The weather has been angry again this weekend, with unrelenting wind, the occasional shower of hail and fierce rainstorms. Now that there is a break in the onslaught and a few hours of sunshine, some of the birds have been returning to the feeders that had been absent – at least at the times that… Continue reading Hello, hello…
Tag: woodpecker
War and Peace…
A few days of unsettled weather – winds stripping more of the green cherries from the tree and shredding the peonie flowers, whilst thunder threatens in slate grey skies – and the birds seem to have picked up the uncertain temper of the times. Whilst an every increasing flock of sparrows, parents and fledglings, and… Continue reading War and Peace…
Close and closer…
A good deal of today’s activity has been a familiar mixture of importunate fledglings, frantic parents, fleeting jackdaws and the tank-like body of the wood pigeon working back and forth across the grass like an automatic vacuum cleaner on the lawn. The major flash of colour came from a male woodpacker, who came right up… Continue reading Close and closer…
What’s mine is mine…and what’s yours is mine too
This morning I added a handful of dried mealworms to the three-quarter coconut, scattered a few amongst the usual seed mix and was intrigued by the response of the various birds. A jackdaw given half a chance would hoover up anything within reach, whilst a blackbird appeared to collect a mixture of the dried worms… Continue reading What’s mine is mine…and what’s yours is mine too
Friends lost and found…
It was the ring doves’ complicated social life that caused all the stir today; there was a deal of strutting and puffing up and pouncing, all of which scattered the little birds again and again. A group of jackdaws thought to take advantage of the kerfuffle and it is difficult to spot them amongst the… Continue reading Friends lost and found…
Slippery bark
It is possible to see most of the garden from the kitchen sink, except the floor of the border right in front of the window which is screened by the honeysuckle trellis and the old beehive – which isn’t a beehive, it’s a garden shed, a very short one. The patch of lawn beneath the… Continue reading Slippery bark
Hither and yon…
Today there were a series of moments, familiar and curious. There was a blackbird performing an extensive grooming session in the freshly turned earth and ash around the base of the currant bushes. It would scratch around its ear canal, on its offside, then flare its wings and pose for a while in a shaft… Continue reading Hither and yon…
Access all areas…
The woodpecker generally only goes for the peanut feeders. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times it has come to the feeder under the roof of the birdtable close to the house, trying to wedge its head underneath the canopy. Nevertheless, this afternoon I saw it with its beak… Continue reading Access all areas…
King of the castle
The woodpecker doesn’t share. He will see off even the jackdaws with a well-aimed jab. Mid-afternoon and he is monopolising the cone-shaped peanut feeder, clinging to the wire half-way up, thin black beak hammering into the packed nuts. He’s a great spotted woodpecker, a mixture of intense focus and suspicious caution, so that he often… Continue reading King of the castle
thekitchensinkbirdwatcher 