Rob from Texas
Well-known member
A little male green Kingfisher. Posed for me quite a while, until crowded out by a noisy Blue Jay.
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What did you see in your binoculars today? (5 Viewers)
- Thread starter NDhunter
- Start date
One of my favorite birds which I have never seen.
I like Kingfishers, Herons, Cormorants, Mergansers, Corvids, Raptors, and others.
Not too keen on "Tweety Birds" though.
Rob from Texas
Well-known member
A Red-Bellied Woodpecker and a small family of Hooded Merganser, including two males.
Rob from Texas
Well-known member
A Belted KingFisher, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron, White Ibis, Yellow-Crested Night Heron, Blue-winged Teal, an Osprey and a Nutria.
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willisoften
Well-known member
Blackbirds the male and female, 3 Robins what might be a pair and an unwelcome interloper, taking his life in his hands! Coal Tits, Blue Tits, a pair of Dunnocks, a Wren, Jackdaws, Starlings and Sparrows.
I watched a Great Tit drinking from the greenhouse guttering - an indication that its blocked! I watched the male Blackckbird dig into and tear up moss and loose soil with great energy to get at large dirty grubs (daddy long legs larvae ?) at the edge of the lawn. He then ran up to a flooded gravel tray under the summer seat to bathe sending water splashing everywhere. He obviously enjoyed it and so did I. All this, from my armchair.
I watched a Great Tit drinking from the greenhouse guttering - an indication that its blocked! I watched the male Blackckbird dig into and tear up moss and loose soil with great energy to get at large dirty grubs (daddy long legs larvae ?) at the edge of the lawn. He then ran up to a flooded gravel tray under the summer seat to bathe sending water splashing everywhere. He obviously enjoyed it and so did I. All this, from my armchair.
willisoften
Well-known member
We sometimes call the grubs leather jackets, that might be Northern Irish vernacular they turn into a long legged fly, Daddy Long Legs. 
Mocking Bird Wins. Spring is arriving in the Piedmont of NC and birds are beefing up at my feeders. Saw a brown thrasher try to take over a mockingbird's nesting shrub choice. The thrasher lost. Those mockingbirds are very territorial. Hope to see the male cardinal feeding his female a choice seed from the feeder soon as in previous years.
StephenHampshire
Well-known member
Yes I think leather jacket is a UK wide term. The RSPB has this to say about crane flies:
"This slender, long-legged fly is grey-brown with dark brown leading edges to its wings. It looks like a giant mosquito, but is harmless. It is also known as a daddy longlegs.
The shape of the abdomen distinguishes the sexes: the male’s is square-ended, whereas the female’s is pointed with an ovipositor (egg laying structure). There are about 300 species in the British Isles – this is the most common.
Craneflies are usually nocturnal and are often attracted to lights. Unfortunately their legs are only weakly attached to their bodies and often break off. The dull brown larvae, known as leatherjackets, are pests. They feed on plant roots, especially grasses, and can seriously damage crops"
We call those Crane Flies.
StephenHampshire
Well-known member
Anyway, I got excited today as I saw a male siskin in the garden (and through my binos) A common bird but we rarely get them in the garden. Apart from that normal complement of blue tits, long tailed tits, reed buntings, blackcap, goldfinches, greenfinches, robin, dunnocks, sparrows, starlings, song thrush, blackbirds, collar doves and pigeons.
willisoften
Well-known member
@Maljunulo just to further confuse transatlantic relations we have around bodied long-legged spidery creature called a harvestman or Grandaddy, or Granda-long-legs or you’ve guessed it daddy-long-legs.
I’d forgotten about those until I saw your picture. The local version has a much rounder body with no noticeable thorax. I haven’t seen one in long time.
I’d forgotten about those until I saw your picture. The local version has a much rounder body with no noticeable thorax. I haven’t seen one in long time.
"Divided as we are by a common language ....... " There is some disagreement over who said that, or if indeed anyone famous ever said it at all. I think it is a delightful expression which perfectly describes a very real thing.
jafritten
Well-known member
I watched a female Blackbird through my 7x42 Ultravid at a distance of some 4 meters. My presence didn't seem to bother the merle and I could take quite a nice photo. You can see it here
Cheers
Cheers
Rob from Texas
Well-known member
Wow, that texture is phenomenal!
Three different Red-tailed Hawks in different places, a few Hooded Mergansers, assorted Canada and Cackling Geese, A couple pairs of Mallards and an isolated female, some American Black Ducks, and the prize, a male American Kestrel where I had never seen one. I have not seen a Kestrel for a few years.
Oh, and many turtles sunning themselves.
All in all a delightful time with my 8X32 SF. It was warm enough and calm enough, and the sun was strong enough that the air was a bit trembly in large open areas.
Oh, and many turtles sunning themselves.
All in all a delightful time with my 8X32 SF. It was warm enough and calm enough, and the sun was strong enough that the air was a bit trembly in large open areas.
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Today I went out to look for european stonechat. Found it and as nice little bonus saw my first two common house martins for the year. Yesterday I saw cetti‘s warbler which is a quite rare sighting in Germany (this one has been around since spring 2020 so not too hard to find if you know where to look for it and if you are patient enough). Overall great birding week!
tenex
reality-based
Congratulations. Do the first two tolerate one another?
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