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

AGM,

It's new to me too but the more you do the easier it gets, till you wonder one day what you thought was difficult. I am a long way from that point by the way!! Once you get the hang of titling and emailing to Flicker it gets a lot easier.

and we can wait till you get expert. You will probably get there before me

Websailor

I don't think I can Email them I am using a digital Camera not a phone

You can email your photos from your computer to Flickr:

Click on the link for more information :

http://www.flickr.com/help/photos/?search=emailing+photos#16

Nigel

Good tip Nigel. it makes it so much easier.

Websailor

Just had a very sweet moment in my garden.
I looked out as I heared that familar loud blink, blink and was surprised to see the young Great Spotted Woodpecker not in the oak tree but on my water bowl. It was there 5 mins bathing and a young Starling joined in and they proceeded to have a I can splash more than you contest!
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I hadn't actually seen any young Tits in my garden so far and looked out and happen to see a Coal Tit which is rare here, then I looked again and thought I saw 3 and they looked a bit yellow in the face and quite small and skitish, and realised I have 3 youngsters, but rarely see an adult. They were in the fir tree type hedge which makes sense.
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I also saw a Goldcrest for a fairly long time which is unusual so suspect food hunting, it looked a bit tatty so expect strest by youngsters.

Hi, SS,

We are getting increasing numbers of youngsters and they are a joy to see. A new visitor last night too, but you will have to wait for my Badger update later to find out what!

It is scorching hot here and breezy which probably means it is really even hotter.

Websailor

Hello folks!

AGM, those birds don't look like bitterns or herons at all! They look to me much more like plovers or lapwings. Difficult to see since there's not much detail, but I'm going by the shape.

Websailor, your photos of your furry and feathered friends are lovely! That bullfinch is a very pretty little bird! I like the jay as well. Nuthatches are nice too. I earlier said about our birds in South Africa, many of them are related to what you have over there. There are also kinds of birds we have here that you don't have over there. And there are kinds of birds there that we don't have here! We don't have any species of jay or nuthatch here.

Both the Jay and Nuthatch are lovely looking birds as is the Kingfisher. I think even some people who live here in UK, and don't see many birds, think we mainly get brown or black birds.
Some people who see a Jay here first time are quite surprised and think it is someones escaped pet bird I expect. A Jay was the first bird I investigated properly as saw one in my garden, which led me into proper birdwatching.

Some Crows just has a vocal barney in my back garden from the tree tops. An absolute racket! I suspect that it is something to do with mating or young birds as appart from occassional crowing most of year they are fairly quiet here.

UMP Thank's for that ,looked lapwing and Plover up on wikipedia, I would say colour is closer to the lapwing but these birds here have yellow beaks and legs, I'm just going by what Iv'e read there , everyone here (Japanese ) just call them Sagi= Heron. they also have a black tip to the beak and the baby has an all head and chest of brown, anyone one else have any ideas?

AGM check out this picture and tell me if that's it:

http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?action=searchresult&Bird_ID=1035

It is the closest Iv'e seen so far but the birds here are lighter in colour and have a more brown face not grey and look much cleaner, got to be related in my mind

I know where they are and where the baby is so I will try to compare with that picture in mind, Thanks .

I did read yesterday you were back and gonna surprise people but didn't expect you this quick

Just looked at it in breeding plumage in Japan and I got to say yes it must be,Thanks really

I believe some call the Lapwing the Pewit bird as make a strangely haunting noise ( a bit like peee wiiit) not like any other more common bird. They also have a fairly square wing tip and do a lot of low level acrobatics, often bombing other birds if nesting. I am not really into water type birds but do like Lapwings and their 3 head feathers and greeny feathers on side.

Looked at the baby and mine doesn't have the black chest line yet but it's got the brown head so Yes that;s got to be it .

I'm so happy to be of service!

So ... for everybody's benefit: that is a grey-headed lapwing, Vanellus cinereus. Breeds in China and Japan, winters in SE Asia from India to Cambodia. Nests and feeds in marshes, wet grassland, or rice fields. Feeds in shallow water on invertebrates.

There are a great many different species of plovers and lapwings all over the world! Here in South Africa the commonest species is the Crowned Plover, Vanellus coronatus. They like short grassland such as is found in the parks over here, or grassland that gets grazed by mammals or burned regularly. Another species we have here is the Blacksmith Plover, Vanellus armatus, which is more commonly found close to water. Another is the Wattled Plover, Vanellus senegallus, which is found in savannah grassland or wetland regions. We have several more species but those are the ones I know best.

Strangely Strange, the European (or 'Northern') lapwing is indeed a pretty bird species! Here's a great picture of one for anyone here who doesn't know it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Northern_Lapwing_%28Vanellus_vanellus%29.jpg

Our Lapwing/plover species don't have the crest or the glossy plumage ... they're mostly browns, blacks, whites, and greys. But they have nice plumage patterns, and a couple of them have interesting facial wattles. Our types are divided between those that are more 'wetland' sorts and others who live in dry grassy habitats.

Oh ... and ours also do the 'dive-bombing' thing! When they have a nest or chicks close by they will do these feign-attacks on anybody who comes too close! I haven't yet heard of anyone actually 'hit' by such attacks ... but a few of our species have sharp spurs on the 'wrist' of their wings and so could presumably actually do some damage if they intended.

At any rate I really love little plover chicks! They look like balls of fluff on stilts!

Yep watched one dive bombing a lady walking her labrador today and he was doing it to the tractor 3 days ago ,often the crows take the babies which really makes me angry. I know It's nature just can't help it ,

How delightful the three baby Coal Tits are back again. They kind of flutter like a Hummingbirds sometimes and semi hover around the trees. It is nice that the three youngsters are keeping each other comapany as have had no adults with them it seems. Coal Tits not being common here it is odd that babies should be here but as they seem to travel in a group they aren't here as such, more everywhere.

Grrrr, that bird killing ginger moggy was just here and chased by Magpie out of garden,thankfully. The 3 Collared Doves were sitting, none too bright are they, about 6 feet from cat which was about to attack so openned window to scare them off. Thank God for the Magpie once again, the Squirrels are now tutting at cat too, although it has gone, litterally running from the Magpie that had a right go at it. That Magpie has no fear, only
feet from the cat it was!
That magpie is my hero of the day....