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~ a celebration of nature

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Tag Archives: British birds

Crow junior

11 Saturday Jun 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Carrion crow, juvenile crow

Without a long lens, I haven’t been able to get close to any of the juvenile birds that are currently cheeping at and following around their frazzled parents in leafy trees and hedgerows. Luckily, though, this juvenile Carrion crow was a little more obliging … or perhaps simply more curious.

220611 crow

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Grey hairs

28 Saturday May 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, blackbird, British birds

You’d have grey hairs and a muddy beak too if you were busy rooting out worms ten to the dozen all day long to feed the demanding hungry mouths back home in the nest.

220528 blackbird

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A crow companion

17 Tuesday May 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds, flowers, wildflowers

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Bird’s-foot trefoil, birdwatching, British birds, Carrion crow

I had company as I walked very slowly along the west paddock paths at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park yesterday. This Carrion crow is one of a pair that frequents the area and, as they are fed almost daily by a local visitor, they’ve become quite used to quiet humans. I confess I have given them seed from time to time and I’m sure crows are smart enough to recognise individual people, so it may also have been hoping for a treat from me. No such luck, but it seemed to be finding plenty of tasty morsels amongst the glorious Bird’s-foot trefoil as we walked along together.

220517 crow

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Soaked

03 Tuesday May 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Magpie

I can’t be sure what happened to this Magpie – it was soaked and shaking – but I suspect it had a narrow escape from a bird of prey, as Peregrines nest not too far from where it was sitting. It may have been struck, stunned but not caught, and plummeted in to the sea. Somehow the Magpie had made it from the water to the front yard of a nearby apartment building, and I can only hope it was able to recover fully from its drenching.

220503 magpie

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Darling ducklings

25 Monday Apr 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, ducklings, Mallard, Mallard ducklings

Though Mallard ducklings were seen by other birders as early as the end of February, these little beauties were my first of the year. Eight little bundles of fluff and their mother were tucking in to a soggy slice of bread thrown to them by some boat owners in a local marina. Awwwwwww!

220425 ducklings

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A Blackcap nest

20 Wednesday Apr 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

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bird nests, birding, birdwatching, Blackcap, Blackcap nest, British birds

Blackcap males are singing from every available tree or patch of promising scrub at the moment, trying to impress females with their melodies.

220420 blackcap

And, during a recent walk, I spotted this nest, which, sadly, won’t get used as it had been exposed by people cutting back scrub, something that is, in fact, illegal during bird-nesting season. A BTO-nest-recording birder friend has advised that this is a Blackcap nest. He says: ‘The male builds a few “cock” nests before [the] final site is chosen. Hoping that was one!’ I hope so too.

220420 blackcap nest

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First Whitethroats

14 Thursday Apr 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds, spring

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bird migration, British birds, Common whitethroat, spring migration, Sylvia communis, Whitethroat

I was watching a Moorhen feeding its five tiny chicks when I heard it, the unmistakeable scratchy song of a Whitethroat (Sylvia communis), my first for 2022. And then, forty minutes later, I was walking along a hillside when I heard it again – not the same bird, of course, but my second scratchy tune of the year. As I’m still without a reasonable camera, today’s photo shows a Whitethroat I encountered last year.

220414 whitethroat

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Rear end

04 Monday Apr 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Great tit

An alternate view of a Great tit, to show that the subtle shades and distinctive markings of its feathers from this angle are just as attractive as a front view.

220404 great tit

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Osprey!

31 Thursday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds, spring

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Osprey, spring migration

I had a mystery bird during yesterday’s walk. It flew high over the west paddock at Cosmeston Country Park, heading north, in slow circles, mobbed by corvids and gulls. It was carrying something that seemed to have a snake-like shape, long and thin and dangling from its claws. Looking through binoculars, my impression of the bird was that it had dark grey/brown wings, a very pale, possibly white body, and a small pale head.

I had an idea what it might be but had never seen that species before so took as many photos as I could with my point-and-shoot camera (the telephoto lens on my DSLR camera has died and I can’t afford to replace it at the moment – what a time not to have a good lens!). Fortunately, local expert birders and our county bird recorder were able to confirm, from my description and the photos, that I had seen my first Osprey, migrating north to its breeding site after over-wintering in Africa. Welcome home, you beauty!

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The ju-jitsu bird

29 Tuesday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Chiffchaff, Chiffchaff call, spring migration

I know everyone thinks the Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) calls its own name ‘chiff chaff, chiff chaff’ or, sometimes, ‘chaff chiff, chaff chiff’. I beg to differ. A lot of the birds I listen to are actually saying ‘did you? did you? you, you, did you?’ and some of them are even in to martial arts, calling ‘ju-jitsu, ju-jitsu, you, ju-jitsu’. Listen closely next time you hear one and let me know what you think they’re saying.

220329 chiffchaff

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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