Young Starling

Just one other image from today: A young Starling

Window Strike

I heard the dreaded thud of a bird flying into the back door this afternoon and from the few feathers it left behind it was obviously a Greenfinch (he hit the window about 8" below a big sentinel of a Peregrine!). I found him round the corner half-hidden by an upturned garden tub.

He was alive but clearly stunned. As the weather was reasonable, and he was quite well hidden, I decided to leave him there rather than stress him by moving him somewhere dark and quiet (as is advised). I checked him twice and then after around twenty minutes he flew off to the nearby wood. Happy ending!

The position of his leg was a bit worrying, but when I checked him ten minutes later he'd pulled it back under his body.

A Full BTO Garden BirdWatch Year

At last! I have now completed a full year of garden observations for the BTO Garden BirdWatch survey. Click on the picture to see the full-sized version.

The first column shows the species, the second shows how many times the species was recorded out of 52 weeks and the last column shows the reporting rate percentage.

i.e House Sparrows were recorded every week of the year so the reporting rate is 100%

Feral Pigeon, Goldcrest (two visits in one week), Nuthatch and Tree Sparrow all come in joint last place with one record each - 2%.

Click the pics. The charts are screen grabs from my BTO online membership.

"Common Species"


"Scarcer Species"

Whose Line is it Anyway?

I know what I prefer to see on the washing line, and it isn't clothes ...

Male Greenfinch




Bald female on a very rainy Tuesday this week

BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch 20-26 August

Starling (20)
Blue Tit (2)
House Sparrow (30)
Greenfinch (5)
Chaffinch (3)
Robin (1)
Chiffchaff (1)
Woodpigeon (2)
Blackbird (2)
Coal Tit (1)
Goldfinch (1)
Jackdaw (1)

More information on the BTO's Garden BirdWatch can be found here.

Our garden lists (birds & butterflies - moths coming soon!) can be found here

LOL

On Thursday at school in front of all the other Mums:

Me: We've got to go to the shop now to get some leeks, bacon and potatoes
Birdboy: Are we going to leave without paying?
Me: No!!!! That'd be naughty!
Birdboy: Daddy does it!
Me: No he doesn't!!!!
Birdboy: Yes he does.
Me: Where?!!!!
Birdboy: The Co-op!

Birdman would like me to point out that he has never left the Co-op without paying :D

Lil' Tatty

A young Blue Tit this morning on the washing line -

A little rough around the edges ...








... But a quick dip soon sorts things out

Juvenile Song Thrush

A juvenile Song Thrush made a brief visit to the garden this morning. We don't get thrushes very often, so it was especially nice to see a youngster.

Willow Gall Weevil?

These little critters are all over the Kilmarnock Willow in the front garden. I'm yet to see anything emerge from the (what I assume are) willow galls, but little beetles should emerge from them at some point.

Feel free to confirm or correct me :o)

House Martins House Hunting

We've had House Martins house hunting ready for next year! I'd estimate around fifty birds flying above and around us this morning. Possibly more.


Neighbour's house

And next to them ...

I wonder if we'll get any on our house next year? There seems to be plenty of birds to go round, so fingers crossed for 2007!

Juvenile House Sparrow

And also ...

Juvenile Starlings raiding the strawberry plant
Crab apples
Delphinium(?)

And Once More ...

Our now identified Chiffchaff came back again this afternoon and had a good look around the garden. He landed on the sunflowers and examined the climbing rose and the elder. And, of course, he's still proving impossible to photograph. As he is so small, and so flighty, I managed to take either blurred images, or I focused on something else. But I had to just have a go - he'll probably be migrating in the next month or so and I don't know if I'll get another chance!

He's hiding from me
Peek-a-boo


There's always tomorrow ...

Got It!

Got it! I managed a few very poor photos of the Willowchiff this afternoon! He was too far away for anything even half-decent but this has to be better than nothing!

So, what is it? Willow Warbler or Chiffchaff?

First Day at Nursery

It is Birdboy's first day at Nursery today (Scottish holidays are a bit different to those over the border in England).

This morning just after we got up:

Birdboy: Mummy, I'll go to school today and I want you to come back here and do the housework.

The Willowchiff Returns!

The unidentified Willowchiff has been back in the garden today for another very brief visit, and this time I was a split-second away from taking a photo. Unfortunately, he flew off just as I was about to press the shutter button. Anyhoo, I noted the leg colour this time - and I think they were pale legs. Pale legs suggest a Willow Warbler rather than a Chiffchaff (Chiffchaff was my guess). So, the jury is still officially out and probably will be until (a) I get a good long look (b) I get a photo, or (c) He sings.

At least it's been back. Just got to wait again! :o)

BTO/CJ Garden Birdwatch 13-19 August

No posts this week - mainly due to what was practically week-long rain.

Garden list this week:


House Sparrow (10)
Robin (1)
Greenfinch (5)
Chaffinch (15)
Blackbird (1)
Woodpigeon (1)
Starling (6)
Collared Dove (1)
Great Tit (1)
Blue Tit (2)
Siskin (1)
Pied Wagtail (1)

I don't mention them very often, but the Tawny Owls continue to call and hoot most nights.

We've been over to Glentress Forest today but there was nothing to report from there other than a(nother) Willowchiff near the cafe. I need to take a crash course in Warbler recognition!

Chiffchaff

Willow Warbler

Wood Warbler

Photos borrowed from:
Here
Here
and here

BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch 6-12 August

1. House Sparrow (20)
2. Siskin (1)
3. Woodpigeon (2)
4. Goldfinch (1)
5. Chaffinch (5)
6. Greenfinch (3)
7. Robin (1)
8. Pied Wagtail (1)
9. Blue Tit (2)
10. Starling (10)
11. Blackbird (1)
12. Dunnock (1)
13. Chiffchaff (1 - No positive ID - could've been a Willow Warbler but I'm going with my gut instinct!)

Early August Mixture

Passion Flower
Closer ... (with hoverflies!)
... and the fruit
Honeysuckle berries

A small white butterfly on my finger
Large white chrysalis. Thanks to Dean for the ID.

No idea! Found this on the fence but due to its position couldn't get a decent shot

Garden Hedgehogs

Lots of snuffling noises in the garden tonight courtesy of these two hedgehogs:

Hog 1, in that part of the garden where you hide your spare pots, etc., :o)
Hog 2, under Birdboy's garden bench

Although we don't have a dog, we do have dog food in the cupboard for such an eventuality! Hedgehogs were duly fed, watered and left alone.

We are going to a garden centre tomorrow after Birdman finishes work so I'll have a look for the hedgehog houses they had last time we were there.

FFS!!!

I have only just realised that ALL MY PHOTOS vanished from here when I changed to bordersbirds.co.uk

I am currently going through each post and uploading the photos again. Just about all photos from January-May need doing again.

Shouldn't take more than a couple of years to complete ;o) :o(

Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhhh!!!!!

Edit: January is now done :o)
Edit: February is now done :o)
Edit: March is done :o)
Edit: April is done :o)
Edit: May is done - woo hoo! :o)


So, three days later ...

I can honestly say I will never ever in a million years EVER do that again. I would rather poke my own eyes out than have to upload all those pics again. If they vanish again then so be it, I couldn't care less ...

:oD

New Garden Tick - Willowchiff!

Willow Warbler or Chiffchaff?

I only saw it very briefly, I just had time to pick up my bins - a photo wasn't an option, unfortunately.

It landed (well, it was already there when I saw it) under one of the feeders (it didn't feed). I noticed it wasn't a usual visitor, grabbed my binoculars, had a quick look, and then ... Gone! Definitely either a Willow Warbler or a Chiffchaff. I didn't get chance to see its legs and it didn't do the decent thing by singing for me ;o) It had a brown back, and the yellow stripe above the eyes was very distinct.

I've been half hoping/expecting a Chiffchaff to arrive at some point as I hear them regularly from the garden during the spring.

I vote Chiffchaff!

What-ever-it-was takes the garden total (birds which land in the garden) to 31 in the fifteen months we have been here.

I shouldn't really count it as there was no positive ID :o(

BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch 30 July -5 August

Another quite uneventful week in the garden, birdwise. Highlights this week were a male Sparrowhawk (on Friday) making his c.21st visit to the garden - he's yet to make a kill. Perhaps he chases the birds out of the garden and then catches them away from my sensitive eyes :o)

We had two juvenile Blue Tits and a single juvenile Great tit - all on Thursday.

Also on Thursday we had a rather rushed visit by twenty Starlings: They landed, foraged in the lawn (presumably for vine wevil larvae?) for around twenty seconds and then flew off as quickly as they arrived!

House Martins are in great numbers above the house. Swallows less so, but still good. The Swallows nesting above the front door of the house across the road are on their third brood, and the House Martins nesting on the house next to that one are on their second brood. Some days they are swooping in, out and over our garden so much I'm surprised one hasn't collided with me! Of course, they never land in the garden so I don't include them in the BTO survey. They are on my personal garden list as 'fly overs'.

1. Greenfinch (3)
2. Chaffinch (10 - last few weeks has been predominately female, but males are now returning)
3. Siskin (2)
4. Woodpigeon (2)
5. Blackbird (4)
6. House Sparrow (15)
7. Great Tit (1)
8. Goldfinch (1)
9. Blue Tit (2)
10. Starling (20)
11. Sparrowhawk (1 male)

Over:

Oystercatcher (4)
Swallow
House Martin

Painted Lady

We've had the same butterflies in the garden as yesterday but with the addition of a painted lady:


Painted lady






Very heavily cropped just to show the eyes

Large white

Green-veined white

The Butterfly Bush

Loads of butterflies in the garden this afternoon- mostly on the Buddleia Nanho Blue - but only six species: Small & Large White, Green-veined White, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell and also Red Admiral which was the most numerous.

Peacock

Red admiral

Large white (female)
Large white (male)




Buff-tailed bumble bee. I can't remember the name of the plant, but it's a bee magnet!

Marmalade Hoverfly

Almost-ripe strawberry

Sweet pea

We've had about an inch of rainfall over the past two days so all the shrub borders are nice and wet and won't need watering for a few days!