h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This is the place that I will record wildlife happenings of interest, anyone is welcome to add comments about wildlife in general!
.
I became more serious about birdwatching around a. year ago after just enjoying country walks, I also love to see rabbits, Dragonflies, frogs, etc. I bought binos and a fieldguide and have been lucky enough to see Kingfisher, Treecreeper, assorted Woodpeckers and even a black Squirrel while on holiday!
.
If I have a favourite bird it would be Green Woodpecker as find them interesting and commical at times with their laugh and strange face. I also like birds like Kestrals and Sparrow Hawks as have a mystery about them. I saw a Buzzard type bird over the local nature reserve I belong to and to see it glide upwards on the warm air for 5 mins without a single wingbeat was fantastic!
My local reserve is a disused reservoir filled in in parts to form channels and ponds. Although I think the Lapwings there are fascinating with the head feathers and noisey flight I prefer land birds more.
.
I am not a bird expert nor twitcher as just enjoy watching birds, even Starlings, with their vibrating neck feathers as they plip and ping away as they sing out.

I shall look forward to reading this. Do you have a dig. camera? It would be nice to see some photos since you see so much variety.


Websailor

I went to my local nature reserve this morning and it was a really enjoyable few hours.
I saw a whitethroat and had a lovely long view of a Green Woodpecker as it looked for ants on the grass, They are normally so wary they fly off with a cackle.
What was fantastic and prompted me to start a journal was seeing 50-100 swifts whirling around just above my head from the raised reservoir bank. There was a baby rabbit on the grass path with a fox the other side of bank following a scent so walked towards baby rabbit to make it go down its warren to safety, no common sense these youngsters!
What was lovely was to see a Coot with 3 red headed babies. The babies looked only a week old and weren't very stable on water and had sweet sticky out wing stumps. It nearly bought a tear to my eye as so sweet!

Hi Websailor, nice to have a visitor to my new journal! I don't have a set up to do pics like that but might one day, you never know.

watches this space with interest.

And very welcome you are ST!
.
It has been nice in my garden today as the first young Starlings of the year have arrived looking like big Sparrows but with non stop whining calls a bit like nasally Greenfinch calls. They are intersting to watch as some are more independant some just stand there waiting to be fed.
Other youngsters to arrive recently are the young Blackbirds. These are very independant and grub around in grass just like mum and dad taught them. However when the 5 or so aren't all together in the fir tree area they look a lot like Songthrushes, from the same family, and confuse me, not difficult,lol. They have learnt that thing where they lay in the sun like they are dead with wings stretched out, possibley to get rid of parasites I understand.
.
The Great Spotted Woodpecker and Jay have made good use of the water bowl again to drink and bathe.
.
I have seen no young Tits yet however while walking past nest boxes in nature reserve this morning I heard the sound of young birds from the Great and Blue Tit boxes so maybe we will see some soon! I

SS, I think you are getting the youngsters sooner than us, as you are further south. I am sure I had a young robin this morning though, which is nice. I must put some peanut cake out and see if our starling fledglings are about yet.

Must put out my home grown mealworms too if the baby robin comes again.

Websailor

Young Robins are lovely!
.
This is turning into a remarkable day here, apart from the record number of 20 starlings in my garden at this very moment, a very strange and bizzar bird turned up it was like a Mistle Thrush but more so. It was lighter with a slightly smaller head and had more markings. It was massive so clearly not a blackbird or smaller. I checked book and believe it is a young Mistle Thrush as has horseshoe markings on a fairly light back as well as usual markings below. I rarely get A Mistle Thrush in garden so nice to see!

There are 14 young Starlings sitting on the top of the lopped conifer trees in my back garden, I think I have aquired a Starling roost! This is truely a remarkable day in my garden.

oh, dear, photos would be so nice. ;-D I am getting Daoe sound like a mistle thrush. You are doing so well,

Websailor

Last night there was a commotion in garden and foxes screaming. There was also an unusual barking from them. The security light went on and I caught a glimps of a baby fox with mum and dad!
I went to buy some new glasses this morning and stopped in park there by a pond and am 50% certain I saw a Reed Bunting. The thing is they look very Sparrow like so checked DVD when I got home and found that it might have been a male in spring feathers not quite having the pure black head. It didn't make sense to be a male Sparrow as on bushes in water, it wasn't a Sparrow area and on its own, however as always when there is uncertainty I will say 50% certain.
I was cerain I saw a Goldfinch, a pair of Greenfinches and a Greenwoodpecker.

The Reed Bunting has a quite collar which makes it stand out from a sparrow. The first one I saw was in my garden one winter. It was right at the bottom of the garden, but there was something different about it and a quick look in the book confirmed it. The female is not so 'well dressed' but still looks sufficiently different.

Websailor

Awwww!
Just seen a baby Collared Dove in my garden, it is smaller than adults, obviously, slightly lighter with grey instead of orangey leggs.
There is no black ring around neck and has a more youthful appearance than adults and very slightly tatty looking. It is such a sweety!

Hello SS,

Just been on your wonderful new thread. I find it very interesting and will watch carefully .

Nigel

The baby Collared doves are so sweet, with, as you say, no collar. Our 'mum' left her two squabs with me for twenty minutes while she went off somewhere. They sat on the fence next to me, cuddled up together and didn't move. That was a couple of years ago, and is one of my favourite wildlife memories.

Websailor

Hello Nigel, you are very welcome!

coming out from mode so ta squeak , We had a lot of rain last night that just about filled the rice fields and I just went out on the deck for a look about as you do and I saw a Grey Heron about 50 yds away in a rice field stalking something, at first I thought he/she was after some baby cranes that are out in that same area(the crows usually get them ) but no, suddenly the crane thrust it's beak into the water below and caught something not sure what but it came up shaking it's head, my guess would be a frog or a crayfish not sure .

They are realy good hunters Herons aren't they Moonraker! They stand like statues for ages.
And welcome Moonraker.

SS, I had a this morning. It is pouring with rain here, there was a pigeon sitting on the fence getting absolutely wet . I wondered why he doesn't go and shelter like the other birds, then decided perhaps he thinks he smells and needs a shower .

It is amazing what stories you can make up when seeing wildlife .

Nigel .