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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mouldy" data-source="post: 1754573" data-attributes="member: 25743">Back from the dead......Aye H. I've posted previously about the time I almost reported a corn bunting which turned out to be a song thrush, and the starling in the cherry tree which did perfect impersonations of herring gull, curlew, oystercatcher and jackdaw. The starlings and odd blackbird round here now do both red kite and buzzard, been fooled many a time. To today....“Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated” could have been the cry from the back lawn as my adopted pheasant nonchalently pecked at spilled sunflower hearts early morning, copper plumage glistening in the early sunshine, for the first time since a scattering of feathers four days ago led me to believe he had come to a sticky end. My relief to see him wasn’t shared by the chaffinches though, as he hoovered up every scrap of spillage and all they could do was look on.The thick overnight frost took some shifting, but by late morning, aided by clear blue skies, the rising and strengthening sun won the battle, thus began the first decent session of sky watching of the year, with some cracking little cameos through the early hours of the afternoon.Best was a close circling formation of 5 kites and 3 buzzards directly above, the two species eventually going separate ways, the kites in a starburst as 2 buzzards tussled and the third stooped and looped. Kites were soaring all day with maximum counts of 6 twice, but more often in 2s and 3s, involving at least 8 different birds from the tag colours and plumage aberrations I noted, (though many more were too distant to make out any distinguishing features) and though displaying behaviour was noted only twice briefly, one kite was seen collecting twigs presumably for nesting purposes.Thanks to this garden tick-off competition with OMAHD I found myself checking every little bird flying over, and ID’d a yellowhammer, so I needn’t have gone to all that bother to get one the other week after all.Looking forward to more good raptor days from my greenhouse studio, might even get some work done……..cheers</blockquote>

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