BIRD NEWS:353 and info

This lil fellow was not enjoying the warm sunshine as much as I was. This is how dark feathered birds such as this blackbird cope with heat. They fluff up, rest, and open their beak wide.

I wandered past the puffed up blackbird and into the woodland hide. Oftentimes I might see a moorhen or duck munching dropped food from the hanging feeders that the tits and finches have dropped. This time....it was a family of geese!

Make that 2 families of geese. One greylag goose family and one Canadian goose family, I think.

...with a moorhen.

I wandered along further - who is that hiding behind the log?

Finally, some info on the gray wagtail HERE. 

BIRD NEWS:352

I wandered along to check on the trumpeter swans after the bewick swans. Last year they had a brood that vanished about a year after birth - assumedly to populate other reserves or be set free and to encourage the parents to have more...

Alas...both parents were off nest and no fluffy cygnets were in sight. It is their turn not to have any this year - so maybe next year it will be their turn again and the Bewick swans will rest for a year. Next, I was observing the reedbeds when POP! There was a bird in the reeds... I took a few pictures in the hope of identifying it on the computer - but it did not come out large enough to do this.

Next, an info board about young Mallard ducks - and a shot of the real thing - mommy duck with young.

Finally, for today's post - some more information; this time on moorhens.

BIRD NEWS:351

The answer is YES to anyone wondering if the goose family actually entered the toilets or not - as you can see! Next there are 'blobs in the sky' - which were supposed to be a buzzard flying overhead - but too high to get a good shot on my camera.

The boat stopped near a nesting mute swan to make observations. Although very common in South England, when nesting they are are less often in view. The swan was pondering how best to take care of its eggs - having sat on them for 4 of the 5 weeks. It was a hot day!

Moving along, I went to observe how the Bewick swans were going with their nest this year. Last year it was abandoned - no cygnets. This year...

...there was something fluffy and gray sitting next to mom! Yes, this year at least one cygnet hatched and survived! Probably the first of the bunch, as mommy swan is still sitting on the rest. On my next visit, I hope to count the cygnets.

BIRD NEWS:350 and info

One final shot of the young blue-tits learning about food and feeding poles - before jumping to the next gang to use it - the starlings! Here we see the starling family getting the hang of 'how to eat suet balls' - although the two up top seem to just want to wait and be fed - for a while.

One day in early June, there was actually a break in the diminishment of seed to sparrow, suet ball to blue-tit and starling, etc - and Pidge took a rest.

HERE is some info about the yellowhammer.

Here we are - back in Arundel again. It is now the June trip, and here is the cafe-side lake. I soon moved on and hopped on the boat trip. As we left the boarding panel, a goose family were spotted walking along the boardwalk nearby...

...towards the toilet block!

BIRD NEWS:349

A video ends my Arundel excursion taken late May. The video shows either courtship/mating behaviour or some such display of a blue beaked duck.

VIDEO

Back home, and Bubster Pidge lazed on the sill with what was left of my birthday flowers from Liz.

Late May and Early June had the garden filled with an abundance of baby birds. My next set of photographs were taken of the blue tit family - second lot - from the nesting box. This was the first time I had seen the youngsters out of the box, and here they were hanging round the feeder pole with parents...

...learning how to feed for themselves, but mostly waiting to be fed with that familiar 'wing-flap/beak open' stance that many birds have at that age.

BIRD NEWS:348

I took 2 more shots of the swallow - but it did not come out as well as last year. Although last year I kept getting my best friend's head in the shots too. Next up, some information on herons.

Back at the feeder station, pigeons were still hanging out with the ducks. I next caught sight of a Baikal teal - and took a shot of the info board to remind me what it was I was taking photo of.

My last shot turned out the best coloring wise, I think.

Towards the end of my late-May trip, I got 2 good shots of the Australian woodducks. Here you can see a pair - and yes, the male is the one with the darker brown head!! That brings us almost to the close of that excursion, but not quite to the month of May.

BIRD NEWS:347

We start today's write-up with some more photos of the shelduck family taken through the hide window. Here are the youngsters...

...swimming not too far from parent bird. They looked a little like feathered swimming zebras when their beaks were under water.

Parent duck took a good look at me and my camera - perhaps it was because the camera was the pink one.

Hanging out with the aquatic birds was a lazing pigeon at the next pond I passed!