A Half Year highlight anyone? (1 Viewer)

[Pam_m]

Hi to everyone on this rainy and cool June Sunday!

I arose from my slumber early this morning (6.00am, that is early for me!), whilst the house was still quiet and I was having my first cuppa of the day I started on my BTO count for the new week ahead. There were the usual early morning birds around, Woodpigeons, Blackbirds, Dunnocks,Robins and, well I will come to the next bird later.

As this bird (nameless for the time being) arrived I realised that this bird is my highlight so far this year. I thought more on this and thought back to other birds which might warrant being my half year highlight. Could it be the Starlings that we sought out in early February to watch their spectacular roost, certainly worthy of being at the top of the list. Or could it be the Blackcaps who although have departed my garden since early Spring delighted me most days with their presence through the winter pecking away at the fruit I had put on the apple trees, I look forward immensely to them hopefully returning in the late Autumn/Winter to my leafless apple trees that will be laden with fruit that the magic fairy (me) has placed for them. Or could it be the fledglings that are numerous of late, delighting me with their ungainly attempts at feeding themselves at the feeder, or harrassing their parents!. There are numerous contenders when you stop, take stock and think back on the past 6 months.

Well here we are then, my highlight is the House Sparrow...I know... nothing exotic but beautiful in their own right! When a pair returned to my garden in late March I was pleased as punch as the H.Sparrows had been AWOL all winter! It made me realise how I sometimes have taken for granted the ever presence in our garden of some species.
As just 2 juveniles flew onto the feeder this morning I felt a warm glow in my heart, and I realised that this one species of bird that was once so abundant in our gardens is, at least in my garden, becoming a bird that you have to seek out at times. Making me scan the trees or bushes with bins to make sure it isn't a Dunnock! How times have changed. To hear their 'cheep cheeping' is a delight to the ears and to watch them perching on the top of the conifers, just minding their own business and not interfering with other birds as they watch the world and it's birds fly by! Such an unassuming LBJ!
So my highlight for the first half of 2007 is the House Sparrow.

I would love to read of your highlight bird, be it in the garden, on holiday, at a reserve or even on the way to the shops or back from them!

You may have already noticed that I have not put a photo of my 'highlight' bird on the thread. I have numerous photos that I could have picked a couple out from of the House Sparrows. The saying is a 'picture paints a thousand words' true, in the most part, but a photo cannot tell you the events leading up to a photo or tell of the circumstances or surroundings or other important pieces of information. I am sure that you can all mentally visualise a House Sparrow anyway! I would appreciate it if the thread can be kept void of photographs, so that if (hopefully) someone contributes a 'highlight' bird that is a rarity , or, not a bird that we are likely to see in our own area, then we have reference books and of course the tool that you are reading this thread from to look for ourselves and read up on the said bird. I often see that Pie mentions on threads that she has investigated further, species that have been mentioned on threads. Pie you are my inspiration!

If you have managed to reach this far down the thread, then I thank you for 'sticking' with it! I know it is a long thread, but that does not happen very often with me! My inspiration was my dear House Sparrows.

Happy Birding All.

 

[Chickadeedeedee]

Awwww Pam. That was beautiful!

I know what you mean about the "cheep cheeping". My Blue Jay began making an odd noise this spring when she seemed most content. Then Bub, the Grackle started her own version of the same sound. Hmmmmm??? What were they doing?

I finally make the connection when I was giving them mealworms and chopped up fruits. The nest box just outside burst with the happy sounds of House Sparrow chicks calling for 'room service'. LOL! These two are imitating the sounds of the forever hungry Sparrow chicks.

I'll need to think about who is the highlight. So many are special in their own way.

Lydia

 

[Chris-Leeds]

Hi, well I'm not quite sure about a highlight but my recent trip to Bolton Abbey and the walk from there upstream of the Wharfe was pretty enjoyable. It's a long time since I'd been there and I found the place to be nice despite the gloomy and damp conditions. What was good was that I had to work for the birds seen and not just sit in a hide and wait. Two new ticks and some others that I don't see too often.

 

[Mahsleb]

Great idea for a thread Pam

My highlight was a week or so ago at Lakenheath
where I saw my first ever Hobby!
Later saw 2 male Orioles in flight
+ a female sitting on the nest
and 2 Cranes!
3 lifers in one day! :t: :t: :t:
Cheers
Tony

 

[RKell1]

Hi All, great idea for a thread Pam :t:

With the poor (polite term for it) weather I've been trawling through my local records for the last couple of years and updating my field reports for my squares for the Countryside Bird Survey this year. One little bird that from a local point of view, has increased in numbers over the last few years has what is probably my favourite song of Summer. Yes there's all the usual songsters, Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock, assorted warblers etc that would always be ranked way ahead of this little guy but I still find it very uplifting every time I hear A Little Bit Of Bread And No Cheese across a filed or from a hedgerow. Coupled with that striking yellow colour it's one of the most beautiful birds in the countryside around here..Yes my highlight has to be the Yellowhammer

 

[Mabel]

House Sparrows have returned to my garden this year, too Pam! They were gone for too long! I love them too!

My highlight would be, despite the lifers I have gotton in England, the family of swans I saw this month. They are a new family, with seven cygnets. One of the previous pair died, and the male left after a month. So it's wonderful to see swans back again.

 

[Kezza]

What a lovely read Pam. I'm really delighted your Sparrows have raised two young successfully. I remember you saying afew months ago about the female being the first in your garden for ages. Hopefully there will be even more for you next year. I do hope the decline doesn't become apparent around here, my garden wouldn't be the same without them.


It was so difficult to chose just one highlight! But then I remembered how happy the sight of two birds had made me one day. I was driving home having had a great birding day already, when what I thought were two Buzzards caught my eye, circling above. Nothing unusual about that. Then I realised that they were not Buzzards at all, but Red Kites!! Amazing sight. I have waited years to see my first in the county and here were two just 7 miles from my home. Wonderful!

 

[Cathy H]

Great thread Pam,

I know we all get excited about the unusual birds that we see from time to time, but like you, my highlight of the half year would be our first visit from starlings and a house sparrow. I know they are common birds although less common in places, but it's a first for our garden. Add to that the joy of watching new life gain a foothold after leaving the nests, and so many of them I'm glad to say, I'm having a great birding time at the moment.:t:

 

[Pam_m]

Thank you all for your interesting contributions to this thread. It is nice to read of such a diversity of species of bird as 'Highlights'.|=)|

 

[pie]

Hi Pam & All,
What a great idea Pam & thank you for saying I inspired you, what a lovely thing to say.
I agree with you wholeheartedly about the benefits of using reference books. Ive learned so much, not only what the bird looks like but their behaviour, habitat & status. Brian's reports are a typical example (hope you don't mind me talking about you Brian) He's not known to post pics unless supported by Graham. A lot of the Birds in Brian's reports are localized, so I'm unlikely to know much about them. Some I've read up on have been declining & if I remember correctly 1 species of Pipit was re-classified.

Many members have a wonderful way of describing places visited or a simple walk yet manage to transport you to the place. (wish I could do that) lol!

My half year highlight is the Blackbird. They bring me so much pleasure, so reliable. And although they are not small birds, I think there is something gentle & calming about them. The highlight for me is seeing the juvenile male with his little tufted crown and the way his head tilts slightly to the side as if he's saying "Where has the food gone?" His coat is lovely & glossy unlike poor mum who is displaying all the signs of a worn out lady but proud of her achievements.

You made a good choice with Sparrows Pam. Ive been watching the juvs feed each other, so cute & one of the young ones sits on the decking post in a squat position, I'm sure she thinks she's a Duck!

Great thread Pam

 

[Dizzy]

Great thread Pam.
Oh, so many to choose from but my half year highlight has to be the Bullfinches spotted just last week. I spent so long looking at other peoples photos and it was wonderful to finally see 'live' ones for myself.



Best wishes

 

[Chickadeedeedee]

This is a tough one! Almost like choosing which child is your favourite.

I do love my little House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon). About fifteen years ago our first nesting of House Wrens was tragic. I still remember it was July 4th and the temperature was a record breaking 104°F. In the late afternoon the young wrens started popping out of their nest box. I think it just became too hot for them and they were not quite ready to fledge. One by one the came out and one by one the Grackles grabbed them and flew off with the young wrens.

I looked on in horror. All this happened within the span of a minute. I started yelling at the Grackles and tried to chase them away. I managed to pick up one little wren and placed him back in his nest box. Out he came again and was grabbed by another bold Grackle. I was so upset! Another little wren came out, the eighth and last, and fluttered to the grass.

Oh no! YOU are NOT going to become a late afternoon snack for the Grackles! I brought him inside. He was soooooo tiny! I fed him with the baby cereal mix we use for such birds. He was a most unique individual. I had him in a shallow tray with a heating pad under and over about half of it so he could move in and out depending if he wanted to get warmer or not. He would burrow under the towels and when I'd come in the room and ask where he was out he'd run from beneath the towels and happily greet me. :-O

After getting fed and cuddled and played with I'd place him back in his tray and he'd bury himself in the towels again. He acted more like a mouse or ferret. Certainly I never met a bird of any kind that behaved like he did! I don't know why but he never flew either. There were no fractures or dislocations to his wings. He never showed the slightest interest in even trying to exercise his wings or flutter. Taking him outside he would run as fast as his little legs could carry him as he followed us on the patio or in the flower beds and grass.

As he got older he would sometimes sleep on top of the towels ... belly down ... legs outstretched behind him and both wings fully extended too! What kind of sleeping position is that for a bird?!?!?

At the age of 4 months he had two seizures and he died. I wonder if he had brain damage due to the excessive heat in the nest box. A heat stroke survivor perhaps?

Oh but he was the most precious little bird to have met on a one to one personal basis. He and my little Black-capped Chickadee will forever hold a special place in my heart.

So all this rambling down memory lane brings me to the highlight for me so far. In the nest box in the tri-coloured beech is a family of House Wrens. Papa Wren sings so beautifully and is ever watchful that no one or nothing gets too close. His happy cheery song turns to an annoyed chattering if you get too near his home.

He approaches his home with a beak-full of insects. If Mrs. Wren is inside he gives her the insects and it is up to her to feed the chicks. If she too is out "shopping" for insects, Mr. Wren gives the chicks their fill. (Or at least he tries.) The first nest of chicks have fledged and Mrs. Wren is sitting on a new clutch.

The House Wren will make "dummy nests" in available nest boxes too. He guards the nest he has built but there are no eggs inside. Perhaps a way to decrease competition for his family? The House Wrens are not very shy. Certainly not as pushy as the Hummingbirds who will swoop down on you if they feel you deserve it. LOL!

No picture but may I share his song?

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/songlist.html

The House Wren is about in the center of the list. :t:

Sorry. I didn't mean to make this an epic novel.

Lydia

 

[Ruth Daniel]

Hi Pam and all,
Great thread Pam and wonderful to read too!:t:

My half year highlight has to be seeing the Capercaille at Loch Garten,closely followed by the Osprey and then the 4 Otters all while we were celebrating our silver anniversary in the Highlands....3 of the Otters on our actual anniversary !!!!!!

I don't reckon I'll beat that in the 2nd half of the year but you just never know eh?

Best wishes to all,

 

[brianfm]

Hi Pam

A great thread to start and some really good contributions following. I am pleased you said no photos! Pie I don't mind a mention in anyones post especially yours and Pams, unless your slagging me of of course. (I know you wouldn't do that.

Now 2007 so far for me has got to have been my best ever half year of birding ever. I have had a week in Mull, a week in Extremadura, a week in Northern Ireland a weekend in Norfolk and Suffolk and countless more local days out. So it will not be easy to pick one highligh........so I will pick two!

Despite my travels, and you can read all about them on the forum in various places, one of my highlights was in my small garden and wasn't a bird, but a Butterfly. I identified Holly Blue Butterflies for the first time when in Extremadura and I was delighted to find I had one in my own garden for several days last month. I know you did too Pam. For me that was the first of the blue Butterflies I have ever identified in my garden. It called for the text book to come out again to confirm it. I have books for everthing imaginable you know. As I say I watched it near the Holly trees for several days before it disappeared. It was a real beauty. I was so thrilled simply because I was pretty sure that the Holly Blue is still quite a find in this area. I checked that out on the Butterfly section of the forum and one of the real experts, Harry Eales, confimed that it was quite a find. They are like much other wildlife, starting to spread their range northwards. Incidentally Cinnabar Moths are a lifer for me this year too. I saw one in Ireland and another on Saturday at Bempton Cliffs. Now that you have encouraged me back, I may do a report of the Bempton visit later.

Now my second Highlight (go on let me have a second) is a bird I saw much of in Extremadura. It is the European Bee Eater. A beautiful bird in its own right, but what makes it my highlight bird of the first half of 2007 is the circumstances in which I saw it, or I really should say them! I had great weather in Extemadura as you will know Pam and others, burnt cheeks you will remember. Well on the evening of one of the planned walks it piddled down and a storm rose up. Never mind we still went out. I am a wet birder by trade! Fortunately by the time we had started the walk the rain and got down to a very light shower before stopping all together. We walked across rocks with wonderful mosses of which the rain had really brought out vivid colours. Lavenders and other wildflowers scented the air and the place was a mass of colour. Bit tricky walking on some of the wet slippery rock but the worse thing that befell anyone was a bruised bum. No that was not me thankfully. We got 3 Great Spotted Cuckoos that evening, calling, in flight and close up in the bushes. Fantastic birds, but let me come to the Bee Eaters. The storm had brought them down in large numbers and they were all over the place calling and flying just above our heads. At one point I was close up to a line of ten Bee Eaters on a dead tree. Some sight I can tell you, their vivid colours standing out against the dark grey clouds of the stormy sky. I love stormy skies where the various shades of grey, from light to dark appear to run into one another as though on water colour paper. The atmoshphere that night was simply wonderful. You may remember I was with my mate Graham and our two guides. It was an evening I shall never forget. There were dozens of Bee Eaters throughout all of the walk. I heard Golden Oriole too. Best mention the Cows too. We almost walked into a herd of Cows which were breeding stock for fighting Bulls. Now i don't like walking through herds of anything but when one of the guides said 'if they start to come towards you run in the other direction' I felt proper quesy Fortunately we found a fence lay between us and them so I felt brave enough to give 'em' all a real nasty Geordie stare as I past. Apparently they can be very unpredictable, the cows that is, not us Geordies. I did 'narf' enjoy my red wine that night!

So there you are, thats my highlight. As I say not at all easy to pick because I have been extremely lucky and have had so many. Best not get me on to talking about Mull! I have gone on a bit, but thats me folks. No photos but plenty of words Words can say so much! Look forward to reading more of others highlights.

Best wishes

 

[Pam_m]

Thank you everyone for your delightful contributions to this thread.....they have ALL brightened a dull June afternoon! I do hope you are all enjoying the 'Highlights' as much as I am! (Looks like we shall have a good thread in the offing from Brian soon too! )

 

[dafi]

A single Waxwing for ten minutes at the start of the the year and counting sea birds off the Westray cliffs the other week with loads in between. Its dificult to chose as another and another pops in to your head. I had a shorteared owl fly parallel to the bike for two fields as it crused the fence line before crossing my path and dissapearing across the fields but its happened with a skylark, starlings and black headed gulls.Or having terns feeding at my feet while im sitting at the barriers. I like the close and imidiate. Or i might have been something simple like kate and i watching a pair of young Coot chicks exploring in the rain the other day. Cute beyond belief and bringing that huge feel good factor. I think my brain might explode if i was forced to choose. Im going counting Terns and Storm Petrals this week[if its weather to land the boat] so thats the next six months started. Sorry Pam could you ask me again in six months!!

 

[NIK III]

Hi Pam,

I think my trip of the year so far was to the same place as Chris, Bolton Abbey. Not just because of the birds but because the whole place was a delight. If I had to pick a bird it would be a Blackbird that comes begging for currants to my caravan. If the door is open it hops onto the top step and peers in. If I'm at the sink it stares up at me from the grass. If all else fails it perches on the flue and sings. As soon as I open the door it drops down onto the grass looking expectant. Sometimes it takes from the back of my hand. It feeds itself then gathers about 6 currants in it's bill and off to feed it's nestlings I presume. I expect it won't be long before I have the whole family appearing.

 

[bill moss]

Hi Pam,

Very mundane mine, just the sight of a young Song Thrush being fed in the garden. First time ever for us!

Bill

 

[Pam_m]

Some more enjoyable 'Highlights' today I see, thanks gents:t:

Fascinating to read of the 'whys and wherefores' of each other's 'Highlight'!|=)|

ps: I certainly will ask again in 6 month time Dafi

 

[Mary Evelyn]

I am just happy watching the birds in my garden ,and so happy to see the Sparrows,Starlings and Blackbirds doing so well.

Lovely thread Pam.