Sunday 20 January 2013

Bird companions

My feeders have been busy all day with birds - Blue-tits, Great-tits, Dunnocks, Chaffinch, Robins, Cole-tits, Blackbirds, Woodpecker and a gang of Long-Tailed-tits came by, and noisily took over for half an hour or so.  Alarm call shrieks made me stick my head out of the workshop, to see a Sparrow Hawk swoop past in determined flight.  All was quiet for a while.

Robin visiting the bird table - watches me all the time and follows me around

I cleared snow over an area of grass for the geese - it is some days since they grazed, and they eagerly followed my raking.  Very soon a Redwing came down and started foraging on the cleared grass, it pulled up a worm.  My stoat also made an appearance, and bounded in the snow, pushing something ahead of it, nosing it around as if in play.  It disappeared before I could see what it was. 

Treecreeper scampering up the trunk and probing in the bark for insects

The Redwing appeared again and sat in the old Sycamore tree.  While looking at it, I caught sight of a Treecreeper, racing up the bark, pulling and dabbing its beak into every crevice on the way.  What beautiful birds, so tiny - I hoped it was finding food.

It made me wonder what I could do for my bird visitors that are not nut or seed eaters, those who prefer insects, grubs or worms.  Must look into it.

The workshop wren came onto my workbench and I stood very still, it flew down and walked across my boots!  The Robins too are coming very close.

What lovely companions.

4 comments:

  1. I bet those wrens and robins were wishing you were small enough to eat...

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    1. That would be a strange world! I think they're just happy I bring food.

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  2. I love the tree creeper photo. I occasionally see one here but they are such quick, secretive little birds and I have never managed to photograph one.

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    1. I see the tree creeper fairly often, but as you say very difficult to capture on camera - I took about 30 images of blur and bark to get this, in the end clicked lots and hoped! It is great to see them still and close on the photograph, such long claws and needle-like beak!

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