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

[Lento]

Trying a new nyjer feeder, with 6 smallish holes and perches. It's early days: some success with juvenile goldies, but most adults still using no-mess mix. Squabbling young starlings are giving good entertainment.

[vinteuil]

... I am very ignorant when it comes to birds.

On "tweet of the day" today it was the turn of Regulus regulus regulus.

Extraordinary (to me.. ) that this, the smallest of our birds - weighing the equivalent of a ten pence piece - flies over to us from Scandinavia...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldcrest

Marvellous.

[Richard Tarleton]

Marvellous

Indeed. They're still singing fit to bust round here....

You may enjoy this sad tale from the Isle of May observatory log book of a goldcrest that flew over the North Sea only to be ringed in the observatory (the "box" refers to the catching box in the Heligoland Trap). The poet is Professor Meiklejohn, the poem reproduced in Bird Observatories of Britain and Ireland, ed. Roger Durman.

MINSTRELSY OF THE SCOTTISH BIRDER

Bonnie wee Goldcrest has left his nest
In Norroway over the sa
And he's awa' to the Isle of May
Whaur bide bird-keepers three.
“Now busk ye, busk ye, bird-keepers a'!
God grant your legs be fleet!
For bonnie wee Goldcrest's intil the box And we sall gar him greet.”
Up spak the eldest bird-keeper
Wi' hair upon his face
“I'll eat my hat”, quo' the bird keeper,”Gin yon's of the British race.”
And up and spak the second o'them:
“The wind blaws in the lift”
“'Tis nocht but anither case”, quo' he,
“Of anticyclonic drift.”
Ant up and gat the third o' them
Wi' notebook at his wrist
And he has happit his braw pencil
And tickit him off his list.
They hae happit wee Goldcrest intil a bag
And weighted him wi' balance new;
They hae blown the feathers aboon his rump
A' for tae sex him true.
They hae ta'en a ring o' the minimum fine
And clasped it below his knee,
They hae ta'en him to the Altarstanes
Tae set him o'er the sea.
“Fie and alack”, wee Goldcrest he said,
“I doubt I'll never see hame,
For how can I lopsided win
To Norraway over the faem.
I doubt my nest I'll never theek,
My eggs I'll never hatch,
For ye've stolen my ectoparasite
That keppit me up tae scratch”.

[gradus]

Clever and amusing, thanks for posting it.

[ardcarp]

Not about a bird at all. (Is there need for a more general wildlife thread?)

Alerted by a loud buzzing noise in our sun-room last night, we found a gorgeous large moth trapped in a spider's web. I chopped it free, but alas I found it dead this morning, its legs hopelessly bound up with sticky threads. Anyway it was an elephant hawkmoth, a very streamlined flyer, with a bright pink body and an elegant olive green on the wings. The 'elephant' bit relates to the caterpillar stage where the rather ugly grub has a long pointy bit at the front, reminiscent of a trunk.

[johncorrigan]

I had a couple of days on Iona with one of the local primary schools - Loads of skylarks all over the island and flag irises in full bloom (I usually miss them because we get there too late or too early). Anyway we were up by the Village Hall en route back from St Columba's Bay and I said to a couple of the teachers: 'Listen! Hear that? - the rasping call of the corncrakes - you never see them - they're reputed to throw their voices, you know - only ever seen them twice here on the island.' We turned round to see all these birders with binocks trained on the field trying to catch a glimpse. And suddenly this wee corncrake scooted out of the field in front of us, across the path and disappeared into a patch of flag irises while all else looked in the opposite direction. Neat. Had me thinking how many times it had probably happened to me.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Am I the only one thinking of this -

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

[ardcarp]

Mrs A went to hear and see night-jars last night. They start churring about half an hour after sunset (a weird mechanical noise a bit like far-off pneumatic drills). Spreading white cloths on the ground coaxes them out to have a look. No-one knows why. They are indeed strange birds, quite cuckoo-like in appearance, ground-nesting and moth-eating. They come from Africa to breed in the UK.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/n/nightjar/

[Vox Humana]

Mrs A went to hear and see night-jars last night. They start churring about half an hour after sunset (a weird mechanical noise a bit like far-off pneumatic drills). Spreading white cloths on the ground coaxes them out to have a look. No-one knows why. They are indeed strange birds, quite cuckoo-like in appearance, ground-nesting and moth-eating. They come from Africa to breed in the UK.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoveranden...me/n/nightjar/

Ah, wonderful! Mrs Humana and I love Nightjars. Such mysterious, wraithlike birds and, as you say, highly inquisitive. Alas, we haven't got our acts together well enough to see any this year, even though we have two or three pairs within easy reach. Thanks for the reminder that we still have time. I have heard it suggested that the well-known white hanky trick (most birders I known flick them briefly above their heads) interests the birds because they mistake them for moths. I'm not sure I quite swallow that (as it were).

Since our Scottish jaunt I have been very lazy, birdwise, contenting myself with the same old garden fare. There's nothing really worth reporting on that front except, perhaps, that a couple of days ago I was quite thrilled to see four greenfinches on my feeders, of which three were adult males. This will sound incredibly boring to some, but a few years ago the species was almost completely wiped out locally by trichomaniasis, so it's great to see (what I hope is) a recovery.

[Dave2002]

About a month ago I saw something which I thought was unusual. It probably wasn't/isn't, but I'd not seen it before.

I heard a significant amount of bird noise outside, and thought it was probably birds in the trees making alarm calls. I went into the garden to investigate, and then realised that the noise was coming from much higher up. There was a flock of birds circling rapidy at quite a height - I think they were swifts. There was one larger bird - probably a crow which was also circling, and the smaller birds were making a terrific screaming noise. Given the speed of switfts, and also that I would not expect a crow to attack a swift, I was somewhat surprised at this, as the swifts could presumably escape all but the most determined and opportunistic predator, and to the best of my knowledge crows would have no need to attack a bird like a swift.

[Dave2002]

Since our Scottish jaunt I have been very lazy, birdwise, contenting myself with the same old garden fare. There's nothing really worth reporting on that front except, perhaps, that a couple of days ago I was quite thrilled to see four greenfinches on my feeders, of which three were adult males. This will sound incredibly boring to some, but a few years ago the species was almost completely wiped out locally by trichomaniasis, so it's great to see (what I hope is) a recovery.

Big word ...

I looked it up:

What Is Trichomoniasis?

You may have heard of trichomoniasis, or "trich," but many people are not sure what it is. Trichomoniasis (trick-oh-mo-NEYE-ah-sis) is an infection caused by a protozoan — a microscopic, one-cell animal called a trichomona. Trichomoniasis is often called "trich." More than eight million Americans are infected with trich every year.

Trich is one of the most common causes of vaginitis.
- See more at: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/lea....iXVhswhp.dpuf

Do birds really get this form of STD?

Or perhaps they are affected by the microscopic transmitting organisms.

[Richard Tarleton]

Hi Dave, this all hinges on the identity of the larger bird - as you're not sure, could it have been a raptor - sparrowhawk, goshawk, peregrine etc ? (no idea where you live). Sounds more likely to me. The only bird likely to take a swift probably a hobby, but you're not going to mistake that for a crow. Swifts and hirundines would certainly mob a raptor - a crow, less likely.

[Padraig]

Some streetpeckers - I don't think they are homing pigeons - have taken a fancy to my garden provisions. One young fluffy innocent has finally eaten from my hand.

[Dave2002]

Ba boom - at last!

Lots of tits of various types in recent days.

At lunchtime today saw a bird on our nyger feeder, and grabbed binoculars, and I think it was a goldfinch at long last. Didn't see its head, but it had the yellow flash which I think distinguishes them. I hope it comes again.

[Vox Humana]

Just back from a trip up country. While away we called into Carsington Water in Derbyshire, where I was delighted to come across a flock of about 30 or 40 Tree Sparrows. These are pretty much extinct in the far south-west. In Cornwall you probably stand more chance of seeing Red-eyed Vireo and they are hardly more common in Devon. For the rest it wasn't very interesting, although it was pleasing to see a small flock of Lapwings.