Hobbies and Crafts

Today ,I have seen a Swan flying overhead,and down the lane where i take Chester for his walk the Swifts/Swallows (I'm not sure which) are swooping low down .Too quick for me to get a photo lol

Yesterday evening, two little chaffinches were so busy flirting that they didnt see our dining room window and smashed into it. We rushed out and on first look they seemed goners, but we put them in a cardboard box base with some water and seed, and left them in OH's shed where they could be quiet. Within an hour the pair were ready to fly again, though the female was not anxious to leave the shed. Took some persuading!

They do go dippy this time of year don't they. Blackbirds have been chasing each other all over the garden this evening. But the funniest sight today was the wood pigeon having a bath in the bird bath. It is not that big and he is huge so he stood up and sort of flicked the water at himself, then the smaller - I assume female- wood pigeon was trying to get in with him!

They obviously think there's going to be a water shortage this year and know that sharing your bath saves water...

This afternoon I was sitting having a cup of tea in the conservatory with the doors open. A little wren was hopping around just outside the door totally ignoring me, then Mrs Blackbird decided to build a nest in the pyracanthus also just outside the door.

then this evening there was a bird in our water feature and we haven't a clue what it was. It was larger than a wren and a bit smaller than a sparrow, and thinner, light chest and dark markings on its wings. It 'skittered' along the ground and disappeared before we got a really good look. Any ideas?

We seem to have LOT'S of Robins around .Some look very young and some look a bit ragged.I think the ragged looking ones are the poor females who have been got at ,over and over again lol
The pidgeons love the bird bath here ,but they are dirty devils and poo in it all the time !!!

We have a similar problem with the water bowl on our feeder station. The pigeons use it as a perch and always seem to head straight for it when OH has just changed the water.

For Deanna.

The garden is full of birdsong.It's lovely.But what to do about the Cockerel next door.Bless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He can start up about 3am lol

Could it have been an owl Barbra, they screech.

Hi Barbra

I agree with Ann, it is probably a tawny owl.

Have a listen here
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/t/tawnyowl/index.aspx

Other things that can screech at night are foxes, especially when in the process of increasing their number. Quite an unearthly noise. I've heard them a couple of times this week.

Also once my Mum went outside to a weird loud screeching noise and found a hedgehog with its head stuck in a discarded yoghurt pot.. None of us had ever heard them make anything but a snuffling noise before or since so that was an eye opener.

I also have heard screams/screech this week.I thought it was most likely foxes.It does make the hair on my neck stand up lol.I have to get up and shut any windows then stick my fingers in my ears ,until it stops.I think Badgers also scream,and as we have both around here it could be either.

Last night I just missed getting a photo of a pidgeon feeding its baby on the edge of our roof.(it looked a pretty big baby) lol

We had two mallard in our garden yesterday.... we think that they were attracted by our granddaughter's paddling pool.... don't ask!! She insisted, and I couldn't refuse... we spent hours filling it up with warm water for her, she spent ten minutes playing in it... then we managed to get her out, lolol.... a warm spot, fortunately, and she wasn't blue... but we left the water in it to water the post edit, pots, lol and stuff.....

And for our trouble, we were visited by Mr and Mrs Mallard... they are now paddling up and down the rean at the back of our house.....

Oh, and a stoopid question... we have always had starlings close by, lots of them. They are incredibly noisy when they come in to roost, whenever a London Cardiff train goes by, when an owl hoots, or a fox screeches, or whatever. Then just before first light it all starts again... for about an hour. They wake the crows, and they get really agitated at not getting a lie-in...... A few weeks ago, all the noise from them stopped..... totally. It is so bizarre.

Does anyone know whether they sometimes just up sticks and go elsewhere to live??

Love

Daff xxx

They haven't come here Daff.We have had no starlings in the garden for years!!One year there were hundreds of them living in the bushes just outside the back door.What a racket they made!!! They would all disappear in the day and at night they would suddenly return to the same bushes.They came in groups.So one lot would arrive ,and then the next lot and so on.Lots of noise until they had all settled down lol

Absolutely.... they are really noisy... and that always set the crows off.... but now the crows are still here, but chunter on later in the morning... much nicer!!

Love

Daff xxx

Daff...we don't seem to have many Starlngs either, probably 3 or 4 about, maybe more, but then we never had loads.
We have the usual at the moment,not so many chaffinches though.
My one Crow comes to the same spot for his seed everyday.

We went to Symonds Yat yesterday and saw the new pair of Pereguines, apparently they saw off the older pair and in doing so they have very badly injured the female. Presumably this was all being watched by the rspb staff cause they found the female. She's now at Newent International Centre for birds of prey, being cared for. Its possible her injuries are so bad that she'll not be let free again!! :o((

We had next doors Lab pup in this afternoon, gordon bennett they get so noisy, Madoc gives the pup what for when necessary. Had to put Madoc indoors or else he would have been completely k-nackered and would limp:o(

We also have a spider in the bathroom that looks very much like the False Widow, he only comes out at night, just hangs there under the window ledge, l've tried taking photo's but he seems to know when the bloomin camera is there......l have just taken a couple but they're abit blurred.

l have had help today in getting my mobile photo's onto the pc....yippeeee:o))

jude

Jude I just took a pic of the two pidgeons who fornicate and poop everywhere lol.They don't half make a mess!!!.Will send you the photo tomorrow.

At last I've started to see greater spotted woodpecker again. Two days running one's come to our peanut feeder. Tried to get a photo today but failed miserably. My zoom's not great so even if I did it might not be brilliant. We're not huge photographers so haven't rushed to upgrade our camera.