BIRD NEWS:90 and a video

Well, Ditty was back soon after MR Black left - but I still could not get a decent shot. I got even worse shots of Magster the magpie, due to the increased wind - and not being close enough. I simply cannot take good photos while the tree branches are swishing and swaying as fast as they go, nor while standing too far back to rest my elbows on the sill.

Maybe I should learn to control the shutter speed on my little camera and try to get better pictures - BUT - part of me enjoys the wavy blurred look the windswept photos show anyway...

This shot of Ditty for example is artsy if not 'properly shot'. I like it that way - although I dislike the next shot I took of her. Updating you on the November birds of the yard - very little changed until this morning. The weather has been wet and windy on and off for a week or so, but until this morning not cold. This morning the colder weather brought the birds ASKING for food again - so I may have some company for a few weeks, now.

HERE is a video of how some birds feel about their partners when they die...

BIRD NEWS:89

After I finished my meal at the riverside park, I pottered along to the toilet block before catching the bus home. Guess what I spotted on a roof in a side road - yes, MORE pigeons!!

Well, that does October - what lies ahead in the next month, I wonder...

November began and was just as mild as October. This is the second year in a row we have had late/mild winters, which is good for the birds and for most humans - though maybe not all gardeners who hope the hard frosts and snow to will kill the weeds! We entered the second week of the month and I managed to have my camera on hand and spot a bird at the same time - Ditty.

Ditty was standing on top the bird table eyeing the area tentatively, waiting to approach a land in the seed area and munch...

Alas, by the time I had checked my bubbling pan on the stove and pie in the oven, Ditty had vanished...

...a day or so later, Mr Black was in much the same position, however I did not get a very clear shot of him on the table, nor later on at the bird bath...

BIRD NEWS:88 & Calendulas

Back to those dancing pigeons. Here they go....dance guys dance!

Of course, they did not dance all the time, and one of the gang soon spotted that I held something 'edible' in my hands and became more interested in me than his friends.

It came parading about in circles, getting closer and closer...then zoned in on a crumb and munched! Meanwhile, its friends were still dancing and courting on the path a little way away...

Whereas the Worthing beach gang have gotten to know me a little, if not well, to these Shoreham dancers, I was a total stranger. I wonder if they will recognize me the next time I pop along...

This friendly, brave one started hanging about after the first crumb or two fell off my lap and it was not long before the others followed suit and came to investigate, also enjoying the meal from the few crumbs I dropped. 

Next time I visit Shoreham, I will take a pot of seed with me, I think...

One of the most-used medicinal herbs in history, calendula has been the stuff of legend, and not just for ailments. In the Middle Ages, it was rumored that if a girl walked barefoot on calendula petals, she would be able to understand the songs of birds. Read more HERE.

BIRD NEWS:87

One last shot of the trio of waterfowl, before moving onward to another species - familiar to all my regular readers - pigeons. The group at Shoreham did notice me and come over to beg for crumbs eventually - but not until multiple antics had occurred.

Looking to the side, I spotted some more birds worthy of note - pied wagtails, whilst waiting on the pigeons to become more friendly - AKA 'notice my lunch'.

Now, back to those pigeons. They got up to some antics where it was a cross between courtship and playing around that much resembled dancing as you might see in some of these photos.

Back home, and once again there is very little news to report concerning the birdlife. Basically - Curio and Mr Bob and Mr Black are the only regulars I have spotted during the last 3-4 days of October.

BIRD NEWS:86 & Tibetan sky burials

There has not been much happening in the yard lately, as I have already mentioned. I did have a camera on hand to take a few shots while in my coffee room recently though - here is Mr Black in the bird table, for example.

Finally, I went on an excursion again and have managed to collect a few photographs to share. This time, although traveling by 700 bus as usual, I did not stop off in Worthing to capture the beach gang nor Lancing to capture Naboo and Bluey. This trip took me directly into Brighton, where I shopped, before going homewards to Shoreham.

At Shoreham, I stopped off at a French cafe and purchased a take-out coffee and homous/veggie baguette to devour in the small park where they hold the chili festival. Seated and munching/sipping, I had opportunity to take several photos. Firstly this group of seabirds...

...& some gulls. The gulls being less interesting, I took the aim back to the trio of aquatic birds and shot a few more snaps.

There is a Tibetan sky burials article HERE - (inc. vultures).