Long Tailed Tits

When I was busy working on my World War two school project I heard a sound, and as soon as I heard it I kew it was Long Tailed Tits.  I just had to leave the project and take a quick look.



These lovely tits are not common visitors to my garden so I really hope they return tomorrow.

They were quite happy feeding on insects, however, sometimes they had a peck on my nut feeder.

They liked to stick together, because last time they came there was a Sparrowhawk lurking round. 

I am sure you will agree they are quite hard to get photos of. They don't stay still for even a minute.

I have had a very busy weekend with my dad.  We have been making a bird hide from the old shed for me, so when I am inside, I am right next to the feeders.  I will be writing all about this in my next blog.

Battle of the Buzzards

I was walking home from school tonight and heard some really loud screeching; so I rushed in to the house got my camera. It turned out that the younger Buzzard that was annoying 

 it's parent. It flew up quite aggressively at it's parent and scared it off the telegraph pole.

It is a very handsome youngster, however it is also very naughty and cheeky.

I don't no where the fourth one is, but there are still 3 healthy Buzzards exploring new places and getting up to plenty of mischief.

If anyone is interested, my article for Cheshire Life has now been put on their website. The link is:

http://cheshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk/article/findlay-wilde-from-moulton-shows-his-passion-for-wildlife-44650/ 

Home work now. If I get it out of the way tonight the weekend is free for birding.

Sky Watch Friday



Whooper Swans at RSPB Burton Mere

As it is Winter I decided to visit Burton Mere and to my delight there were about 6 Whooper Swans swimming around in the water.

And of course I didn't just look at the Swans, I also looked at the waders and since the tide was in at the estuary there were about 400 Black tailed Godwits and about 30 Redshank on the mere.

Eventually they all took off together which looked was absolutely extraordinary.

There were plenty of geese there, especially Greylag, however in comparison  there were no where near as many as the reserve at Martin Mere.

Beautiful birds to watch.

When I was at the second hide I looked through the window and saw a wondeful looking sky.

  It was great to see Austin and I want to say a special thankyou to the person who let me look through his telescope.

Fieldfares and Other Winter Visitors

I couldn't wait to put this post on, sorry about two in one day.

It was another early frosty and misty start to the morning, however it had good sides as I finally got some pics of the FieldFares that have just arrived.

They are truely marvellous birds.

I couldn't help noticing the smaller birds as well, like these Green and Goldfinches.  There were even a few Reed Bunting flying with the finches.

Now I wasn't completely sure on this bird but I think it is a Linnet or maybe a Red Poll - testing you all again, can you help?

Funnily enough some Redwing had joined the Fieldfares in a big feeding party.

There were plenty of Pheasants about since the corn had only just been cut.


And finally of course a picture of the wonderful.........Canada Geese. It's like having our very own nature reserve in the fields round the house.

Our World Tuesday

Wild Bird Wednesday



The Odd One Out - Identification Help Needed!

Since I have been talking about this white goose in the field next to me, I decided to try and get a closer look. This meant getting mum up early again.

Mr White stood out as soon as we approached the field.



I couldn't help noticing that it had a distinctive orange bill and pure white body. So definitely not a snow goose because it hasn't got black tipped wings.  I still don't know what it is.

 

Eventually they all took off at once so they could take a dip in the lake.

 

As you can see Mr White is in a group with a load of Canada Geese

See, even when it flaps it's wings, it's pure white.

When they were all on the lake it looked pretty immense, so I will keep trying to identify this white goose. In the meantime does anyone have any ideas what it might be? 

 

It could be a domestic goose, but it has retunred with the Canada Geese for the last two years.

 

I also managed pictures of the Fieldfares, but you'll have to wait for my next post to see them.

 

Misty Morning Visitors Passing Through

I woke up this morning and looked about of my window and there was a really misty day to look forward to...... NOT!!!  Although I have to admit, the view did look rather magical.

When I glanced into the second field (which is the field next to the one behind my house near the little lake) I could hear a lot of honking, so I looked through my binoculars and there were probably about 250 Canada Geese, which is a massive inprovement since last year, when there were only about 20. I am so pleased that they have come back again. There is a pure white goose with the Canada Geese which was also with them last year.

Since Winter is closing in there has been plenty of bird and wildlife activity in the garden, like the Collared Doves which visit in a group of about 8.

There are more Tits than Sparrows at the moment, however the biggest change I have noticed at the moment is the increase in Chaffinches.

The Fieldfares are definitely in the second field now, but I need to creep up on them at the weekend to get a good picture.

Sky Watch Friday

The Importance of Feet!

On my most recent trip to Marbury I spent alot of time looking at the birds feet.

A bird has toes for various reasons for example woodpeckers have two toes pointing foreward and two pointing back for climbing and grasping, however passerines such as this Blue Tits have three toes pointing foreward and one pointing back.

Most birds that you would normally find on a nut feeder have curved, hooked toes for hanging and clinging to and from things, such as this Great Tit trying to get a nut.

Small birds like Great Tits like to have particular spaces on feeders so a Great Tit spreads it's feathers out so other birds can't take their space. I saw alot of the Great Tits doing this at Marbury.

Birds are ringed on their feet and as you can see this Robin has been ringed. Birds need particular sizes so that the bird isn't hurt when flying-  for example a Robin needs a size A- 2.3mm diameter.

After watching all these feet, we wandered back to the car an enjoyed some other wildlife. The Heron was wading out in the water so I could get a good shot.

A pair of Grey Squirrels were asleep together on a holly tree branch in the sun.

It's been great being off school today as I have been able to watch the BBC Autumn Watch 24hr cameras all day. If you haven't had a look yet it's on Freeview channel 301.

Wilde Bird Wednesday

Mushroom Rings

I did a bit of research on mushroom rings (following on from my last blog). It is quite hard to explain all the science about why the fungi dies off, but here is my understanding. The fungi starts in one place and as it dies off it spreads further out. As time goes on the fungi spread further and further out and that's what makes the ring. It also explains why the outside edge of the circle looked healthier than the inside. So it was nothing to do with the light.

Our World Tuesday