Hobbies and Crafts

Morning birders :-D

Jane, is it the Bird of Prey Centre at Biggleswade? I've got a photo of that owl :-D I'll see if I got the name in shot.

Island...can you get onto the blog??

jude:)

Jude.........how did I see the owl pic? LOLOL

Ooooops.... :-D

Island ,no it's not the Biggleswade one.It was a place out somewhere near Stamford I think.I will have to ask my son.Both him and his girlfriend really enjoyed having the various birds land on their arms.Not so keen on holding dead baby chicks though for them to eat :-S

Jane, we went to the one at Biggleswade for 'the experience' and a wonderful time it was too. I was not looking forward to holding dead day old chicks but (phew) we just donned the glove and stuck our arms out while the keeper held a bit of meat to tempt the birds over.
We got to hold several birds and played with a condor! That was great :-D
It was much bigger than your average budgie LOL

I have been trying to get a pic of the baby blue tit being fed by Mum on the coconut.It is so sweet ,but every time I get near they scoot off :-S.Not looking hopeful for a photo.
We are being woken every morning at some unearthly hour by a Magpie.It sounds like it must be in the hedge right next to our bedroom :-S Not good at 4.30am :-| :-| :-| :-|

Just have to say we used to live not far from Biggleswade.

I now have a pic of Mum and 2 babies on the coconut.Sent a pic Jude.Not sure how clear it is.I have a problem with the dog as every time he sees me pick up the camera and point it at the patio door he rushes to it and starts blooming barking :-S :-S.So then all the birds scarper :-|

your dog sounds like a right diva Jane LOL :-D

Is anyone else glued to the Springwatch live wecams?
The last little pied flycatcher just doesn't want to go :-(

Island he is a pain in the backside :-SJust wants to get in on the action lol
No I haven't seen any of the Webcam .I wonder if it will be on IPlayer.
I have been glued to watching the Coconut lol

message from Jude .....more pics on the Birds Blog

Jane, Island has put up the link to the Webcam on her 'Butterflies' thread. I've just had another look and the little Pied Flycatcher is still there, looking rather lonely.

Remember I told you a while back about the pair of blackbirds that died mysteriously on my patio. Well since then another pair have built a nest in a terracotta pot on the patio wall, well hidden by a tall camellia and I have been able to watch their progress from my lounge window by standing on a chair. She laid 3 eggs, but only 2 hatched and grew to maturity. The other egg remained in the nest with them as they grew. They flew the nest a few days ago, but the 3rd egg is no longer there. What could've happened to it?

Anyway, it was such a pleasure to watch them after the earlier sadness :-)

Has a Magpie visited the nest Wend?They are B*****s around here.I keep finding broken little blue shells on the lawn.
That is lovely to have at least seen two survive from your nest :-D :-D

Thanks Jane , just saw your post on the Welsh thread :-)

Your photo's of the Blue tits are smashing.

I don't think so Jane, because I checked the nest immediately the fledglings had left and the egg wasn't there. No sign of shells from the other two below the nest or around it either. I wondered if the parents dispose of the shells elsewhere, so as not to attract predators. Maybe that's why you find bits of shells on your lawn, as I do. The magpies are responsible for that too, though, I know.

Lovely pic Jane. Tits like coconuts :-D :-D

I don't think there is much chance of feeding on the coconut tonight.The wind is too strong for their little feet to hang on lol.They have probably felt quite seasick :-S

The Swifts are having a ball whizzing around over our garden at the moment.No pics though as they are too Swift :-D Normally they are further down the lane opposite us.I say Swifts (they could be Swallows) I'm not sure of the difference.

Hi Jane~~

Difficult to tell between the 2, but Swifts are lager in size, dark in colour and tend to fly higher than Swallows which have colourings...but when they go so fast you can't see it.:)
Lovely to see tho

Sandie.