Young House Sparrows.

Once a very common visitor to our garden the House Sparrow is now somewhat of a rarity although one or two drop in for a brief feeding session from time to time. 

A trip to a coastal marsh last month provided an ideal opportunity to watch a party of youngsters in the company of their parents as they snacked on the abundant seeds.

The final shot was taken just after one youngster emerged, a little disheveled, from a waterside ditch.

Linking to:
Saturday's Critters
I'D-Rather-B-Birdin'

Random Mix for WBW.

For this weeks edition of Wild Bird Wednesday a few random images taken in the garden and elsewhere.

Male House Sparrow staking his claim above the feeder.

Juvenile House Sparrow getting to grips with the food larder.

Starling ... probably wondering why the feeder is empty!

The ultimate 'shake down'.

Swallow .. checking out the wind direction.

A young Grey Heron doing what it does best ... standing very still.

And finally ... it's time to fly away!  FAB.

Feeder Friends.

A few images of two of our regular garden visitors, the Starling and House Sparrow, sharing one of the feeders filled with suet with meal worm pellets.

 A male House Sparrow sharing with a Starling.

Two juveniles happily gorging themselves. At any other time of the year the Starlings rarely allow anyone else to occupy the feeder.

"I'm sure someone is watching me through that window".

"I've got it all to myself so time to get stuck in".

All these shots were taken 'through the window' with the 450D and 70-300mm lens. For this months images of Birds, Butterflies and Odonata please check out my photo blog.  FAB.

Linking to Camera Critters, Saturday's Critters and I'D-Rather-B-Birdin'.

Garden Friends.

I feel slightly ashamed to admit that so far this year I haven't spent much time attempting to photograph any birds visiting the garden. One major reason is that until very recently apart from the regular Robin and nesting Blue Tits there has been a distinct lack of activity around the feeders.
However, the recent change in the weather and with species now needing to top up their reserves during the breeding season the situation has dramatically changed.

Collared Dove on sentry duty.

So during a lull in the rain showers today I spent a little time with my garden friends. 

I failed to cut back this long established Clematis montana last year but I recently thinned out all the dead wood so now we can appreciate its delicate blooms while they last. Very close by are a number of feeders but at the moment everyone's favorite appears to be the one containing the suet pellets!

 

After many months with no sightings at all (my fears were that their local nest site had been removed) the House Sparrows have returned. 

During the past few weeks just a single female was seen but today there were several very noisy males and females with their youngsters gorging themselves on the available larder.

Anita told me she had seen several spotty Robins flitting about the Hawthorn but while I was outside only one of the regular adults paid me a welcome visit.

 

Another species now appearing on a daily basis is the greedy Starling. Up to five individuals, all in their glossy coats, dropped in during my time outside. I guess I'll be refilling this feeder now on a daily basis!

Other species seen today but not yet photographed were Goldfinches, Greenfinch, Carrion Crow, Magpie and Ring-necked Parakeet. 

The main small border is starting to brighten up with different Geraniums opening on a daily basis. Iris 'Jane Phillips' is still holding up well and the Astrantia is just showing above the verdant foliage together with the many heads of self seeded Aquilegia 'William Guinness'.

After one of the afternoon showers a very worn out Specked Wood decided to alight on one of the falls of Iris Jane Phillips.

Yesterday a Holly Blue passed through the garden.

A Blackbird walked directly beneath my chair and took the opportunity to pick up any seed that had fallen to the ground amongst the ornamental grasses.

I also spent some time sitting on the raised patio at the end of our small garden surrounded by some of the potted treasures I have nurtured over the years while watching the comings and goings at the nest box in the Birch that provides much needed dappled shade during most of the day. (Watch out for a future post on the nesting Blue Tits).

One of the adult Blue Tits taking a brief break from gleaning small insects from the Hawthorn in the centre of the garden.  FAB.

A Wander at Wicken Fen (Part 3)

Continuation from the previous posts ... Early Start in Suffolk and Fenland with friends.

After consuming our late lunch we jointly decided to drive over to Wicken Fen and as I couldn't locate the co-ordinates for Keith to use on his SatNav I offered to lead the way using the back roads ... but was that such a good idea! After a couple of minor routing hiccups we arrived unscathed.

Unfortunately my suggestion to follow a southerly path on the reserve proved to be almost devoid of any avian activity although we did add two Little Egrets and Lesser Black-backed Gull to the day list and then our attention turned to a totally different animal.

Wicken Fen NNR is one of the last remaining fragments of undrained fenland covering an area of 754 hectares of which the major percentage is former arable land. Ten years ago they introduced Konik ponies (an Eastern European pony breed) and Highland cattle as a means of practically managing the landscape by grazing. They started with six breeding Konik ponies in 2003 and these were supplemented by a further five plus two young males in 2004.

The herd we encountered numbered well in excess of 30 individuals with at least six youngsters born earlier this year. The Wicken Fen Conservation Grazing Project using Konik Ponies and Highland Cattle by Carol Laidlaw (Grazing Manager at Wicken Fen) can be viewed by visiting this link.

The Konik breed are a very sociable animal. The stallions live alongside other stallions, colts and even geldings without any real conflict. They are free to roam wherever they want although there are some fences to protect specific areas on the reserve. Their diet is rich and varied and they are constantly on the move. The ponies receive very little in terms of management (no hoof care, vaccinations etc.) but their welfare is monitored on a daily basis. Having said this we did spot one youngster lying down who initially didn't appear to be moving and we wondered if it had a problem but after a while there was some movement of its tail and its head .... then after a few more minutes it rose to its feet and joined the herd.

 

  Konik ponies.

Elsewhere on the reserve we watched this pair of Swallows feeding their nestlings at a nest they had built inside one of the hides. This is also an excellent location to find around 18 species of Dragonflies and Damselflies but I only saw 3 species during our brief afternoon visit .... it was fairly breezy!

A Four Spotted Chaser took a rest above one of the water channels.

 My final photos for the day were this obliging House Sparrow.

So after ten hours together it was time for me to start my lengthy journey home. On this occasion, the number of species logged during the day was irrelevant, it was the healthy banter in the company of  two other friendly wildlife watchers that made a grand day out. Many thanks Keith and Trevor.  Cheers ... FAB.

Silent Sparrow.

House Sparrow

 One of this years brood decides it is safe to perch out the open.   FAB.

Visiting Time.

This week I have been racking up the miles .... unfortunately not wildlife watching .... but transporting my mother to visit my father in hospital which requires a round trip of 100 miles each time. He is in good hands and the medical team found a space in their busy schedule to undertake the first of two very necessary angioplasty procedures on his right leg early yesterday evening in an attempt to improve the blood flow to his foot. I am pleased to report that despite a reactive 'blip' which created some serious concerns after the procedure he was feeling a little more comfortable when I saw him today although his exile in hospital may turn out to be a lot longer than he initially expected.  

As I will be back on the road again tomorrow with little opportunity to watch any wildlife here are a couple of images of our regular visiting House Sparrows ... views through the window due to all the heavy rainstorms!

Wherever you are ...... enjoy your wildlife watching.   FAB.

Garden Watch.

Another day passed yesterday without the return of my 'wheels' so I spent a few more hours in the garden. In between a little bit of  necessary pruning and watering (some of the plants are definitely showing the signs of drought intolerance!) I took up my usual position and watched the comings and goings of the local residents.

Not sure who was keeping tabs on who! ... "Shouldn't you have had a shave by now?"

Mr. Blackbird made a brief appearance to cast his eye over the neighbours garden.

The Robin wonders where all those little noises are coming from!

Someone else was also enjoying the flowers; Astrantia 'Roma' plus the new Clematis  (C. texensis 'Pagoda' and C. Cezanne) and two of her favourite Roses (R. Compassion and R.Gloire De Dijon).

House Sparrow tries to play hide and seek behind one of the feeders .....

..... while one of the Blue Tits brings in another tiny morsel to feed a hungry little belly.   FAB.

New Feathers.

Over the past few days the resident House Sparrows have been particularly vocal as the adults have recently brought some youngsters into this world. Most of the time the young ones stay hidden in the Pittosporum or the Lilac and constantly ask to be fed but occasionally one pops out into the open.

As you can see from these images the downy fluff is slowly making way for this youngster's first set of real feathers.

Not sure this is the safest spot to be preening as we know a Sparrowhawk regularly passes over looking for a quick meal!

Time for some sunbathing while it waits to see if will get fed again.   FAB.

Just Chilling Out.

After all the miles trudged this week I decided to spend a quiet day just chilling out in the garden and surprisingly there was very little noise from either the local traffic or any of the neighbours ......

 .... just the gentle sound of water droplets.

 Most of the small specie Tulips are well past their best but here are some of the delights that are dotted 

 around the garden providing that important early spring colour.

Now it is the turn of the Alliums as the stems rise up high and their sheaths slowly unfurl to present their spherical balls of blue, purple and mauve hues. Over the years I have been trying to remove the non-native Spanish Bluebell (Hyacinthiodes hispanica) but it continues to reappear and at least provides an addition to the blue palette at this time of year.

The Lilac that provides a hiding place for the Blue Tits before entering the nest box will soon produce a lovely fragrance as the clusters of blooms begin to open.

Even the avian activity today was fairly downbeat ... the House Sparrows hid from view most of the time; Parakeets made a late afternoon visit but refrained from gorging themselves on the recently stocked feeders; Greenfinch and Great Tit were close by with Woodpigeon, Collared Dove and Magpie but everything went deathly silent as a Sparrowhawk slowly drifted over at rooftop level. I recently refurbished an open nest box and today I noticed that there was a lining of moss and leaves so possibly the Blackbird who has been skulking in the border is starting to build for his partner ... only time will tell.

Blue Tit Nesting Update: I checked the box today and the female is sitting but I didn't disturb her to see what the egg situation might be. The male has been flying in and out at irregular intervals to feed her so all is well at the moment.     

Wishing Everyone a Happy Easter.    FAB.