms over on the Stormy Weather thread while out cycling, remarking how early these were. Today's showers and thunderstorms will probably suppress any such occurrences... or "iterations", as c urrently fashionable language would have it!

[Serial_Apologist]

Grasping the opportunity presented by the reduced early morning traffic this past Sunday night/Monday morning, I set up my little Zoom H3-VR ambisonic recorder among the rhododendron bushed near the 'newt pond' in nearby Lily Hill Park at around midnight, later using Zoom's Amnbisoics Player to convert the results to 5.1 surround sound. A generally successful operation, though I was sorry not to hear a single 'mew' from the local Red Kites. This weekend, weather permitting, I will repeat the effort among the Wild Service trees in the ancient woodland remnants in another local parkland, Hayley Green Wood.

Is that anywhere near Hayley Mills?

[HighlandDougie]

I’ve returned to the Scottish abode to discover two new - if temporary - residents. The walls in the house (built c.1835 in the Gothick style as the home farm for Taymouth Castle) are about 2.5 feet thick, with the occasional slit window, glazed at the inside end, allowing easy access from the outside. Ideal for a tawny owl. So two chicks growing apace, with maw and paw hooting and hollering during the night. Fortunately the room into which the window intrudes is a spare bedroom so they are not being disturbed. It is a bit like having ‘Springwatch’ on 24/7.

[kernelbogey]

Swifts heard in Winchester today.

[oddoneout]

Swifts heard in Winchester today.

First swifts turned up at work yesterday. They are very much a feature of the site; they nest under the roof tiles and scream round the courtyard over the heads of visitors having picnics on the grass or a quiet(!) coffee at the cafe tables. Their arrival always seems like a turning point in the year - winter is finally behind, even if the weather doesn't always agree. Today was very much a look forward in weather terms happily - sunny and properly warm, ie no sneaky cold breeze to catch you round corners. There are a great many flies around which is good news for the swifts.

[kernelbogey]

First swifts turned up at work yesterday...Their arrival always seems like a turning point in the year - winter is finally behind, even if the weather doesn't always agree.

Yes - well put! I lived in Winchester for over 30 years until c2007; since when, no more than a dozen miles away. While there I had noticed their arrival within a day or two of 5 May every year. I don't know why so many - perhaps a city with many old buildings provided numerous nest sites, and possibly a good clean (then!) river would contribute. The screaming of swifts is one of the most evocative sounds of summer.

[EnemyoftheStoat]

Our resident blackbird has returned and is claiming ownership of the big tree behind our garden with a sweetly repetitive medley of his greatest hits, including the first six notes of Postman Pat and another, this one in 6/8 time, no anacrusis, in quavers with crotchet notes in bold - Db-C-Db-Eb-Ab-Bb-Db.