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

SS, I think you will find the mummy bumps only appear after they have given birth.

Take a look here if you want to know more about your visitors

http://www.kafox.freeserve.co.uk/fluffy/fluffy.html


I am still of your green woodpeckers

How are you these days by the way

Slightly improved but off work still!

Thanks. Take care and enjoy your wildlife.



Websailor

I was in Sainsbury's and as usual I looked in clothing department as often has clothing in sale suitable for Bird Watching. There was a pair of green trousers the same as I am using now which would have would work out as £3 down from around £18! Sadly I misread the size and had to return them, they had no suitable sizes left so bought another type with better pockets down fom £18 to £13.50 as is a 25% off day in clothing department. I did get a pair of shorts in Birdwatching colours for £2 instead of £9 which was great, also a non Birdwatching £9 T Shirt for £2 too due to 25% off sale prices too.
I find birdwatching quite destructing of clothing, not just due to a lot of kneeling and sometimes laying on floor but due to being out in sun so much as fades trousers particularly which is why I look for sales stuff a lot, and I like a bargain too of course,lol!
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I was again watching Crows look for food in local shopping precint as a rich area for pickings due to being near Sainsbury's entrance so people drop bits of food when eating snacks.
One Crow made a simpy marvelous acrobatic landing in an enclosed area and almost used its wings as as a parachute to land vertically, in fact it did use it wings that way. It was something any fighter pilot would be in awe off due to Crows quick thinking and pure skill. Top Gun School eat your heart out! It quickly twisted its wings in mid flight/landing extemely quickly, something that went unnoticed by shoppers only feet away. The feathers were fully splayed perhaps for greater control and to get a bigger area to act as an air break while landing, just as all planes do to land.

Blooming heck wow!
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I just had one of those 5 minuete extra special moments bird wise. I was casually watching a Blackbird and saw a rustling in leaves nearby and suddeny realised it looked like a Songthrush in garden next door. It must have been due to obvious appearance but simiilarity in size.
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I then saw a very quick flash of a bird as moving quickly and caught it standing still for a second and was plaeased to see it was a Wren. Although not really Jenny Wrens, Jenny came from a poem, they are quite girley looking birds with their tails held up and a bit of speckle on sides.
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It is a lovely calm day helping to see birds easier and hear them too. About 200 feet away is a roof with a flat area above alcove window. I looked beyond tree with Blackbird in and suddenly saw a yellowy bird and quickly got binos on it to confirm it was unmistakably a Mistle Thrush, and not ony one but four!
I quickly moved binos along roof to see a pair of Chaffinches and what might have been another male Chaffinch and possibly, it is 200 feet way, a Goldfinch!
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Well this all happend in only fives mins and what a fantastic five mins it was!

It is brilliant when that happens isn't it? You really did well. You seeing a Misle thrush too confirms what I am convinced I saw yesterday, and heard! They are such noisy birds. I had two lovely goldfinches this morning, and a variety of other birds, but it is very quiet.

Must go cut the lawn Back later.

Websailor

Good Lord they are noisey. I was cycling across park across road last year and heard a God almighty near screaming from across park and saw several Mistle Thrushes fighting, mainly with sound by the sound of it!
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It is strange how differant bird calls are. I was in the shopping precinct recently and a Crow was crowing really loudly with its call bouncing around precinct and into the distance. A Robin was calling with its quieter sound but it too bounced around precinct and into distance.
Differant birds seem to have differant methods of achieving the same thing, namely telling other birds they are here and active, and if I remember correctly from TV(I think, but not sure, it could be a WS Post article) telling that the bird is still alive every morning to keep other birds off their patch!
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Strangely Strange, still awaiting Blackbirds to start their lovely non stop singing here!

What I love about nature, and what makes it interesting, is it sometimes comes up with surprises, nice ones or not, it will always surprise you often unexprectledy like today.
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It was lovely to see a Magpie suddenly appear on my window sill this morning, it was lovely for my indoor cat too, lol, but what was even better was looking out the window after yet another set of Green Woodpecker cackles in my garden that I couldn't locate and see a female adult just sitting casually and still on a level branch rather than their more usual upright stance on trunks. Most Green Woodpeckers I have seen have been constantly looking up and around for danger so to see a still and relaxed one for 10mins was great as got a chance for a close binos look as only around 10feeet away.
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Firstly I noticed that under beak the feathers, very small and fine, reach halfway along beak if you were to look at it from above it and a lot further than expected. Perhaps due to long tongue doing exploring so no need to drive beak too deep. The eyelid was grey and closed over eye not that often, perhaps every minute, perhaps as it would lose vision if closed too often so would be at risk.
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As it turned around to fly of its bum was raised and it pood out a grey looking lump and flew away out of sight. It was such an unexpected moment to firstly see it in tree as hard to see sometimes and also to see one relaxed and still.

I envy you the green woodpecker but not the deposit he left behind

A friend of mine locally, had one in her garden recently so it is top of my Wish List at the moment.

Take care,

Websailor

I went to my local wildlife sanctuary yesterday and wasn't expecting to see much due to weather and warning from a leaving birdwatcher that it was quiet there.
I , as said elswhere, was overjoyed and privaliged to see a Kingfisher dive like an arrow into water after hovering low over a pond watching a fish!
It was also fantastic to see around 200 and maybe more Lapwings rise up togther and flock as one formation, 50 or so returned to land at reserve, the rest flew off.
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There was a tiny Goldcrest that flew close to front of hide and a Kestral hovering above the grassed areas of reserve looking for the now rarer small rodents as we head towards winter in UK.
A Dunnock pinked away as it searched through bushes for food and a single tiny Blue Tit used the peanut bird feeder only 5 feet from open window of hide giving a real feeling of being outside with Bluetit as wind blew threw hide open window.
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What I thought would be a disappointing day at reserve turned into a really nice 2 hours as I walked around and Long Tail Tits flitted across path and in and out of bushes as they twittered away in their high pitched twittering,chattering voices.
I really must try to get down there at least once a week as winter draws near to ensure I get out in the fresh air and what little daylight we will have soon!

Hi SS ,

It makes all the difference to get out of the house for an hour or two, just to get some fresh air and change of scenery .
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It sounds like you had a nice time at the reserve and seen some interesting wildlife.
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All the best.

Nigel

Hi Strangely Strange! You are indeed fortunate to have seen a little kingfisher! Over here we have several species, from the crow-sized Giant Kingfisher to the tiny Pygmy Kingfisher ... both of which I've seen! The commonest ones are Brownhooded Kingfishers. They are not really fish catchers; they hunt insects and occur in woodlands. They're rather closely related to the Kookaburras of Australia! The Brownhooded's even occur in gardens in town here, though there's not been one in our garden yet.

Hey Nigel nice to see you back here again!

Hi Willem ,

Had computer problems, and it had to go in to the computer hospital to have some work done to it .

All the best.

Nigel

Hi Pillowcase and Nige, welcome back!
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Nature seems to sudddenly show us wonderful things like my diving Kingfisher when we least expect it. I was on holiday in Cambridgshire in England and heard of a town 10 miles away that had black Squirells, something I had never heard of but would love to see! I didn't know where they were in the town which at 10 miles away was a long way for someone who only had a folding pushbike with small wheels so the idea of finding one was hopeless. I suddenly looked out of window in cottage I was staying in and saw a black Squirell!!
It seems they were rare in the area I was staying so I was exceptionally lucky, nature certainly does seem to show us wonderous things when we least expect them!
Black Squirells are actually our normal American grey Squirells but with faulty melomine(sp?) in fur.

Hi, SS, you were lucky, but have a read of this:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-561946/The-pack-mutant-black-squirrels-giving-Britains-grey-population-taste-medicine.html

I found it most interesting Thanks for sending me off at a tangent - that's what I love about the Internet - always something interesting to find out.

Websailor

Going back to the kingfisher, I am in Not seen one since I was young!

You can tell winter is coming when we get more variety of birds here on the coast - saw Black headed gulls, pied wagtails and a Jay at the weekend

I love Pied Wagtails, they are such a joyful bird!
The fact no one is exactly sure why they wag their tails adds to the fascination as they hop around carparks for insects, often on windscreens and radiator grills at front of car.It is thought the wagging MIGHT be a signal to other Wagtails saying , 'I am here', but no one is certain. They do have a certain charm though!.

Hi Strangely Strange and others! We also have wagtails over here, the Cape Wagtail! We have a 'pool cleaning machine' with a long pipe that floats on the surface. The wagtail often walks along on this pipe snatching insects from the pool ... from a distance, looking as if it's walking on the water!

I think I read somewhere, wagging their tails up and down all the time, makes them look very alert, so predators won't go for them so easily. Well our own wagtails certainly look like very alert little birds!

I saw a Wagtail, a grey one I think as had yellow underneath, hopping from lily pad to lily pad in a small pond as it wagged its tail, it too looked a little like water walking!
If I remember correctly we have Pied, Grey and Yellow wagtails in UK The Grey and Yellow are yellow underneath, the pied is white in places.
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Yesterday I was walking home from shopping and noticed hundreds of Starlings all flock as one after coming from smaller separate groups all converging as if following control tower instructions telling them to go to such and such place. They then settled on what seemed to be a favourite tree next to a busy and noisey road!
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I walked through park and a lovely Green Woodpecker flew from a tree in their bounding up and down flight looking once again like they can hardley get off the ground!
It settled down to look for bugs on grass, possibly late and deep ants? It looked like it was pecking into wood but was actually just probing ground for bugs.
It was frightend by a dog and moved to top of a grass and dirt mound used by BMX kids and started to probe and look around until it flew off.
I think I saw my first Red Wing of year!
I thought it might have been a Mistle Thrush but it flew and landed just at limit of my vision, I had no binos, but realised I could see a reddish area aound are under wing so likely a Red Wing. I do hope there will be a group of around 50 Redwings and the other bird whos name escapes me but always flock together. Hang on the other bird is a Fieldfare and there was a mixed group of those with some Mistle Thrushes in field across my road last year with Mistle Thrushes towering about other birds and glowing creamy yellow in colour,lol bless!

Hi Strangely Strange and other folks! Over here we have grey and yellow wagtails too, as summer visitors! They are rare, though, and I haven't seen either. The resident wagtails we have here are Cape Wagtails, African Pied Wagtails, and Longtailed Wagtails. The Cape Wagtail is the abundant one, occurring in gardens all over the country. The Pied Wagtail is more a bird of the waterside in pristine bushveld/savannah regions; the Longtailed Wagtail lives along fast-flowing clear mountain streams such as in the lovely mist forests of Magoebaskloof to the east of my home town of Pietersburg.

Your observation of starlings is very interesting! I wonder if they gossip together when they're in such large flocks?