BIRD NEWS:634

 

Another shot of the spectacled eider. Though Liz and I were both a little sad to find no normal/common eider resident.

Looking up as we strolled along, we spotted a tree of jackdaw and pigeon. Jackdaw, pigeon, canada and greylag geese, and mallards were flocked about the feeder.

Mr Showpigeon and Miss Citypigeon were romancing on the path.

Next up, an infoboard about the birds that should be hanging out the feeder-lake.

The trumpeter duo were not interested in seeing us....and may or may not have been settled into their new smaller lake.

It is of course not the original pair I used to know a few years ago....but a younger pair - though I don't see why their old lake is now empty and they have to put up with these cramped conditions!

In the woodland hide we found a female mandarin duck and some mallards amongst the birdlife.

BIRD NEWS:633

 

The dalmation pelicans were the first birds we viewed on our trip around Arundel WWT. Canada geese and seagulls seem to have been hanging out with them

There are only 4 left now from the original intake - 4 gals. So it was a timely sighting for us 3 gals - me, Liz and Megan - divorced, widowed, not yet attached, but also male-less.

This breed used to inhabit the UK a long time ago. I am more familiar with the Aussie variety though - which I used to see when wandering down Wollongong beach or taking a trip down South to Kiama. For comparison's sake, here are the Aussie style pelican.

...and back to the UK variety - which you can see are similar, but not the same.

In the aviary just past the pelican pond, you can see scaly-sided merganzer, spectacled eider, and avocets.

There was also a redshank.

The spectacled eider were path-hogging, but we stepped past and they barely noticed us.

BIRD NEWS:632

Our next trip was to Petworth Park, where we found a lake of birds. Canada geese, Greylag geese - old and young -  were hanging out for us to spot.

As well as geese, we found a trio of swans on the other lake - but I did not trust the zoom feature and preferred to take a clear rather than close shot.

Back home, and I have recently been visited by a Pidge with a deformed beak.

I am not sure if it is from injury - possibly by greedy and rough offspring, attack, or a birth defect of a youngster. It appears to have either chipped off half its top beak, or to have been born with a smaller upper beak than lower. The top beak bit slips to one side, making it a crossbilled pigeon!

I took a few photos, attempting to get a good shot of the damaged beak, without success. It appears the Pidge wants to hide it...

You may just be able to spot it in that last photo. Finally, it dozed on the tree outside my bedroom window - after having had a feast on the sill of wild bird seed and suet pellet.

Liz and I took her grandaughter Megan to Arundel in August, and as we made our way from cafe to WWT reserve, we passed the stream with clear water. Today it housed a mute swan with 3 cygnets.

HERE is the link to a birds of prey ID guide

BIRD NEWS:631

 

My final shot from Nymans is of a grey heron - a REAL one!! Back home, and I was hanging out laundry when I observed a young robin observing me - both of us showing curiosity.

Whilst the young bird had no objection to my taking a shot from up close, my camera did.

I was wondering if he might even hand feed at one point. And he did look as if he might for a moment...

I ended up putting some suet pellets out for him, but he could not manage to pick them up.

Some days are ruined by the lack of a decent camera. My former model would have taken perfect shots of the lil fella.

Our next trip was to Midhurst, and we came across a group of Canada geese nibbling away at the ponds in the park.

We came upon a group of what Liz called 'Indian ducks' sharing the pondscape with our trio.

Once again, my camera failed me. When I next go to Brighton, or when I next have a fortnight off from work, I will try to hunt down another camera - one that DOES function that way I want it to - just like my former model.

HERE is a link to a sparrow identification aid.

BIRD NEWS:630

 

Anytime I spot a pigeon, out pops the camera...

Our next trip was to Nymans - a place Liz has been before, but that I have not. We found an ornamental bird depiction to start my bird-cameraing.

OOOh....was that a pigeon poking its head out of the bird-box?

No.... Another artificial bird - a fake pigeon - peeped out of the dove cot.

Carved wooden owls - well, there were plenty of fake birds, and lots of sounds of real ones, but...when would my camera find a real one? It missed the green woodpecker that flew thru the woodland on our post-garden walk. But then we toured the larger woodland area and...

A whole pile of ducks sunning themselves, oblivious to us and a gentleman we stopped to have a conversation with.

However, soon afterwards, an off-leash dog shot up barking and scattered them all from their peaceful doze. The ducks did not fear humans, but they did not feel serene or safe with the racing dog.

Another piece of artwork finishes today's post - a kingfisher depicted in wood.

BIRD NEWS:629

 

In the past, on my old Fujifilm camera, I would have taken a few snaps and been able to ID the bird once at home - but this stupid Kodak doesnt take good photos, so I still do not know what reed dwelling bird we saw.

This seemed to be the best shot I got...and it might be possible to identify the bird had it not been turned at such an angle. But then luck hit home - my final shot showed the bird much more clearly - a sedge warbler!!

You can learn more about them HERE.

My next aim was to get a shot of a sand marten in/on its rock entry.

I kept trying, but....this was the best shot I got of them. We left the WWT reserve, and wandered back into Arundel to do a treasure trail after lunch. On our way back, we spotted a mute swan with teenage cygnets in the moat.

so out came my camera again!

The cygnets kept sticking their legs up...which we found both cute and amusing.

BIRD NEWS:628

 

We went into the woodland hide and found a feederful! There were blue tits, great tits, greenfinches, chaffinches, bulfinches, and goldfinches! I did not get them all in my photos though.

We were not quite sure who was hanging out with the gulls...a wader of some kind.

It might have been a young gull - BUT it had the wrong legs for that.

Or so we thought - but from my photos it might have been a young gull after all, rather than an oyster catcher, greenshank, redshank....or perhaps....

...a young lapwing?

Liz spotted something in the reeds... We were in the sandmartin hide - but this was not a sandmartin.

We wondered what kind of warbler it might be...if it was one.