BrandNewGuy

TillieTrotter Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Listen, I'm not Bill Odie (sp), I saw a pair in my > garden a few years back looked it up in my Bird > Encylopedia and they turned out to be Eurasian > Jays:-$ As I said, that's just the posh ornithological name for a regular old jay. And the potential confusion is why most ornithologists only use the Latin names, which in the case of the (Eurasian) Jay is Garrulus glandarius, which sounds very painful...

red devil Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > TT describes a Jay, just wondering what the > difference is between a Eurasian and British > Jay... There isn't one :-) There's now an internationally agreed standardisation of English-language names for birds. There are other jay species around the world, so ours is the Eurasian one. Some of these international names are quite different from our ordinary ones: Pied Avocet, Northern Lapwing, Mew Gull (Common Gull), Common Murre (Guillemot) etc, but I just stick with our good old vernacular names. If you want to be really old English, you can call a Wheatear a 'White-arse', which is what it was called before the prudish Victorians cleaned it up :-)

Only me! Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > We have a Wren flitting about & darting in & out > of some shrubs. > So tiny ... no bigger than a ?2.00 coin. With a > beautiful song, out of all proportion to their > size. > > Hope their nest can avoid the attention of the > Magpies! Wrens usually make quite a few nests - in fact, it's usually just the male who makes several nests in an attempt to impress the local females... which is why he often ends up with more than one family. The nests are usually really well hidden and very enticing - round and fluffy :-)

I think the tweeters are sparrows - there are so few around any more, but there's a family of them near the corner of Trossachs Road and Glengarry Road. And yes, they tweet, tweet, tweet incessantly. Or it could be a great tit - they're very loud and do that 'pitchoo, pitchoo' call all day long. I love spring birdsong and will be heading up to Dulwich Woods for the dawn chorus walk on Friday 30th.

SteveT Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ceribee wrote:- > Where have all the green parrots gone though? I > have hardly seen any this yr? My friend emailed > from India to say he'd heard there was a council > initiate to kill..cough..I mean 'cull' them. Is > this true? > > > I heard it on radio4 so it must be true. They are > considered to be a pest and a danger to the local > bird population as the parrakeets attack them. > I saw three swoop low over the neighbours roof > which had a dozen pigeons roosting but the pigeons > all rose in the air when the parakeets passed > overhead. Well, the poor parakeets have been blamed for 'bullying' our native species and much more besides. There is some evidence that they can cause damage to orchards and vineyards, but I'm with the London Wildlife Trust and other birdie experts who declared the cull 'racist' and said that the parakeets are "as British as curry" :-)

More peregrine falcon action at Dulwich Hospital... At 8.45, one swooped down from the tall tower and landed on the roof of the house on East Dulwich Grove that's next to the 'building' site. A few small birds pestered it and it flew up to the spire of the United Reformed Church on the corner of Melbourne Grove. It then circled around for a minute or two before flying off. A couple of pigeons on the church roof fluttered a bit but seemed unconcerned. Someone should tell them they're the staple food of urban peregrines... I'll take a camera with me on my way to the station tomorrow :-)

More nature notes... I heard a chiffchaff in the trees by Dulwich Hospital yesterday afternoon. I'm not sure I've heard one here before, though there are plenty up in the woods. And there's a toad in our garden. Let's hope s/he's hungry for slugs this summer...

With regard to the peregrines at Tate Modern, I don't think they nest there, but they use the tower as a place to teach the fledged chicks how to hunt. I think they're from the nest that's on top of an office building near the BT Tower, but the parents need somewhere high and clear of obstacles to help the youngsters learn how to fly ? it would be very easy for one to crash when practising to fly at over 180mph :-) The RSPB are usually there from July to September, once the youngsters have left the nest and start flying.

Very excited to hear a peregrine falcon as I woke up this morning - we're near Dulwich Hospital. Then I heard it again as I walked past the Hopsital on EDGrove at 8.30 and caught sight of two of them flying around the tallest tower of the hospital. They seemed to be displaying, but I suspect they were youngsters imitating adult activity rather than a pair seriously looking for a nest site... Passers-by must have been bemused as I peered through the 'building' site gate :-)

First time poster but long-time lurker here :-) I was surprised to see a grey wagtail this morning on my way to work. It flew onto a fence by the corner of Trossachs Road and Glengarry Road, and then disappeared into the garden behind. Not sure I've ever seen a grey wagtail in ED before - they prefer rivers, streams and open countrsyide, normally, though they do venture beyond their range in winter. You're much more likely to see their cousin, the pied wagtail. I've attached a pic so you'll know one if you see one... Brand New Guy