Mouldy's Kingdom (Diary of a frustrated birder) (1 Viewer)

[Mouldy]

Anything you can do.....

Alan if you're going to do this garden "bird-off" I suggest you start taking it a bit more seriously

Only sabotage can save you now:eek!:

Black Cats in Steve's garden might be a good start - scare off everything. Scratch that. With his luck it will be picked off by a stray Mull eagle in full view of the "rooftop hide" :-O

Steve (the less competitive one)

Thanks for your er.. encouragement Steve.:t:

You're right about Steve being lucky mind, he's great to go birding with 'cos he has the knack of being in the right place at the right time, worth its weight in gold that.

Taking your point about being a bit more serious thoughbuts, and with OMAHD stretching his lead again with a house sparrow perched in a neighbours guttering, I ‘played a blinder’ today even if I say so myself.
Late morning we had a spell of bright sunshine so let the kids out to wreak havoc in the garden for a while as I was on sprogwatching duties. Me of course keeping one eye on them and the other eye trained on the skies for any flyovers (bins at the ready).

While following a red kite along the conifers out front (from the side path) I noticed I could see a row of bare trees between and beyond the houses over the road (about 400 yds beyond actually) but know them as the trees lining Hollinhill lane on an area of farmland I watch quite regularly, and from experience, a regular spot for anything up to 80 yellowhammer to perch up during the winter months.
So just to see if a decent view was possible, I positioned the recycling bin behind the side gate, and set up my scope and tripod on top of it, looking over the gate, between the houses over the road and into the bare branches beyond.
I could see there were indeed four small birds perched near the top of one tree, their jizz already got me anticipating, so zoomed in maximum focus (x 60), steadied the scope and with bright sunshine streaming from behind me, made out enough colouring for four beautiful yellowhammers, wasn’t expecting instant success but oh yes, what a result!

Buoyed with this success, I also cleaned out the greenhouse ready to use as my spring/summer studio, so giving me a 360 degrees coverage of the skies while I’m working, though of course Steve as usual trumps me with news that he has just taken delivery of a 'stressless recliner armchair' for positioning at his front window, his dedication to this competition knows no bounds……

Not that I'm taking it seriously like :smoke:


OMAHD 55 Mouldy 49

cheers

 

[Mouldy]

Seen through a window...

Was going to go out this morning but with the valley shrouded in mist I didn't bother, and glad I didn't 'cos late morning there was a flurry of cracking birds in the garden as I did a few specially chosen kitchen chores :

A Great Spotted woodpecker (f) tried to get on a seed feeder but just couldn't work out how so just did a couple of spirals around the cherry tree trunk and flew off, first in the garden this year but already ticked as a flyover.

not long after I spotted a reed bunting (m) also on the cherry tree, a bit flighty, and didn't seem to get any food from anywhere, but hung around a while, possibly the same male as earlier in the year but starting to get black feathering on the head now.

Then a brambling (f) came to one of the feeders, by the look of it the same female thats been visiting on and off the last couple of weeks.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, the red breast and forehead of a cracking spring plumaged male lesser redpoll caught my eye on a branch near a feeder, again very flighty, ended up on the back feeder where it was joined by a duller female, they squabbled, he flew off, she came down to the lawn where she fed for a while.

A great little session then, the reed bunt returned a bit later and this time I saw it on a feeder. I managed a few photos, attached are the (ahem!) best of them, many apologies for the poor quality, my excuses being, it was a dull day, they were taken through glass, the camera is crap, the photographer is worse. Anyway you should see the ones I didn't upload.:eek!:

Cheers

 

[Mouldy]

Weekend starts with a knife to the heart

Sad news today that two of our red kites have been found dead in suspicious circumstances in Northumberland, nothing definite but I for one expect human intervention to be the reason.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/8524689.stm


:-C

 

[One Man and His Dog]

Sick b's

Sad news today that two of our red kites have been found dead in suspicious circumstances in Northumberland, nothing definite but I for one expect human intervention to be the reason.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/8524689.stm


:-C

Terrible news alan, think your right on thinking its down to human intervention! more than likely down to a minority of uneducated brainless gamekeepers again, who have it in for birds of prey. what i like to do to the b's! :[email protected]

steve

 

[June Atkinson]

Kites found dead

This is sickening news, Alan. Apart from Flash, Wing Tag 10, who was poisoned in the early days of the project, we have had no other trouble.
Clearly someone in the Hexham area doesn't share our love for these majestic birds of prey. Their ignorance beggers belief!:C

Sad news today that two of our red kites have been found dead in suspicious circumstances in Northumberland, nothing definite but I for one expect human intervention to be the reason.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/8524689.stm


:-C

 

[Mouldy]

It started with a dip....

Not a lot to report from todays mini-outing but here goes...

Starting out this morning with no real plan in mind, Steve greets me with the news that a Firecrest was trapped and ringed yesterday at Far Pasture, so with that being just half a mile from my house we went to check it out.
Two hours later and there was nowt to report bar a couple of willow tits, great, blue, coal and long-tailed tits, a pair of bullfinches, 5 dunnocks and a chaffinch, oh and four roe deer seen by Steve as he took an (ahem) comfort break.
So next we went to check out the Cetti’s at lamesley reedbeds. Today it was singing well, off and on all the time we were there, and tantalisingly nearby, but hidden in the reeds it just would not show. A couple of chiffchaffs here too which Steve saw but I didn’t, in fact best I could do was a wren and a band of five bluetits. Oops, almost forgot the flypast peregrine.
So after another couple of frustrating hours and now light snowfall we made our way back to the valley where Steve showed me a tawny owl roosting hole he had discovered the other day. For the first time this morning the bird was showing, well half a dozen of its tail feathers were, sticking out of the hole high up in the old oak tree, gently rising and falling in tune with the birds breathing.

So there you have it, our mornings birding ended up consisting of three targets, one of which was nowhere to be seen, one we know was there but refused to be seen, and one was seen but only showed about five percent of itself. (hmmm wonder what I missed in the garden)
Talking of which, in conversation I found out that to tick his house sparrow Steve had to stand on his stepladders to see over his back wall adjoining next door so he could view the guttering of a house in the next street where he had noted them while out walking the dog.(genius)
But even better was the fact that apparently his new stressless recliner armchair is so good he keeps falling asleep while he should be gawping out the window for flypast ticks.

Win some lose some I suppose………..

cheers

 

[Mouldy]

Shattered peace

Late morning things were strangely quiet in the garden as I peered out the kitchen window, then I realised why, a rather large and splendid looking female sparrow hawk was perched in the cherry tree doing nothing in particular, in fact doing a good impersonation of a stuffed one, motionless, only now and again a slight turn of the head as the unnerving gaze would fix on something else.
And this is how it was for something like an age, not only giving me time to take in her menacing beauty from the comfort of my kitchen, but also enough time to fetch my camera and reel off enough shots for even me to get a few half decent pics (below)

It was while I was taking these pics that she suddenly became animated, head turned skywards, neck stuttering side to side Egyptian style to fix her demonic stare on something through the branches up above, I took my eye from the camera to find a female siskin had landed on the end of a thin branch at the top of the tree.

Whether aware of the danger or not I don’t know, but she was alone, for once the close knit band of small green-yellow birds did not play follow the leader.
A quick turn one way, and then the other as if sensing something was up and the tiny siskin alighted from her perch with a lightning quick fluttering of her wings, alas not quick enough, barely six feet away from the tree she could not even begin her first bound for freedom before the sparrow hawk, shooting almost vertically upwards with seemingly one flap of her wings, turned on her back in mid-air, long legs stretched upwards as she hung motionless for a split second, plucking the unfortunate siskin out of the air, pulling it down with her as she twisted round, swooping within inches of the ground, then opened up her wings to glide up again at speed, zooming off in total silence, skimming the top of the side hedge, tiny prey dangling open-winged from her razor sharp talons as she disappeared from view.

A breathtaking cameo then of the brutal side of nature, indeed a special moment in garden birdwatching, but on a personal note slight sorrow that one of the little birds I’ve proudly helped through the winter and has given me such pleasure in return, has ended up on the menu itself, such a tiny thing amounting to no more than a snack between meals I’d guess for the large female sparrowhawk that ended its life.

Cheers.

 

[June Atkinson]

Sparrowhawk

We had a sparrowhawk, too, this morning. It was sitting on the fence, calmly surveying the garden. Happily the Bird Feeders were not in use by the usual goldies, Bullfinch pair, Coal/Blue/Great Tits, which was a relief.
Suddenly the sparrowhawk swivelled and flew down into the garden next door. Perhaps it had spotted something there.
Like you, Alan, I hate to see our tiny birds fall foul of the predators, but the latter too must eat to survive.
Lovely images!

A breathtaking cameo then of the brutal side of nature, indeed a special moment in garden birdwatching, but on a personal note slight sorrow that one of the little birds I’ve proudly helped through the winter and has given me such pleasure in return, has ended up on the menu itself, such a tiny thing amounting to no more than a snack between meals I’d guess for the large female sparrowhawk that ended its life.

Cheers.

 

[halftwo]

Great account, M. Still need Siskin for the garden year.

 

[Mouldy]

And about time too........

Cheers H., June, the sparrowhawk story didn‘t end there as it happens, just over an hour later, the male of the pair made a swift but unsuccessful raid through the garden, it was just a matter of time before something like this happened, sprawk sightings have been on the increase of late, indeed I had great views of the male sunning himself last week in the conifers, had my scope on him for ages.
May be just a coincidence but bird numbers have been well down on the norm today, though perhaps surprisingly the siskins have still been showing their bravado by coming in their usual (albeit one less) dozen or so.

But at least the first signs of spring are starting to show, the garden snowdrops have been threatening to bloom for the last week or so, the dunnocks are seriously flirting, the collared doves have been seen ‘making out’ on next door’s roof, and if Mr Woodpigeon had his way, he would have been doing likewise on our lawn, except Mrs W. wanted nothing to do with it, playing hard to get as usual.

Taking things a large step further, the blackbirds have built a nest already, in the side hedge across from my studio (ha! Spare bedroom more like)
I took this sequence of photos last Friday through the window as Mrs B raked the guttering for nesting materials, then made the short leap to the hedge where the nest is now all but complete (despite being constantly raided by the local house sparrows for the softer materials)
One to watch, hopefully the magpies won’t interfere with them this year but I wouldn’t bet on it, they seem to use the tall conifers over the way as a lookout post, oft seen keeping an eye on events from on high.

Big news of the day for me though is at last a flyover grey heron bringing up my garden year list 50, probably the slowest half century recorded since Geoff Boycott last played test cricket, but like the great man, the odd classy bird/stroke shining through in an otherwise unspectacular but solid fifty. :clap:

The tardiness of my grey heron did not go unnoticed by OMAHD who when told of it sarcastically retorted “Grey heron? Must have been a pterodactyl I saw then, ’cos it was ages ago hahaha”

You may laugh Steve but look at the score, the tortoise is out of hibernation!

OMAHD 55 Mouldy 50

cheers

 

[halftwo]

Well done - I await this year's first Heron still.

 

[Gretchen]

Great descriptions (and nice accompanying photos) of the start of spring!

 

[Mouldy]

It started with a list....

Thanks for your kind words Gretchen, :t: always nice to get a bit of feedback, even better if it’s complimentary (as in appreciative, not free of charge, although come to think of it both meanings apply……)

And Cheers H., though playing to your pigeon free rules I’m still on 49.

For anyone interested here’s the 50 thus far in no particular order :

Garden 32
sparrow hawk, pheasant, blackheaded gull, collared dove, wood pigeon, GS woodpecker, dunnock, robin, blackbird, song thrush, redwing, mistle thrush, fieldfare, LT tit, coal tit, blue tit, great tit, nuthatch, magpie, carrion crow, jackdaw, starling, house sparrow, tree sparrow, chaffinch, brambling, greenfinch, goldfinch, siskin, lesser redpoll, bullfinch, reed bunting

Flyover 17
Cormorant, grey heron, mallard, red kite, buzzard, kestrel, lapwing, common gull, herring gull, LBB gull, GBB gull, feral pigeon, stock dove, pied wagtail, jay, rook, yellowhammer

Heard 1
Tawny owl

Stupid thing is, it was me who suggested counting flyovers and heard only but if we’d just done garden ticks I think I would be about level (Is that right Steve?) Ah well, seemed like a good idea at the time.:smoke:

adios

 

[Mouldy]

Mouldy's patch on TV

Have posted this link on the friends of Northern Kites thread but if any readers here want to have a look at the Derwent Valley (where I live and watch the birdies) there was a piece on Animal 24:7 this morning about the end of the Northern Kites project.
The article concerned starts 15 mins 40 secs in and lasts about 6 minutes. See the glorious sunshine and wish summer was here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00r4gz9/b00r4gyv/Animal_247_Series_6_Episode_4/


Cheers

Alan M

 

[One Man and His Dog]

Fame at last

Have posted this link on the friends of Northern Kites thread but if any readers here want to have a look at the Derwent Valley (where I live and watch the birdies) there was a piece on Animal 24:7 this morning about the end of the Northern Kites project.
The article concerned starts 15 mins 40 secs in and lasts about 6 minutes. See the glorious sunshine and wish summer was here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00r4gz9/b00r4gyv/Animal_247_Series_6_Episode_4/


Cheers

Alan M

Alan, if you pause the article on 16:42 to the left of the red kite bus is my white cottage. The caravan isnt outside, it must of been a time when i was on my travels or id of been outside trying to get my mugshot on tv :-O good article though :t:

 

[halftwo]

Dire day here - non-stop rain. But that Sparrowhawk zapped through again - past me, and with the cat following!

Mouldy, I see you don't have Wren on the list - is this an oversight - or have you really not seen one?

 

[One Man and His Dog]

Alan, i'll try to break it gentle to you
:-O :-O :-O IVE ONLY HAD 31 IN MY GARDEN :-O :-O :-O
sorry i got a bit carried away for a moment, heres my 55 so far.

Garden 31
sparrowhawk,lt tit,pheasant,willow tit,moorhen,green woodpecker,collard dove,coal tit,stock dove,btit,gtit,wood pigeon,nuthatch,treecreeper,gswoodpecker,dunnock,jay,wren,magpie,robin,jackdaw,blackbird,carrion crow,redwing,chaffinch,song thrush,greenfinch, goldfinch,mistle thrush and tawny owl is off the heard only list with a sighting last night perched in oak on driveway.

Flyovers 24
cormorant,pied wag,gheron,grey wag,whooper swanx7,pinkfootx70+,mallard,fieldfare,gooseander,starling,red kite,rook,kestrel,house sparrow,lapwing,siskin,snipe,redpoll,common gull,yhammer,bhgull,lbbgull and feral pigeon.

cheers
steve :t:

 

[Mouldy]

Rain rain go away....... (and snow)

Alan, i'll try to break it gentle to you
:-O :-O :-O IVE ONLY HAD 31 IN MY GARDEN :-O :-O :-O
QUOTE]

..............................DOH !!!!!!!!!! :eek!:

Alan, if you pause the article on 16:42 to the left of the red kite bus is my white cottage.

Aye Steve, don't know why I hadn't noticed it before but your converted hide is there for all to see on TV.

Mouldy, I see you don't have Wren on the list - is this an oversight - or have you really not seen one?

Yes H, no wren on my list yet, I probably only get about a dozen sightings annually, none this year yet, but there was one coming regularly around christmas time when the snow was here, but I fear it succumbed to the big freeze as I would have expected to have one listed, same as goldcrest, another irregular visitor but no signs yet.


Rain here too this morning but lucky for us, as the other side of the valley was coated in snow, see pics below of the male sparrowhawk on a rooftop over the back lane with yonder hillside whited out.
I took these snaps from the kitchen window before the sprawk spotted a small charm of goldfinches landing in our cherry tree, a couple of minutes later he dipped down off the roof heading my way, the goldies in the top branches sounded the alarm, alerting those on the feeders who were out of sight of the predator, and though just a matter of a second or two before he zoomed in low over the fence, the goldies had scattered, sprawk entered an empty garden forcing him to pull up sharply as he reached the more open feeder, and flap off in the opposite direction, mission aborted. Another cracking little cameo for me to observe though.

Yesterday was damp and miserable, highlights were a second sighting of the lone tree sparrow on the back feeder, Mrs Brambo seen again after a couple of days missing, and tawny owl heard in the evening, heard from the garage while I was feeding the cat, frustratingly close by but I tried to find it from the side window back in the house, scouring the trees but it stopped calling so couldn't pinpoint it, shame, would love to see one instead of just hearing them all the time.

My evening out was cancelled as my drinking buddy is apparently made of cardboard so can't go out in the rain, I consoled myself with a couple of cans of Old Speckled Hen B and after watching Wales throw the game away (literally) against France, watched a couple of Dave Gosney DVDs Steve had lent me, in Spain which had me longing to get back there, and Texas which I've never been to but recognised quite a few birds from my one jaunt to the States (Florida) about ten years back. Very easy going these, just a bloke on a birding trip, just like real life, if he dips, you dip, recommend them (cheers Steve :t: )

So many birds, so little time...........


cheers

 

[halftwo]

Ah, I see the Wren answer's here.
I can't view the clip unfortunately.

 

[Mouldy]

Shhhhhhhhhh......its so quiet.

Not a lot to report this week, hardly had my bins to my face, Sprog1’s 5th birthday last weekend so was otherwise occupied, and a busy week since so watching time somewhat limited.

On Monday however, for the first time this year had a jaunt out on my rusty steed (the bike), riding the derwent walk to the viaduct, through the country park along by the river and up to the metro centre for a few things. Bumped into OMAHD on the way so shared a few tales of woe and looked forward to the spring.
The day was bright enough but overnight frost had left ice in some places. Round the bottom of ‘Kite Hill’ just opposite the nesting area a yellow tagged red kite was ’on territory’, and it was here a flock of about 50 redpoll flitted across my path, landing in the young trees just ahead, so giving me great views as I scanned through trying to make a mealy out of them. As I did so another bloke on a bike rode past me, flushing the lot of them as he did so.
I was just mouthing something like “Oh jolly bad show sir!”at him when he hit ice at the bend and came off with a clatter, rolling over and landing on his backside.
I immediately felt guilty but he wasn’t badly hurt so an evil sense of justice returned.

Continuing my journey, the river was quite heavy with all the rain of late, the rocky shallows were submerged so losing the usual spots for dipper and grey wag, and the muddy, faster moving waters made it unlikely I would see any kingfishers today. As it happens I saw 6 of the ‘Magnificent 7’ I always look out for on the river, with singles of dipper, grey wagtail, grey heron and goosander, 3 pairs of mute swan and 5 dabchicks, with only kingfisher (as expected) missing from the list. Not a bad return considering.

The rest of the week, into March, spring definitely on the way, small clouds of gnats forming, first bluebottle buzzed me in the greenhouse, first black garden ants of the year spotted weaving trails on the patio. Snowdrops in bloom, crocuses almost there, daffodil shoots breaking the surface of the soil.
In the air the red kites are generally spending more time just soaring about, with pairs noticeably displaying, whereas the birds in the garden are more noticeable by their absence, so much so for the first time I didn’t have to refill the feeders on Friday, numbers down by about 60% on last week, siskins all but gone, no bullfinches for a few days, just one appearance by the brambling this week. My adopted pheasant was picking up scraps under the feeders early mornings for three days off the trot, but sadly on Thursday I found about 120 of his feathers scattered about the patio, I fear he’s come to grief at the hands of the neighbourhood feline mafia, who’s motto seems to be, ‘if in doubt, kill, if not in doubt kill anyway.’

Those that are left though are now in good voice, one splendid song thrush serenades us from late afternoon, often from an apple tree at the back of the garden, well worth keeping the windows open for.

Just one addition to the garden list came in the shape of about 180 pink-footed geese heading due north on Wednesday morning, I had the studio window open hoping to hear the first flight songs of skylarks drifting in from the farmland, but instead heard the honking of the geese, a bonus, wasn’t expecting to get them ‘til autumn now. My joy short lived though as Steve later finally reported Canada Geese after a couple of near misses. Ho hum.

OMAHD 56 Mouldy 51

Cheers.