Off Topic On a brighter note................

[rangercol]

This is a great time of year (and weather!!) to spot birds of prey. With many of them feeding their young, they are relatively easy to spot out hunting or soaring on the thermals.
I saw a Red Kite with a squirrel in its talons today, no doubt on its way to the nest to feed the chicks.

Also saw Rooks mobbing a pair of Buzzards, carefully staying above the birds of prey to avoid their talons.
Yesterday a Sparrow Hawk swooped above our neighbour's hedge, no doubt looking for blackbirds or their chicks.

Lots of Kestrels about out hunting too.

Just thought I'd lighten the mood!! Take a minute and look up. You may be amazed at what you see, even in a Town or City where Peregrine Falcons are doing fantastically well.

 

[jeffranger]

Oh yeah seagulls ****ing, pigeon drops, wonderful species!

 

[rangercol]

Oh yeah seagulls ****ing, pigeon drops, wonderful species!

Thanks for that Jeff. They're not raptors mate!!

 

[Turkish" Premier" Hoops]

Ya ain't kidding, I didn't even have to look up, seen some fantastic birds on me travels today, flat breasted, small breasted and even a couple of large breasted ones all mostly in their standard summer covering of next to nothing and all at pavement level, ya gotta love this time of year when Mother Nature displays her finest creations all out and about in their natural habitat.

 

[rangercol]

Okey dokey........................I tried!

 

[sku]

Hobby - Falco Subbuteo

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Couldn't resist getting a couple of football references in for good measure.

 

[rangercol]

Hobby - Falco Subbuteo

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Couldn't resist getting a couple of football references in for good measure.

Beautiful summer visitor.
Ever noticed how fast and agile Swifts and Swallows are when they're twisting and turning on the wing while hunting insects? The fantastic Hobby catches them!!

 

[sb_73]

Driving to the airport at the ungodly hour of 4 this morning I saw an owl, big brown faced thing*, jumping on something in a hedgerow. It looked up and stared me in the eye as I drove past. Perked me up no end, not sure I've ever seen one in the wild before.

* not sure that is enough for you to identify the type Col. Looked brown all over with a slightly lighter brown big round face.

 

[rangercol]

Driving to the airport at the ungodly hour of 4 this morning I saw an owl, big brown faced thing*, jumping on something in a hedgerow. It looked up and stared me in the eye as I drove past. Perked me up no end, not sure I've ever seen one in the wild before.

* not sure that is enough for you to identify the type Col. Looked brown all over with a slightly lighter brown big round face.

Fantastic. Sounds like a Tawny Owl. Was it reasonably large (pigeon sized or a bit bigger)? If it didn't have big ears sticking up (they're not really ears) it was almost certainly a Tawny.

 

[sb_73]

Fantastic. Sounds like a Tawny Owl. Was it reasonably large (pigeon sized or a bit bigger)? If it didn't have big ears sticking up (they're not really ears) it was almost certainly a Tawny.

Reckon you've got it mate, looked pigeon sized ish to me and didn't notice pointy bits at the top of the head. Then again I was moving quite fast down an empty country road. It's almost worth getting up early to drive with freedom (as long as you know where the speed cameras are) at that time. Though I'd need a better car to really enjoy it.

If a hobby can catch a swift I am seriously impressed. Any birds of prey that get bats? The bat flight path is so erratic the bird would have to be properly clever to get them on the wing.

 

[QPRCate]

I have a family of swifts that come every year to bread their young in my wood shed. They are so lovely to watch and grow, and to see their first flights!

I know warm weather is coming as soon as they arrive.

 

[rangercol]

Reckon you've got it mate, looked pigeon sized ish to me and didn't notice pointy bits at the top of the head. Then again I was moving quite fast down an empty country road. It's almost worth getting up early to drive with freedom (as long as you know where the speed cameras are) at that time. Though I'd need a better car to really enjoy it.

If a hobby can catch a swift I am seriously impressed. Any birds of prey that get bats? The bat flight path is so erratic the bird would have to be properly clever to get them on the wing.

Hobbies certainly do catch Swifts, they are unbelievable fliers.

First and last light are great times to see birds hunting. Raptors certainly can and do catch bats. The Hobby is known to, as well as Sparrow Hawks. Other fast and agile Raptors like Merlins and Kestrels have also been known to catch them. It's not common though and Sparrow Hawks nearly always hunt other birds.
What happens is the Raptors are still out hunting at last light, just as the bats are coming out to play. They occasionally "meet". Once night falls Tawny Owls can hunt bats too.

 

[sb_73]

Hobbies certainly do catch Swifts, they are unbelievable fliers.

First and last light are great times to see birds hunting. Raptors certainly can and do catch bats. The Hobby is known to, as well as Sparrow Hawks. Other fast and agile Raptors like Merlins and Kestrels have also been known to catch them. It's not common though and Sparrow Hawks nearly always hunt other birds.
What happens is the Raptors are still out hunting at last light, just as the bats are coming out to play. They occasionally "meet". Once night falls Tawny Owls can hunt bats too.

Here's why I love experts.
1. The real ones love their area of expertise, whether it's a hobby or their profession, and their love is infectious. That's why I like Portillo on his train journeys, though I have precisely zero interest in trains per se. I will admit to being addicted to journeys though.
2. It means I can turn to someone to explain something to me without having any actual comprehension and without expending any real effort myself.

Cheers Col.

That woodpecker you identified for me must have been last year is back, or one of his mates is, in a different tree but close to the first one where I walk the dog. Never actually seen it though, which is beginning to wind me up.

 

[Wherever]

We have some large green paraquets ? Nesting in a large tree in the garden, beautiful but noises buggers

 

[rangercol]

Here's why I love experts.
1. The real ones love their area of expertise, whether it's a hobby or their profession, and their love is infectious. That's why I like Portillo on his train journeys, though I have precisely zero interest in trains per se. I will admit to being addicted to journeys though.
2. It means I can turn to someone to explain something to me without having any actual comprehension and without expending any real effort myself.

Cheers Col.

That woodpecker you identified for me must have been last year is back, or one of his mates is, in a different tree but close to the first one where I walk the dog. Never actually seen it though, which is beginning to wind me up.

They're notoriously hard to spot, even when you can hear them close by. Keep looking!!

 

[qprbeth]

We had both a green woodpecker and a greater spotted woodpecker in our "rather-ill" walnut tree. We heard them for season after season, but eventually early in the summer morning we spotted them, they are easily spooked. Then the next door neighbours (for it is actually their tree) cut off the ill part of the tree...leaving only the healthy parts....Have not heard or seen them this year at all.

I believe they prefer older trees, slightly rotting trees...is that right Col?

 

[Hoopington]

My favourite fact at the moment is that the largest number of breeding pairs of peregrin falcons is in New York city and the second largest is in London.

 

[Shawswood]

Lots of rabbits hopping about in our back garden telytubbie style, a couple of days ago I saw a large hooded crow swoop in and pick a young rabbit up in its beak crocodile style and laboriously working hard just managed to clear the hedgerow and make off with its booty.

Told herself and a few other people about it and they were all horrified, cursing those dirty crows.

Got me thinking that the reaction would have been different if it had been a hawk that did it, and yet to my mind the hoodie had the trickier task...

 

[terryb]

It hasn't happened yet this year, but it has been common for our garden to have Pigeon debris scattered about. Come to think of it, we hav'nt seen our Sparrow Hawk this year either. We've never seen the kills but love to see the Hawk in flight.

Going to the other extreme my wife is still excited that, for the first time in her life, we saw a Goldcrest on Sunday. In our garden as well!

I've never had any interest in birds, but it's been enjoyable watching them in the garden this year. Another benefit to retirement (nearly time Beth!). I know many don't like Magpies, but they look majestic strutting about & the sheer workrate of the Blackbird in gathering food for his ckicks is exceptional.

 

[GoldhawkRoad]

We have some ancient commons around here in West Sussex which attract interesting birdlife - nightingales, sandmartins etc. The son of a friend of mine works for the RSPB in Yorkshire - currently involved in a project on curlews. He can tell a bird before he sees it based in call. He and his parents were out walking locally here, and he suddenly became excited that he'd heard a firecrest. Sure enough, after some patience, the bird was spotted in the undergrowth. Impressive.