Baa, you try telling the animals they can't talk! I bring Joey back a bunch of chickweed every morning after I do the rounds of the greenhouses etc. I used to remember to bring it on the first round, but lately I have had other things take my attention and often forget.
I will be stood at the sink and he is there talking away telling me over and over 'Joey's a pretty boy', making the kiss sound, whistling, and thick me is stood there replying 'yes, Joey's a pretty boy'. 'Joey's a cheeky boy', kiss kiss, whistle whistle whistle, then all of a sudden an extremely loud 'chi chic chic' is shouted out. Oh, sorry Joey, I forgot your chic weed!
He loves it when I call 'Joey's a rowdy git', he starts shrieking to be the loudest budgie in the cage, and I am trying to shriek but can't match it! I think he was reared in an aviary and not handled, he was only 9 weeks old when I was given him as a birthday gift and seems to want to contact but can't quite manage it. He has his spells where he will swoop over my head at close quarters, a sort of buzz there and back. We have touched nose/beak but then he realised my nose wasn't my mouth, and couldn't quite do that! He is a real character. bright gold and green, when I am wearing my cheapie Lidl's green T shirt and green/yellow floral legs I get looked up and down, he gets excited! Wear blue and he looks at it, a little disappointed I think. I looked after my daughter's budgie for a while a couple of years ago (he's blue and white) and he was very excited with it, he is only 2 and 1/2 but I think he remembers it, he was so disappointed when it went home. What goes on in their heads is more than we know.
BIRDS IN THE GARDEN
ROTFL Wallaby, Joey has trained you well! Budgies are such bright little birds aren't they, does he wonder how you change your "feather" colour?
You're so right that more goes on in their heads than we can know. I've told this one before but here it is again. I have an odd accent so when I went to work to help out during the lambing some years ago, the sheepdog struggled to understand me and I could never remember if I should be saying lie or lay down. Within a few days Megan the collie and I worked out a system between us where I'd stand where I wanted the sheep to come and would point in the direction I wanted her to go. She knew her job far better than I did even though she was still quite young, so I left the gathering up to her but she would look at me to see if I'd spotted any sheep that hadn't flocked and I'd again point her in that direction. Occasionally I'd shout some instructions and she did come to understand my voice more. I was only there for the 8 weeks of lambing but it was odd to be taught part of my job by a dog LOL.
And they call them 'dumb' animals! Cats, dogs, cows, birds, you name it, they are all very clever!
I have had blackbirds keep putting holes in a very inadequate net and they eat all the biggest, best strawberries! They jump on it, run at it, every day I have tied up new holes. It's one of those stretchy types, I can't put holes in it but they have a sharp pecker! They are training a set of strawberry picking youngsters to 'pick their own'! A newly fledged baby kept getting stuck trying to get out, but soon found the hole when I tried to release it!
I saw it when first out of the nest, it could only fly a couple of inches off the ground and it went somewhere near my 16 year old Mitsi cat, who seemed not to take any notice. I knew better, she knows I wouldn't let her play with it, so I left the door ajar so I could listen.
Sure enough, I had just come in and there was an almighty squawking! Mitsi sat upright looking down with intent, the bird laid on it's back kicking like mad and making a racket. It learnt a valuable lesson I think! It's feathers were a light greyish colour, unusual I thought.
After the battles the males had earlier I suppose I am getting a special breed of fruit greedy blackbirds around here, the raspberries are ripening now and they will be getting those. They never used to get that many, blackcurrants either, but now they just strip them. I put nets over the blackcurrants so this year they are ours!
You are both so right about the intelligence of other creatures. We can learn so much by observing them, and seeing all their different characteristics. I hadn't thought about dressing in budgie colours Janet, but thinking about it they do react to colours. I can just imagine you being trained by the sheep dog Baa - Is that why you call yourself Baa?
The funniest (most irritating) thing Nemo has done is to copy the nastiest most raucus noise possible from a tape of birds and animals in the Amazon jungle, and they all get excited when I say "shall I put the tape on?". They screech and jump about the cage until I play it.
Pat, you are so considerate to play your cockatiels jungle music! I bet they would like the Disney Jungle Book music, that would really make them dance! Cockatiels are so sweet, I have been very tempted to have some when I've seen them in a pet store.
I can visualise you now dressing up in corresponding colours, but they are nice subtle ones!
I didn't think of Baa being called Baa because of the Baa Baa's! I am getting slow! I suppose I had aready wondered about it and thought it meant something more sober like British Administrative Assistant. Tell us Baa, what is it?
Baa is a nickname which was bestowed upon me before DG. I worked primarily as a dairyman, I served my apprenticeship/YTS on a dairy farm but have worked with a number of different animals. Baa is pronounced in the anglocised way rather than the ovine, nor not in the Stephen Fry/Blackadder Baaah way, if you were curious. A lot of people here spell it BAA and I wondered why, perhaps they thought it was an acronym too! Perhaps I'm coming across as too serious these days? (eeek)
Wallaby it sounds like your fruit are now a training area for commando blackbirds LOL.
I really love the idea of playing the cockateils jungle sounds Patbarr, are they jungle birds originally?
So is it pronounce 'B(ay)a' with the pronounciation on the double 'a' as in both sounds of the word?
I'm afraid I sometimes have that 'too serious' problem too, I don't know why!
Did you see the pics I posted a link to the Photo forum of the blackbird males assessing their dominancy? One just kept chasing the other for weeks after that, wherever one would land, the other would chase it off all day long!
Here's one of them
I am truly LOVING this thread. Great photos & conversation... hope you don't mind me jumping in to say so!
angele
Hi angele! We never know who's watching do we? *Giggle* Sometimes it feels just a few of us are having a little conversation, only to find the whole world is watching!
It is open to all, so feel free to join in!
I'll post another one of the disagreeing blackbirds, I was too lazy last time (translates to had already posted them elsewhere)
I've had a really upsetting afternoon. I heard lots of screeching and alarm calls from the trees over the wall and went round to see two magpies attacking a fledgling blackbird. The parent blackbirds were going frantic. The magpies dragged the little bird down behind the flats and were having a tug of war with it, pecking it and throwing it about. I ran down and scared them off, but it was giving its last gasp. I tried to bring it round, but it was too badly wounded and died. I hate magpies!
Pat that is horrible! I had a female blackbird coming for cat food, it used to be the male but they were feeding babies, and she would turn up even if I went to the door! The male started turning up to watch over her, but didn't go for food himself. She had some feathers stuck up on one of her wings, I think she had been attacked. They do look after each other, yes I hate magpies too! I have heard them around, only saw one briefly some time ago, but they are terrible bullies. A few years ago I had 8 in the back garden all at once!
LOL Wallaby no it's Baa as in Baa Baa Black Sheep, or isn't it Baa Baa Green Sheep now?
I hadn't see your photos in the photo forum, they are stunning!
Angele, hello :) We do tend to wander about in our threads LOL What birds do you have in your garden?
Patbarr, oh how awful to see that happening, poor little bird!
A couple of years ago I used to do a carboot in the mid part of the county and in late spring we'd regularly see the Rooks chasing Red Kites which had been looking for a Rookling breakfast.
Patbarr, I am so very sorry you had that terrible experience, just horrible. We have some birds of prey here and I am very glad that I have only seen (or seen the evidence of) a very few upsetting things happen before my eyes.
Thank you for the welcome :-] wallaby1 and Baa. I just started really paying attention to the birds this year and have been extremely fortunate in the numbers that visit my yard. My favorite is a Crissal Thrasher because he is so playful. The Quail are bringing their little babies now and they are adorable family units.
Hello Angele,
Birds can be very sweet and entertaining most of the time. It is fascinating to hear of the very different birds you get on the other side of the Atlantic. We get most of the species that are common to the rest of Europe in Britain, but haven't even seen a lot of the American species.
I'm afraid the woman across the road who bulk buys cheap white sliced bread especially to feed the rooks, jackdaws and magpies is attracting all these birds into the area. It looks like an Alfred Hitchcock movie at feeding time with them all perched in the trees, on roofs, chimneys and T.V. aerials, and then they come marauding all over my garden upsetting the hens and attacking all the young birds. I'm considering making a complaint.
Pat
This morning I looked out to see a Willow Warbler having a shower in the bird bath. It is the first I've seen this year, so a nice surprise. The greenfinches have brought another two fledglings to the feeders so they have had three broods this year, and there is a very bossy young robin. He is extremely macho and sparring up to everything in sight, but looks so funny as he is just shedding his baby speckled plumage and has a little red breast just peeping through.
This afternoon I had the first sighting of long tailed tits for ages. It was a really large flock, over 20 and they stayed around in the fruit trees for half an hour or more, hopefully they ate plenty of grubs.
I am a big fan of our feathered friends too and I have enjoyed reading all of your tales.
When we moved here in May, two years ago there was a Swallows' nest attached to one of the naya beams. Having seen 3 smashed eggs on the ground we were over the moon when eventually 4 babies hatched. We were very entertained all summer with their comings and goings. After a couple of weeks we noticed that only 3 heads were popping up to be fed....long story short, they started to fledge and sure enough, only three young were perching. We did wonder where it had gone. Mystery was solved when later in the year as the parents were cleaning the nest for second brood.....out fell a mummified baby bird. It had been in that nest the whole time. I must admit it creeped me out a bit.
They do the funniest thing...when removing the droppings from the nest - they fly over us in the pool and discharge them like bouncing bombs. Never been personally targeted but it is very amusing. They are such acrobats weaving in and out of the arches and gliding low enough to skim up water from the pool. The bats do this too - I think it is amazing that their sonar is as accurate as eyesight.
Our English cats are ridiculously optomistic in their hopes of actually catching one of these birds. We ROTFLOL watching them move their heads in snyc with the relentless dive-bombing whilst doing that strange chattering that cats do whenever they see a bird they think is within their grasp.
Since the first year we have had no sucessful Swallow broods. The nest was destroyed last year, and we don't know if it was in-fighting (they do seem to squabble a lot) or whether it was a predation (by what?). This nest is not easy to get to...it is at leat 12 ft high in the rafters and not near any perches or ledges. Even after rebuilding it they have not managed to raise their young this year either as the same thing happened. I wish I had been there when it happened but I was out both times. Yesterday I heard them settling down for the night the two of them in the partly restored nest. They looked so cosy and cute. I wonder if they will get it together next year.
You are lucky to have swallows nesting, even if they haven't been successful recently, at least they keep coming back. My friend has a farm and has said just the same as you about them dropping poo sacks like little bombs, but hers seem to favour their patio table and chairs as a target. Fortunately she finds this amusing and she hardly has time to sit out in the garden anyway as she is always rushing about to committees and everything else which is going on in the community.
This morning I've been watching a Tree creeper meticulously searching the bark of the pear tree just outside my window. It's funny how they only creep upwards and then fly down to start going up again. That is the first sighting I've had for months.
ooh I love tree creepers Pat
We have a tall horse chestnut that has died just outside (the previous occupants pruned it rather too severely) and I love to watch them on that. We also get the nuthatches, which run down as well as up :)
We also have swallows in the barn. They drink from the swimming pool, which causes amusement to the guests as they carry on even when the pool is full of humans. Fortunately noone has reported a direct hit..... yet.....
philomel, I have seen a tree creeper on the Horse Chestnut tree, there must be things on them they like to eat.
Our tree was under pruned rather than over pruned. Some large lower branches had been cut off with too much left, one was arounf 5' long and the rot was going down it. That's what happens, it goes all the way to the middle and kills the tree. It was starting to look unhealthy, since I cleaned a patch for potatoes it has some roots going into it and feeds from the compost and fertiliser. I also built up around the base with soil from the water drain that had been there for 20 years, full of leaves too. The hosta bed is built up under the edge of it with loads of compost and drain soil, the roots go upwards but the hostas are doing OK other than mole undermining.
Chestnuts have to be pruned while in growth otherwise they bleed to death, some trees are pruned while dormant so that may have been the mistake. We cut the branches to leave a lip just beyond the main trunk, the cambrium layer under the bark grows over the edges and heals it. The rot in the long branch had just reached the main trunk. Unfortunately many people don't research their needs, they think it's allright to just hack away.
I saw a group of birds flitting around the tree a couple of days ago, I couln't get a good look but they reminded me of a coaltit in size and colour, they were chitting too but I really couldn't describe it.
I also had a woodpecker sitting on top of the electricity post a while back, making a 'khark' sort of noise. I wasn't sure what it was but took a pic on zoom, and could just see the red colour, it had a very sharp long beak. I wonder what the call meant, perhaps it was calling out to others.
Yes, this poor tree has been "pollarded" at about 10 metres, Just cut straight across the trunk with no branches left at all. It would have made a wonderful shade tree (much needed) too. I've planted a Catalpa to do that job in the future, but it'll be a few years before it's large enough
Were the group of birds long tailed tits? The tails can be difficult to spot at a distance and they are very social, travelling in groups and are about that size,
We have plenty of green and spotted woodpeckers around here, I even saw a black woodpecker up in the Pyrenees, would love to have one of those in the garden!!
That is a shame your tree is dying, they do make a good shade tree, even for here! They also provide lots of compost material, it seems that many people just see a large tree in the garden as a nuisance, grumbling at the work it creates rather than appreciating the benefits. I can be guilty of an occasional grumble, then I smack myself around the ears and tell myself it is useful, and attractive.
I looked up long-tailed tits, the descrition on the rspb site fits perfectly
"The long-tailed tit is easily recognisable with its distinctive colouring, a tail that is bigger than its body, and undulating flight. Gregarious and noisy residents, long-tailed tits are most usually noticed in small, excitable flocks of about 20 birds. Like most tits, they rove the woods and hedgerows, but are also seen on heaths and commons with suitable bushes."
They were excitable and chatty, they seemed to be enjoying themselves. You do notice the character of a different bird like this, some are shy, some coy, secretive, they didn't hang around once I arrived on the scene and I really wanted to observe them more!
Looked up black woodpecker, a sharp looking character!
http://www.birdguides.com/html/vidlib/species/Dryocopus_martius.htm
Catalpas are lovely trees, I have 3 paulownias I grew from seed, 6 years old now and 2 years in the ground, they look great from the kitchen window when the sun shines through the leaves. I will keep them cut back, they grow a lot in a season and you get larger leaves.
Ah,I grew Paulownias from RHS seed a few years ago, but they're in england of course....
That's reminded me that I have some seed so will sow that again, lovely trees, yours are beautiful.
I have been given a self-seeded Albizia, which I've put out there too.
Long tailed tits are about my favourite bird. I love their constant talking and watching them play follow my leader across any gaps in the trees. They're such a lovely soft colour too.
The chestnut is dead :( so I may put an ivy up it - though the bare trunk is quite attractive with plenty going on ..........
Very interesting to read about how lively the birdlife is in your gardens! Unfortunately the bird fauna in Iceland is mostly confined to seabirds and waders, not too many perching birds :-( The most frequent vistors in my garden are starlings and redwings, but I am lucky that there are a few blackbirds living in my neighbourhood! They are a very recent addition to the birdlife here and I think they only live in a few places in and around Reykjavík. Before I moved to this neighbourhood I hadn't seen them and didn't even know there were any so it was a very pleasant surprise. I love to hear them singing in May and June. There's a Blackbird and a Redwing that have a sing-off every spring - they both seem to want to secure the same nesting area - so the nights are filled with song in June! Some of my neighbours find it quite annoying but I think it's just grand falling asleep and waking up to their singing. Even if one of my girls wake me in the middle of the night they're still at it. Then all goes quiet in July and we don't see many birds until the berry feast begins. The Starlings are gathering and fly around in large flocks eating the elderberries and then when the Rowan berries are ripe in September the fiest begins with a constant chattering of Starlings and Redwings. I've recently noticed flocks of Redpolls in the birchtrees eating seeds - there will be more of them in the fall.
I have a small pond in my front garden that has become a popular bird-bath and so I've seen a lot more birds than I would have otherwise. One bird I'd never seen before this summer was the Norther Wheatear, both male and female came for a bath once in a while and I'm pretty sure they were a pair with a nest somewhere in the undeveloped "lava islands" around the neighborhood. Later I spotted an immature bird that I didn't recognise but it could have been one of their fledglings. The birdlife is much more lively in the winter time when I put feed out for them although not much more varied just bigger numbers. Then the snowbuntings join the group - as soon as the first snow falls they appear and disappear just as abruptly when it melts.
We get the birds you mention in our gardens as winter visitors, although I've never seen a snow bunting here.
At the moment we have about 12 blackbirds eating all the Elderberries in the back garden. It doesn't look as though I'll be making much elderberry wine or cordial this year. They are having a wonderful time so I can't begrudge them their feast.
I saw a pied wagtail the other day checking out my pond - looked like an immature bird. It didn't dive in this time - maybe some other time it'll be ready to take the plunge:-) It's the first time I've seen one inside my garden, they seem to prefer open spaces - I often see them out on the street.
We don't often see pied wagtails in the garden, but there are always some in the car park next to the sports centre - open spaces like you say.
We do sometimes have grey wagtails having a shower in the waterfall. Last winter on an extremely cold frosty day I watched a wren standing under the outlet from the filter having an energetic shower. I wondered how it could possibly do this without getting hypothermia. It must have been trying to wash insects out of its feathers.
There are lots of young birds coming to the feeders just now. Most are still in their speckled juvenile plumage and some seem to only just have left the nest and are fluttering their wings for their parents to feed them. It seems to have been a good breeding season for them to have young so late in the year.
The house martins have raised three young and are feeding another brood. They will be lucky to get strong enough to migrate as they only have another couple of weeks before they are leaving. The swallows are already gathering and sitting on the wires as though they are discussing their journey.
We've had a very musical robin sitting at the top of the pear tree singing his little heart out all week from very early in a morning. Funny how they all go quiet during the summer. They are probably too busy raising young to have time to sit about singing, and they won't be needing to attract a mate or stake out their territory at that time of the year.
It does show that Autumn is here. We've had some much cooler nights this week and it is getting dark much earlier, the hens had gone to bed at 18.45 today.
I don't have that many species of birds in my garden, as I live in a city, but they are big in numbers.
When I arrived here many years ago, there were no birds at all, as there was nothing for them to eat, to drink or to nest.
From the very beginning I focused on making my garden bird-and wildlife friendly. So I planted a lot of climbing plants.(a good alternative for when you don't have the space for many big trees).
Very soon I discovered that many birds love to bath and I provided for several birdbaths.
The species of birds I have at the moment are
about 25 sparrows.
A couple of black birds (they don't allow any others as they are very territorial).
About 5 Turkish turtle-doves
4 wood-pigeons
a varying number of blue tits.
In the winter time I get some extra guests like; more tits, red robins, wrens.
Often my tiny garden has the aspect of a busy air port.
Here is a picture of them having a great time in the bath
and here together with the turtle-doves
Some months ago I took this picture of a baby sparrow
This young magpie was not welcomed by my resident bird population for obvious reasons!
bonitin - beautiful photos! Your garden looks like a tropical rain forest! The magpie is a handsome looking bird - didn't know it was such a hazard to other birds. Here the sea gulls are the biggest "nest robbers". They circle over the neighbourhood May through June.
The wagtail came back a few days ago - and decided to take a bath! I was so delighted - it and the wren were the only birds in the neighbourhood that hadn't taken a bath there yet. Still waiting for the wren - haven't seen it around all summer.
Thank you Rannveig!
I wonder what is a wagtail you mention ? (English is not my mother tongue).
I really love sea gulls and I did not know that they were also nest robbers.
I send you a photo I took on a beach in Belgium
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This message was edited Sep 6, 2006 11:31 PM
And one gathering at sunset
Here's a photo of the pied wagtail (Motacilla alba):
http://pdubois.free.fr/oiseaux/images/a0038MotacillaAlba.jpg
It's a much beloved bird here in Iceland - a little darling really ....
The seagulls are probably the most hated birds here - they've been a bit of a pest for the last two summers. Seems that they don't have enough to eat so they've been flocking around Reykjavík and here in Hafnarfjordur. Both the duck ponds here and in Reykjavík are full of sea gulls - they take the ducklings and steal the bread. So not popular with people going with their kids to feed the ducks ...... I even heard that they'd been lifting steaks off barbeques!!!!
Beautiful photos as always!
The pied wagtail is a very handsome bird. I've never seen one over here. Perhaps it is unique for your region ?
I'm sorry to hear that sea gulls are so hated in your country.
Perhaps I only saw their charming sides without having to deal with their negative aspects. It shocked me to hear that they even could attack ducklings. I may not think of it!
Horrible!!
Yeah, I don't think there were any ducklings this year in Reykjavik :-( Sea gulls are all right if they stay in their place - the sea. Ofcourse it's bad that they're not getting enough to eat so you do kind of feel for them ..... but most people just want to get rid of them.
The pied wagtail is wide spread all around Europe according to the info on birdguides:
http://www.birdguides.com/html/vidlib/species/Motacilla%5Falba%5Fyarrelli.htm
Why is it that sea gulls don't get enough food in their natural environment, the sea ? I also wonder why I often see gulls in a town like Gent which is about 60 km from the coast?
I don't know the reason for the food shortage - it's something that's been a problem for the past 2 years at least and not just for the sea gulls - the artic terns didn't nest in the Reykjavik area this summer for the same reason. They're main food source is a small fish(don't know the name) that just seems to be gone or at least there's not enough of it .... they don't know the reason why.
Don't know why they go so far inland in your area - here they're just along the coast - well, here every town is on the coast - you don't see them far inland here.
We traveled to the West fjords of Iceland (in the NW) this summer and there we saw a lot of nesting arctic terns that seemed to have enough to eat - it seems the food shortage is just here in the south .... maybe the sea is too warm or something ??
Hi Rann, I love terns they look so much daintier than seagulls. We saw quite a few when we were in Scotland, there were also Razor bills and lots of buzzards and ravens.
The Housemartins have all migrated this week, two days ago there must have been over 100 flying over our house for several hours, making their high pitched little calls, but today there is not one to be seen and the silence is really noticeable. I hope the weather holds for their journey as there were some very young ones. The pair nesting in the eaves of the house next to us have had three broods this year, and the last ones have only just left the nest. It will be interesting to see how many return next year.
Hi Pat,
I love the terns too - although I don't like to get too close to them when they're nesting - they're very aggressive! They are the last migrating bird to arrive here so they're a sure sign of summer here - hence a welcome sight!
There are a lot of Redwings and Starlings around now - I saw about 5 or 6 Redwings in and around the pond this morning. The berry feast has begun so it's very lively here and constant squatter in the birds - that's what I love about fall, the birds start singing again!
While we were in Copenhagen over the weekend we saw a lot of magpies in the gardens that we visited - they are really pretty birds. If I didn't know they were nestrobbers I'd wish to have them around here! Also saw some very cute little yellow and blue birds with black markings that fluttered between trees picking berries - they were so quick it was hard to see them! I loved watching them - they were so cute!