What birds (are you/have you been) watching? What birds have been watching you?

[Richard Tarleton]

... Welsh boy, is it then?

.

Let's just say that I qualified on a technicality.

[oddoneout]

Two male bullfinches visiting a friend's bird table patiently taking their turn with blue and great tits and chaffinches.

That has brought back memories of a childhood camping holiday where, at one site, chaffinches used to line up at the door of the tent at breakfast time waiting for crumbs. Learned behaviour presumably but only ever seen at that site; the more usual bird/camper interaction tended to be generalised loitering in the vicinity, with a bit of inter-species argy-bargy on occasion.

[ardcarp]

St Martin's, Isles of Scilly, outside the island bakery. The sparrows line up waiting for largesse. (Yours truly's hand in the pic.)
Generally, the ordinary 'garden birds' are much tamer on the islands. For instance, a thrush won't bother to move from a path as you walk along it.

[greenilex]

Lots of bird behaviour seems pure reptile/dinosaur to me..flying lizard antics, head independent of body etc.

[kernelbogey]

In Chiswick yesterday, a bird in a tree I thought must be a parakeet, twittering lustily.

[vinteuil]

In Chiswick yesterday, a bird in a tree I thought must be a parakeet, twittering lustily.

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https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/ring-necked-parakeet

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https://londonist.com/london/great-outdoors/london-s-parakeets-everything-you-need-to-know

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[Cockney Sparrow]

Interesting to watch a kestrel's head as it hovers. Whilst the wings and body are moving slightly to maintain position, the head stays absolutely stationary, presumably so that the bird's eyes can focus intently on the whereabouts of its prey below. It's almost as if there's a gyro-compass at work in there!

Yes! Mrs CS is much more of a birdwatcher than I. But last week I was driving - along a field boundary - a long gap between hedges, and about 15-20 feet above was a Kestrel hovering over the long grass, and fascinating to watch. However, other traffic in a narrow lane meant I had to move on....

[kernelbogey]

.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/ring-necked-parakeet

https://londonist.com/london/great-outdoors/london-s-parakeets-everything-you-need-to-know

Thanks Vints. Your links confirm it. As I was in a hurry - just stopped in astonishment at the sound (living in rural Hampshire) - and in poor lighting, all I could tell was the long tail - so I'm fairly confident I'm right.

[Bryn]

Thanks Vints. Your links confirm it. As I was in a hurry - just stopped in astonishment at the sound (living in rural Hampshire) - and in poor lighting, all I could tell was the long tail - so I'm fairly confident I'm right.

Approximately whereabouts in rural Hampshire? Around here in Bracknell, (East Berkshire) they are pretty common. Along the A30, between Staines and Bedfont, one can often encounter veritable swarms of them, and that's no exaggeration.

[kernelbogey]

Approximately whereabouts in rural Hampshire? Around here in Bracknell, (East Berkshire) they are pretty common. Along the A30, between Staines and Bedfont, one can often encounter veritable swarms of them, and that's no exaggeration.

About 12 miles east of Southampton: never heard or seen them in this part of Hampshire.

[Bryn]

About 12 miles east of Southampton: never heard or seen them in this part of Hampshire.

The way they are spreading, I am sure you will. The RSPB distribution map suggest they are pretty much already on your doorstep. Do you get Red Kites yet?

[kernelbogey]

The way they are spreading, I am sure you will. Do you get Red Kites yet?

Not yet (AFAIK). The nearest we see them is going north on the A34, around Newbury and to the north of there.

[Dave2002]

The way they are spreading, I am sure you will. The RSPB distribution map suggest they are pretty much already on your doorstep. Do you get Red Kites yet?

Not quite sure whether the bird I saw circling over the tree outside our house very recently was a buzzard or a red kite. There was a slight notch in the tail, but perhaps not big enough to convince me it was a red kite. Both types of birds are in this area.

I think it must have found a thermal, as it was going round in circles with little effort, though it didn’t appear to be doing anything very purposeful, such as looking for prey on the ground, or for low flying birds. Sometimes when birds like this appear, there is a flurry of activity from lower flying birds, and lots of squawking as they head for bushes and trees, though one summer I think I saw a whole flock of rather noisy swifts - which can presumably fly very much faster - circling round the predator, rather than flying away. On that occasion it was the noise from the swifts which alerted me to look upwards.

[Padraig]

Are blackbirds the cleanest birds in the garden? They are in mine - I can't keep up with the demand for water for bathing.

[ardcarp]

Not quite sure whether the bird I saw circling over the tree outside our house very recently was a buzzard or a red kite. There was a slight notch in the tail, but perhaps not big enough to convince me it was a red kite. Both types of birds are in this area.

I think it must have found a thermal, as it was going round in circles with little effort, though it didn’t appear to be doing anything very purposeful, such as looking for prey on the ground, or for low flying birds. Sometimes when birds like this appear, there is a flurry of activity from lower flying birds, and lots of squawking as they head for bushes and trees, though one summer I think I saw a whole flock of rather noisy swifts - which can presumably fly very much faster - circling round the predator, rather than flying away. On that occasion it was the noise from the swifts which alerted me to look upwards.

Buzzards sometimes 'mew'. I've never worked out why sometimes they do and more often they don't. I don't think red kites ever mew! On our nearby mudflats it's usually the appearance of a peregrine that spooks the other birds