Brian Daniels
Western Thunderer
Had this, I take it, young Blue Tit on the bird bath recently but it doesn't look to healthy, more like Orville The Duck!
Wildlife in the garden - Indian summer?
- Thread starter Dog Star
- Start date
Rob R
Western Thunderer
I would suggest clever.
They are, after all, clever enough to wait until after you have unwrapped your chips before snatching them from out of your hand.
Of course for ice creams they don't have to wait....
R
PS. when roasted do they taste salty?
Edited for poor spieling
Osgood
Western Thunderer
Very sadly that looks like trichomonosis, a parasitic infection that prevents the bird from eating or drinking and they die.
It's been spreading since 2006 - we lost a large number of blue tits and green / yellow finches last summer and again this year.
The parasite is transmitted through contaminated feeders and water, so it might help to clean out your water bath.
Osgood
Western Thunderer
On a lighter note - meet Squawky.
Squawky is a juvenile crow who fell out of his nest before graduating from clown school, so he continues to practise his clowning skills.
He has been keeping us entertained for sure, even if he does disturb the tranquility with his constant demands for food from his busy parents.
He has no fear of anything - I spent some time with him on the lawn yesterday and if I'd had a worm in my hand I'm sure he would have taken it.
Funniest moment was when, right outside a window on a low wall, he raised his right foot right to scratch his head - and promptly fell over!
I spent 10 minutes watching him jump up onto the seat of this bench, then onto the top rail of the back, and then fall into the long grass behind, only to emerge a minute later from under the bench and repeat the routine - over and over again:
Squawky is a juvenile crow who fell out of his nest before graduating from clown school, so he continues to practise his clowning skills.
He has been keeping us entertained for sure, even if he does disturb the tranquility with his constant demands for food from his busy parents.
He has no fear of anything - I spent some time with him on the lawn yesterday and if I'd had a worm in my hand I'm sure he would have taken it.
Funniest moment was when, right outside a window on a low wall, he raised his right foot right to scratch his head - and promptly fell over!
I spent 10 minutes watching him jump up onto the seat of this bench, then onto the top rail of the back, and then fall into the long grass behind, only to emerge a minute later from under the bench and repeat the routine - over and over again:
Eastsidepilot
Western Thunderer
Amongst the many different birds visiting the garden bird bath this time I had the camera next to me, taken from about 40 feet away one of the pair of Jays that are frequent visitors.
For camera buffs I use a Sony DLSR A-200 with a Sigma DG 70-300mm lens. I could do with a more powerful lens to get in closer any suggestions please ?
Col.
For camera buffs I use a Sony DLSR A-200 with a Sigma DG 70-300mm lens. I could do with a more powerful lens to get in closer any suggestions please ?
Col.
Max M
Western Thunderer
There are lenses with longer focal length available but I guess it depends how much you want (are allowed?) to spend and how often you are likely to use it.
Like most things in life you tend to get what you pay for so first I suggest that you set your budget and then see what that buys either new or second hand.
Anything you get will probably be bigger, heavier and may need a tripod at maximum focal length.
Another alternative would be a tele converter which would also effectively increase the focal length.
The last alternative would be to use photo editing software to crop your picture to remove the unwanted area.
Scale7JB
Western Thunderer
Col,
you’d probably be best off going for a 2x converter initially.
you’ll lose a lot of light, but should be okay on nice bright days if you up the ISO a bit. Do remember though to try and match the focal length of the lens to your shutter speed to prevent camera shake.
JB.
oldravendale
Western Thunderer
Those are, of course, rather sad images. We lost one of our blue tit babies to, we believe, either a magpie or a jackdaw (which were nesting in our chimney). Nevertheless, fascinating footage.
Brian
Brian
Yorkshire Dave
Western Thunderer
Jays, Magpies, Jackdaws, Rooks, Crows, Ravens are all part of the Corvidae family of birds. All are omnivorous and include carrion as part of their feeding.
oldravendale
Western Thunderer
Quite so, Dave, and they are also "clever". I bought a bird feeder which closes as soon as anything bigger than a blackbird tries to perch on it. It took the magpies no more than a week to work out that, if they jumped from the hedge and hit the thing the seed dropped out on the floor.
Nature is wonderful to watch but can be so cruel.
I am, however, searching for a humane way to rid ourselves of pigeons and grey squirrels...... I used to trap the greys at our last house but we seem to suffer the fluffy animal syndrome here so the hiding of a trap is a major issue.
B
simond
Western Thunderer
I’ve seen the results of that syndrome, my neighbour who loved his flowerbeds, was suffering the depredations of squirrels, which he trapped, and relocated to the other end of the woods, about half a mile away. The traps were successively stolen, or smashed, by folks who “knew better” (or perhaps some Godzilla species of squirrel of which we remain to this day unaware). He gave up in the end, so everybody lost out. Some smug pillock probably still feels holier than my neighbour about it.
We were inundated with pigeons when they discovered they could nest under the solar panels. We had mesh fitted around the edges to keep them out, and fitted spikes on all the ridge tiles. Otherwise sleep was nigh impossible. I was astonished that the pigeons pretty much excluded the local seagulls, once they’d taken up residence. The seagulls don’t seem to like the spikes much so we didn’t get them back as residents, though they do still visit.
We were inundated with pigeons when they discovered they could nest under the solar panels. We had mesh fitted around the edges to keep them out, and fitted spikes on all the ridge tiles. Otherwise sleep was nigh impossible. I was astonished that the pigeons pretty much excluded the local seagulls, once they’d taken up residence. The seagulls don’t seem to like the spikes much so we didn’t get them back as residents, though they do still visit.
daifly
Western Thunderer
That ‘solution’ is illegal, of course. It is an offence under section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) to introduce and release grey squirrels into the wild. That includes squirrels trapped in domestic gardens. I use Fenn Mark IV traps baited with M&S peanut butter. Very effective.
oldravendale
Western Thunderer
You are absolutely correct, of course, Dave. I suspect that, having trapped the animals (not too difficult in my experience) humane destruction which is compulsory is something most people can't face. That can be done by shooting or by a vet which involves a cost.
Brian
Brian