Nest-builders at work

04 Thursday Mar 2021

Tags

birding, birds nesting on houses, birdwatching, British birds, Collared dove, nesting birds, urban birds

I didn’t turn up any interesting birds during my woodland walk on Tuesday but, on my way home, I spotted a pair of nest-building Collared doves at work. One, perhaps the male, was flying out to collect the materials – I spotted a lot of pine needles – and the other, I’m guessing the female, was sculpting the nest, poking and prodding, sitting and twisting around to form the bowl. Now I know where they are, I’ll be keeping an eye out for chicks.

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336/366 Wagging all the way

01 Tuesday Dec 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, winter

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Pied wagtail, urban birds

When days are short and skies are grey, a bobbing, tail-wagging, chissicking Pied wagtail is sure to bring a smile. There are always a few Pied wags around in the summer months but, come the chilly days of winter, many more come to town, where it’s slightly warmer and the urban pickings presumably a little richer.

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6/366 Crow vs Raven

06 Monday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Carrion crow, Raven, starling, urban birds

You’d think in a contest between a Crow and a Raven, the Raven would win hands down every time. After all, it’s Britain’s biggest corvid, a hulking beast of a bird. And I’m sure if this had been a real contest, the Raven would have won – but it was not.

200106 raven (1)

As you can see, the Raven was sitting on a rooftop aerial, on a house in a lane not far from my house, not somewhere I’ve seen one before. The Crow had taken exception to the Raven being in its territory, so was harassing it repeatedly. The Raven ignored the Crow for a while but then, I think, simple got fed up, and flew off.

200106 raven (2)