Where have all our garden birds gone?

[Mallard60022]

14 hours ago, BR traction instructor said:

Wheatear, stonechat and skylark were the main accompaniment on our climb from Mungrisedale to Bannerdale crags today.

 

BeRTIe

Wow! People actually want to fly to a Costa Crappo when they can have this. Hey ho.

This morning I spied 6 or 8 House Martins over their usual place almost above my Garden. A month late to the day almost). About the same number as last year but we can only hope for more.

Phil 

[J. S. Bach]

21 hours ago, BR traction instructor said:

Wheatear, stonechat and skylark were the main accompaniment on our climb from Mungrisedale to Bannerdale crags (2240ft) today. View from the cairn looking NE towards the Eden valley…

 

BeRTIe

That reminds me of the Appalachian Mountains over here.

[03060]

10 hours ago, Mallard60022 said:

Wow! People actually want to fly to a Costa Crappo when they can have this. Hey ho.

This morning I spied 6 or 8 House Martins over their usual place almost above my Garden. A month late to the day almost). About the same number as last year but we can only hope for more.

Phil 

 

I'm up in the Western Highlands at the moment and there seems to be a reasonable number of Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins up here but I can't say that I've seen any Swifts yet ?

[stewartingram]

Ok, I'm not a birdwatcher, and haven't followed this thread, but we had this stranger in our garden yesterday for a couple of hours. Anyone identify it?

[PhilJ W]

The pink eyes suggest it is an albino. Going by the shape of the bill and body I would suggest an albino juvenile long tailed tit. Its surprising it has survived so far as it would be easy prey for predators and I fear that it will not last much longer.

[stewartingram]

I had a reply back from daughter number 1, who suggested a young albino sparrowhawk, supported by an internet picture of one which does indeed look similar.

However daughter number 3, who is an iphone addict, found a bird id app (don't know which one*), and uploaded my picture to it. It came back as identifying the pic as a Rock Dove, with another pic just about identical to mine.

(*I Googled for a bird id app and found Merlin Bird ID, but this does not work on my Win10 phone so I can't check it out).

I've searched on the pc for Rock Dove; it seems that Rock Dove is the forerunner of the pigeon family (reading Wiki it is very complicated!).

So for the moment, my latest update is favouring Rock Dove, with the pic she sent me. I'll try to upload it later.

 

[RedgateModels]

Josh got all arty with this one this afternoon. Does sum up how busy mum and dad are at the moment …..

 

[Reorte]

On 19/05/2022 at 20:04, BR traction instructor said:

Wheatear, stonechat and skylark were the main accompaniment on our climb from Mungrisedale to Bannerdale crags (2240ft) today. View from the cairn looking NE towards the Eden valley…

A bit of the Lakes that's usually pretty quiet even on the busiest days too. I've wandered over Bowscale Fell several times on a bank holiday and only seen a couple of people. It might not be as impressive as Scafell but the quiet is still appreciated (both for its own sake and the fact it means the paths haven't turned in to ghastly "repaired" highways).

[Mallard60022]

21 hours ago, stewartingram said:

Ok, I'm not a birdwatcher, and haven't followed this thread, but we had this stranger in our garden yesterday for a couple of hours. Anyone identify it?

I'll be interested to find out what this is as it seems quite small at the moment. Stock/Rock Doves are 1/4 smaller than Pigeons and the well bred Stock ones are often the Racer/ Fanciers. More like the size of Collar Doves. Our Collars have been ousted as........

we have a batch of Stocks that live here now, after a bunch escaped locally and mated like mad. Only a few had Rings and they went rapidly, I know not where.  They live on our Roofs in the close and eat everything! Weird Colours and mixes too but no Albinos. Leucistic Birds: look that up on a search.

Phil

Edited May 23, 2022 by Mallard60022

[melmerby]

20 hours ago, stewartingram said:

I had a reply back from daughter number 1, who suggested a young albino sparrowhawk, supported by an internet picture of one which does indeed look similar.

However daughter number 3, who is an iphone addict, found a bird id app (don't know which one*), and uploaded my picture to it. It came back as identifying the pic as a Rock Dove, with another pic just about identical to mine.

(*I Googled for a bird id app and found Merlin Bird ID, but this does not work on my Win10 phone so I can't check it out).

I've searched on the pc for Rock Dove; it seems that Rock Dove is the forerunner of the pigeon family (reading Wiki it is very complicated!).

So for the moment, my latest update is favouring Rock Dove, with the pic she sent me. I'll try to upload it later.

 

I'm going to stick my neck out and say it is not a Rock Dove. It looks too small.

When birds fledge to the point of being around alone, they are normally approaching adult size. The Wood Pigeons in our garden are a good example, the size is near enough the same as an adult but with juvenile plumage.

This is a Sparrowhawk for comparison, with an adult Starling pinned to the ground (which lived to tell the tale!):

 

 

 

 

Note the curved upper mandible, which the albino doesn't have.

Edited May 23, 2022 by melmerby

[PhilJ W]

On Saturday for a change when returning from Chelmsford I took the old A130 as my friend wanted to show his son some of the old pillboxes on that road. As we passed the turning to Hyde Hall we saw a hawk sitting at the side of the road watching the traffic totally undisturbed by that traffic only a few yards away.

[Flying Pig]

On 22/05/2022 at 19:08, stewartingram said:

I had a reply back from daughter number 1, who suggested a young albino sparrowhawk, supported by an internet picture of one which does indeed look similar.

However daughter number 3, who is an iphone addict, found a bird id app (don't know which one*), and uploaded my picture to it. It came back as identifying the pic as a Rock Dove, with another pic just about identical to mine.

(*I Googled for a bird id app and found Merlin Bird ID, but this does not work on my Win10 phone so I can't check it out).

I've searched on the pc for Rock Dove; it seems that Rock Dove is the forerunner of the pigeon family (reading Wiki it is very complicated!).

So for the moment, my latest update is favouring Rock Dove, with the pic she sent me. I'll try to upload it later.

 

 

It's a dove of some kind but I think it is a Diamond Dove which is an Australian species that seems to be common in captivity.  Certainly not any of the wild UK species.

[tigerburnie]

On 22/05/2022 at 13:20, stewartingram said:

Ok, I'm not a birdwatcher, and haven't followed this thread, but we had this stranger in our garden yesterday for a couple of hours. Anyone identify it?

That has the look of an escaped pet, doesn't look like a Uk bird, maybe one of our Australian posters might give us a clue.

[Phil Bullock]

At the moment our dunnocks starlings house sparrows and blue tits are all bringing up their families.

 

The goldfinches are on the feeders, and the Robin doves pigeons and jackdaws all visit regularly.

 

seems to be a good year for them….

[RedgateModels]

Hello! 

 

[BR traction instructor]

Shelduck, oystercatcher, heron, various gulls and (knot) were picking/skimming over the tidal mud/shallows during our ride to Grune point…probably the most north westerly point of England tonight…

 

BeRTIe

Edited May 27, 2022 by BR traction instructor

[Donw]

That is the wrong colour for a diamond dove. We would say it is most likely escaped from an aviary and will not cope in the wild anyone with aviaries near you?

 

Don

[BR traction instructor]

Yellowhammer, goldfinch, dunnock, pigeon, house martin, swallow and crow accompanied us throughout on our Silloth - Causewayhead - Beckfoot - Mawbray - Tarns - High laws - Causewayhead- Silloth circuit tonight. Lovely to be amongst the hedgerows & freshly silaged fields…

 

Views towards Silloth from different vantage points.

 

BeRTIe

[Brighty1674]

On 16/05/2022 at 16:29, Brighty1674 said:

Made my day……just seen two fledgling blackbirds being fed by mum and dad…..we have had them nesting in the garden for the past two years,about three or four days ago we had those dam magpies turn up and cause mayhem, hell of a load of noise and dearly beloved and myself thought they would predate the blackbirds, but it looks like at least two have survived…….we have been putting pear leftovers out each morning at breakfast and the male blackbird is there straightaway for his breakfast too, a lovely sight…….

A happy ending……….we now have three chicks that have survived those dam magpies……here we have dad feeding three chicks on more pear left overs(there is a shortage of pears in Shepton at the moment)……they all seem happy so a good result……..

[Reorte]

The nuts have been emptying at a rapid rate recently - refilling every couple of days, which is much, much faster than normal. This appears to be down to a pair of woodpeckers that are visiting constantly.

 

Moving past garden birds and on to ducks (they occasionally wander in to the garden!) I've not seen any ducklings at all on the canal this year, which is worrying. Not seen any female ducks for a while either, surely they're not all still just sitting on nests at the end of May?

[PhilJ W]

2 minutes ago, Reorte said:

The nuts have been emptying at a rapid rate recently - refilling every couple of days, which is much, much faster than normal. This appears to be down to a pair of woodpeckers that are visiting constantly.

 

Moving past garden birds and on to ducks (they occasionally wander in to the garden!) I've not seen any ducklings at all on the canal this year, which is worrying. Not seen any female ducks for a while either, surely they're not all still just sitting on nests at the end of May?

Not birds but I have a vixen with cubs as a regular visitors to my garden. Normally the cubs would be weaned by now but only a couple of days ago I watched the vixen suckling one of the cubs. 

 

[The Lurker]

Spotted a pied wagtail in the garden this morning- that’s the first time in our 18 years in this house that I have seen one there. In the first year of lockdown I noticed them up the road for the first time- so either they’re moving into the area or they never appeared previously at weekends - now I WFH more, I see them!

[jbqfc]

today we have goldfinch sparrow starling and blue tit fledglings in the garden it is quit a sight seeing them all begging there parents for food 

 

John 

[boxbrownie]

55 minutes ago, The Lurker said:

Spotted a pied wagtail in the garden this morning- that’s the first time in our 18 years in this house that I have seen one there. In the first year of lockdown I noticed them up the road for the first time- so either they’re moving into the area or they never appeared previously at weekends - now I WFH more, I see them!

That is quite spooky as this morning sitting out having our coffee we spotted the very same, and the first time since since moving here seven years ago we have had a wagtail in the garden.

[PhilJ W]

Wagtails are quite common hereabouts, and have been so for as many years as I can remember.