Hobbies and Crafts

It was good to see the photos Ann and to be reminded of Madeira.

Yesterday just as I was going out a neighbour called me and insisted there was a fieldfare on my roof. Looking up, all I could really see was a brownish bird of roughly the right size and shape. It would be lovely to think it was a fieldfare but I've only seen them before in small flocks in late autumn. This one was on its own and either was late leaving or very, very early arriving here. It was probably a female blackbird but neighbour was sure she knew best, even dragging her poor window cleaner into the discussion!

Could it have been a big thrush Vera? I think they look a bit similar.I usually see the Field fares in large groups over in the horses fields.

My window feeder is taking much longer to empty .(I am not complaining :-D )

The new little robin is very tame. I have been weeding and the robin has
been really close to me. Great!

Robins are so funny aren't they.They don't mind being close to us Humans :-D OH often has one following him around the veg patches :-D

Of in a couple of hours .Can't wait to get going now.France here I come :-D :-D
I must remember to remind my son to FEED THE BIRDS :-D

The robin is still bobbing about in the garden.

Mostly starlings here today though..... as hungry as always. Interesting watching
them feed their young ones though.

Have a safe journey Jane. Hope you both have a lovely time.

Have a great time Jane. You're going to Paris and Avignon aren't you? I love Paris. Never been to Avignon but it's on the "to do" list. We are off to Majorca with a large group of friends at the end of the week.

We have just arrived back from our annual weekend get-together with OH's siblings and partners and found a dead young blackbird outside the conservatory. Our cat is in the cattery and there are no feathers around to indicate a kill by a neighbourhood cat so I think it must have flown into the glass. Poor thing :-(

Poor bird Vera. In case I don't get on here, enjoy your holiday. I missed Jane I think, hope she has a great time in France. It is sooo hot here today I have to keep coming inside to cool down. :-) :-)

It's really interesting seeing the blackbirds and starlings feeding their young.
The new robin is still here and quite tame. He doesn't mind me being around.
The blackbird has been singing around dinner time..... just amazing to hear him.

I hope Ann and Jane are enjoying time relaxing with their hubbies on holiday.

A blackbird singing has got to be one of the loveliest sounds. I sat in our conservatory yesterday listening to one on our roof and it was so beautiful.

OH is getting annoyed as the birds are pulling all the blossoms off the hawthorn tree :-|

We get blackbirds singing here and lots and lots of sparrows plus the occasional paraqueet.

This morning I have seen a new little bird in the garden. At first I thought that it was
a hedge sparrow as it had the same colouring but it was slightly smaller and had a black head and black stripes on its back, any ideas what this little bird could be please?

I had to stop and think what a hedge sparrow looked like and then realised it is the bird I call a dunnock.

I've had a look at the RSPB bird identifier site and haven't come up with anything that really fits your description. House and tree sparrows have the stripes on the back but not the black head, the blackcap has the head colour but not the stripes. This one's a bit of a puzzle. Let us know if you find out what it is.

I am still puzzling about this new little bird. I Googled Dunnock Vera and we call
this bird a hedge sparrow. The strange little bird came back yesterday and today.
I have been able to have a longer look and his head is not entirely black as I had first thought. It looks like a sparrow but smaller and quicker in its movements. It has black stripes on its head and dark marking on its back feathers??? Definitely some kind of
sparrow/siskin/finch??? not sure what though. I am going dizzy Googling it!

No strange little bird seen here today but we had a wild baby bunny rabbit!!
We have fields at the beginning of the village but have never had any rabbits
in the street. We had our gt nephew a very lively little toddler. It was the only
time that he was quiet and sitting still as we waited for the rabbit to appear from
the shrubbery. His little face was a picture of joy when the baby rabbit came out.

Looking out of the kitchen window this afternoon something caught my eye.
It was a tiny bird on the side of the brick wall. It was a bluetit..... no mistaking
that with the blue an yellow colour. Haven't seen one of these for a long time!

Brewers Blackbird.. American bird named after Thomas Mayo Brewer The one you spotted was the male bird. The hen bird has brownish grey plumage. The eyes are dark. It is not related to the English blackbird. The Eastern species belongs to the
same genus as the American Blackbird This is known as the Rusty Blackbird.
It is unusual to spot American birds in English gardens. Probably the one you saw was an "escape" from some aviary. Just a suggestion. Caldervale

Kandji. The hedge sparrow is the Dunnock. The head is light bluish grey with brown body. The Tree Sparrow is similar to the House Sparrow except the head which is coppery brown and has a black patch on the side of the head. The House Sparrow
has a grey head and there is no black patch on the side of the head. All three species come into the garden. When we first moved in to present house about 15 years ago the Green Finch was a regular visitor, Seems to have abandoned the district. Other birds include Gold Finch, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Long Tailed Tits, Robins, Lots of Starlings, Collared Dove, Ring Dove or Wood Pigeon usual name,
Crows, Jackdaws, Magpies. Sparrow Hawks not a pleasant site when eating prey.
We see water fowl occasionally, Herons, Swans variety in ducks. A fishing pond is
only a short walk away. House situated on a rather a large estate in a semi rural town. Not a country village. Caldervale

Kandj . Brewers Blackbird is American in origin. Named after Thomas Mayo Brewer
American naturalist. Probably an escape from some aviary or blown off course by high winds across the Atlantic. (The poor bird ) We have a bird table which attracts
many varieties. However Green Finch seem to have abandoned the area. We have lived in present house over 15 years. Flocks then but no sign for the last couple of years. Where we live is a medium size town but we are on the outskirts. A large private estate inasmuch it is not council property. We have seen Long Tailed Tits,
Blue Tits, Great Tits, Collared Doves, Ring Doves (Wood Pigeons) more well known name, the three breeds of sparrow, Hedge , Tree and House, Sparrow Hawk, Jackdaws, Crows, Magpies, Starlings (en Masse) Blackbirds, Thrush, Robin
Gold Finch not forgetting the Canary and one Budgie Two tame birds among a mixed bunch of wild ones Caldervale

Hello Caldervale, very many thanks for your information. All very interesting.

Regarding the beautiful coloured male Brewers Blackbird. This used to visit our next door neighbours garden too. They had a fright when It came down their
chimney (thankfully no lit fire) and flew around the room, Peter caught the bird and he put it carefully into a small cardboard box until it had calmed down.
Peter then took the Brewers Blackbird to a man in the village who cares for all
wild creatures. He phoned the next day and said that sadly the bird had died..awww!

Evening! Back from France and back to normal everyday living .Oh it is so nice to be away and not have to think about cooking ,washing ,cleaning etc.Avignon is a lovely place and the weather was very good.A bit hot for me on one day but then it cooled off slightly.Paris was very wet :-(..The Saturday was hot but Sunday an d Monday a real wash out.

Thomas is home again and back out hunting for Rabbits .There are plenty for him as my son said there have been baby bunnies enjoying a cat free garden !!!

I have a new visitor to my window feeder.A JAY !!..I have never seen one before and was surprised to see what a large bird it is.I will be sending you a pic Ann as I was lucky enough to catch it on my phone.