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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Cold Weather: Bird Behaviour (1 Viewer)

in our local area, GSW drumming, Wood Pigeon singing & in display flight yestday, male Long-eared floating about this evening in his wing clapping display - all seemingly not too bothered about a foot of snow & freezing conditions ;)

adult male Kes making a concerted effort to take adult Blackbird,
several birds weakened especially Skylarks, also Lapwing - one or two others having perished like Coot, Bittern, Blackbird.
Kes & Sparrowhawk hunting in unison this afternoon.
 
I found a dead blackbird that had been hit by a car on the road by the house this morning (it doesn't happen very often fortunately). After checking it for rings, I put it further away on the verge, expecting the local jackdaws or passing rook/crow to make a meal. After about an hour, I saw a couple circling round, but they've gone without going near it, which has really surprised me.
 
I’ve just finished reading a fascinating book on how birds & other creatures cope with harsh winter conditions, Winter World by Bernd Heinrich. Highly recommended.
 
I saw a Redwing climbing a tree like a Treecreeper today looking for food in the bark of a big Holm Oak.
Two Raven chased a Redshank over the estuary and almost caught it.I haven't seen them do that before.
Times are hard for the birds....all the Curlews have bent their bills trying to dig up the frozen ground.
Saw one Little Egret today, usually I'd count 20 before leaving the house!!
The Kingfisher at the Turf was still alive 2 days ago.
Never seen so many Water Rail before.
Good to get some real weather, rather than just grey 'n damp
Cheers
Gerry
 
dandare said:
Thanks to the undersoil heating it was the only match in the Magners league to be played this weekend. Anyways, the camera gave an excellent close up of a Curlew probing for food along the edge of the touch line. Hope that the Murrayfield soil holds plenty of invertibrates?!
Click to expand...

Nice sighting! There's bound to be a joke in there somewhere but I can't think of one!

fugl said:
I’ve just finished reading a fascinating book on how birds & other creatures cope with harsh winter conditions, Winter World by Bernd Heinrich. Highly recommended.
Click to expand...

Would also recommend Mind of the Raven by the same author.

Gerry Hooper said:
Good to get some real weather, rather than just grey 'n damp
Click to expand...

Agreed.
 
Very strange (to me) behaviour that's happening every day in my garden is the Blackbirds harrying every single bird that comes to the ground feed EXCEPT pied wagtail. They accommodate them willingly and show no signs of aggresion. Any other attendee is dealt with swiftly by the Blackbirds.
 
Veracocha said:
Very strange (to me) behaviour that's happening every day in my garden is the Blackbirds harrying every single bird that comes to the ground feed EXCEPT pied wagtail.
Click to expand...

Substitute fieldfare for blackbird and exactly the same was happening in my garden at home. Thought it was strange at the time. The wagtail was definately pecking at the food we put out, but potentially as it's a mainly insectivorous species the fieldfare wouldn't see it as a threat?? But how would the fieldfare know this? Strange one. I've always thought that pied wags are sort of different from other birds tho so its nice to kno the birds feel the same way!

Today saw a carrion crow bathing on the edge of the ice in the middle of a lake. The ice is melting now and the crow went out a bit too far, fell through and then scrambled back up. Quite entertaining.
 
s. james said:
Substitute fieldfare for blackbird and exactly the same was happening in my garden at home. Thought it was strange at the time. The wagtail was definately pecking at the food we put out, but potentially as it's a mainly insectivorous species the fieldfare wouldn't see it as a threat?? But how would the fieldfare know this? Strange one. I've always thought that pied wags are sort of different from other birds tho so its nice to kno the birds feel the same way!
Click to expand...

While we had our aggresive Fieldfare he'd chase of any birds from 'his' bush apart from the Dunnock. So that's another non-competing species that Fieldfares seem to recognise as such.
 
I've noticed that since the snow all melted the birds haven't been at my feeders as much as they did when the snow was here and the feeders are all filled up.
 
Euan Buchan said:
I've noticed that since the snow all melted the birds haven't been at my feeders as much as they did when the snow was here and the feeders are all filled up.
Click to expand...

I put feeders and fat balls up about three weeks ago, and haven't seen a single bird on them, thoughout all of that bad weather, and the food I put out looks like it's never been touched. I live opposite a park, where there can be quite a bit of bird activity.
 
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