BIRD NEWS:742

We start today with a picture of the latest Pidge resting on top the bird feeder pole in my back yard. not a great picture, but....

Then it is on to the next trip Liz and i took - which was a return to Petworth Park. Here we see the lake birds, such as Egyptian geese, mallards, and canada geese. My next shot is already another trip - to Arundel WWT, although this was with Charity and Lisa, not Liz.

First we viewed the pelicans. Then i took a picture of the Trumpeter swans.

We then saw a water rail...though the girls were more interested in the rat.

I took a couple of shots.

Next, i photographed the jackdaw who was munching peanuts. At home, our jackdaws have sometimes eaten suet balls...but i dont think ive spotted them at the nuts.

Finally for this post here is some info on the water rails.

BIRD NEWS:741

 

We spotted a pair of Egyptian geese glide past....

In the main hide, we found a dozy little bird. We assumed it was a really young baby that was not used to being solo but taking the big stride of not asking mommy for food for the first time....

It sat there, ate a few seed, sat there dozing.....we assume it is a really young greenfinch based on the coloring.

Next, we spotted a funny marked blackbird. It was black, ad at first i thought its white patches were winter moult, but on binocular inspection we discovered it was naturally white patched. Alas, i didnt get a very good shot.

Back to the greenfinch babe...and then the blackbird - now accompanied by a pheasant. The pheasant had an unnaturally long upper bill....another abnormality.

The very young greenfinch sat in a tree after its doze-seed-doze on the feeder.

Our final sighting on camera from Warnham was of a heron fishing over the back from the outdoor reedbed hide. Later on we returned and were lucky to watch an adult great crested grebe with 3 youngsters at teenage stage feeding in this location. however i didnt take photos as it was raining and i had to put my camera away

BIRD NEWS:740

 

The two baby pigeons of this year are now in adult plumage and hunger. One of the two babes - possible big beak - knows that if it lands on the sill while i am in my room, i will fetch a pile of seed if there isnt any on the sill. Now, it has additionally learned a new trick - if i'm not in the bedroom, landing on the lower windowsill to the coffee lounge may have the same result. If i am in there, and a pigeon lands on the sill looking in, i will rush upstairs and place seed on the bedroom sill, too. This recently happened when i had a friend Charity round for coffee.

I did not take many pictures from the trip to Nymans then Leonardslee with Liz i took in October - except of foliage and fungi. But i did take this shot of a wood pigeon who had been sunbakng in the grass til Liz accidentally disturbed it.

The next trip Liz and i took was to Warnham reserve in mid October. Our first sighting offered us views of 4 cormorants. We then observed a swan that did not want to be observed...

I then took pictures of 3 basic id guides from the initial indoor hide. We saw the gull and pochards.

We saw all the birds except the little grebe and kingfisher on the next board.

We saw every bird listed on the final board.

There were a lot of wood pigeons hanging out with a single magpie at the main hide

BIRD NEWS:739

 

We came back to the original lake on our way back again and this time the swan seemed to be hiding to play peek-a-boo.

I got a better shot of the Egyptian geese/ducks, nibbling the grass as they paraded around the sides of their lake. I tried to get a shot of a wagtail too...but failed.

OUCH!! Someone flew into the window and learned the lesson that glass is hard the hard way!

Meanwhile, Pidge landed on the bird bath - a mere puddle to such a large bird though an ocean to a wren or sparrow. Goldfinches still visit the feeders, as well as sparrow, mixed tits, robin, starling, blackbird...

Pidge - one of the youngsters of this year - has become quite tame and clever.

Not only does he realise that food appears on the windowsill when i am around, but that there is a way to produce it if it isnt there waiting. Here we see an is-there moment, while i was on the laptop in my bedroom.

Here we spot bro in the tree watching....

& then there are 2 pigeons on the sill pecking food!

BIRD NEWS:738

 

Lisa made a new friend - or 100 - at Swanbourne lake! Next trip was Liz and i going to Southwater Country Park, where we toured the lake to start with.

There were swan, coot, gull, moorhen....There was a separate message about the swans as we strolled along - before our main excursion along the Downs Link to Slinfold and back.

On my next trip, Liz and I started at Arundel where we had coffee. Om our way i spotted swans in a field.

We wandered around Petworth next, and i spotted a dove cote/pigeon house!

Then we went to Petworth park. on one of the lakes we spotted a variety of birds - Egyptian geese-ducks, canada geese, coots, a seagull or two a tufted duck...

There was also a swan.

There was also a great crested grebe in among the other birds on the first lake we came upon.

BIRD NEWS:737

 

On our way back into Chichester, we spotted the little grebe again! I once again took a few pictures hoping at least one would be excellent.

Next, I took a photo of a strange duck near a coot. My silly camera decided i was supposed to take a shot of the weeds on the bank instead and focussed incorrectly though - i so miss my lil pink box fujifilm that always took what i wanted rather than having a mind of its own as my current kodak does.

The next shot came out clearer though. Liz and i decided it must be a female tufted.....but....there were no other tufted ducks to be seen.

The last couple of shots are of the heron again. It had changed position since our way out, and on our way back looked wet - as if it had dived in for a fish since our last sighting.

You can see its feet well in this last shot from our trip.

Lisa and I popped into Arundel to lunch/coffee/and mini-hike. Liz gave us some bird seed so we went to visit the pigeons and ducks at Swanbourne lake.

Having food, they flocked us!

 

 

HERE is a seasonal article.

 

BIRD NEWS:736

 

There were a half dozen of so of the mallards - all resting in a row on the log that had fallen into the canal.

Next we came upon another group of mallards. These were standing on a fallen log in the canal....almost hidden except for their bright orange legs/feet. Liz thought they looked comical - as if trying to hide but forgetting their bright feet.

Then we spotted a kingfisher and I managed to get a shot or two of it on a branch.

Unlike some of the heron and grebe shots, the sun shone without obscuring the kingfisher.

I took several shots in case I missed....and was lucky. It had been flitting ahead of us several stretches then just as we saw it it flew off over and over - but at this point, I managed to catch it on cam era before it flew away.

We were still on our outward stretch of the hike, before doubling back after our picnic lunch.

We spotted an egret among the gulls....also a couple of crows, and further along a pair of oyster catchers. Not all birds made it to the camera, but here is the egret with a gull. One shot close up and one in normal sized vision from our picnic spot.