ED Nature Watch

[mancity68]

We had a flock of field fare on Sunday.

[BrandNewGuy]

First thing this morning I counted approx 1200 black-headed gulls on Peckham Rye Common. Very impressive flocks at this time of year. They lose their brown/black heads over winter to be replaced by a small black dot behind the eye ? though strangely a tiny number of them keep their summer plumage.

[malumbu]

Got a great vid of a robin puffing out its chest spring before last, see if I can share on this (not sure if I can put videos on). It was almost ball like.

[Sue]

Dead pigeon in the garden the other day. Unfortunately appeared to have been killed by a cat, so I presume it was the sick one. It had its wings spread out as if it had been trying to escape 😥 but it had a length of ivy on top of it, so I wonder if the cat attacked it where it had been hiding, then dragged it out into the open.

I'm bemused by a rather fat (or has its feathers constantly fluffed out) sparrow which has been hanging around the garden. It's extremely tame and always by itself. It has sparrow colouring and a sparrow type beak. It also seems to be shedding fluffy feathers.

It's behaving like a robin, hopping about nearby when we are gardening. But it's eating birdseed, not looking for worms, and it definitely isn't a baby robin.

I've never seen this before, normally lots of sparrows come down at once, and also they normally fly off at the slightest movement they see.

Can anybody explain?

[Nigello]

I have a mouse or two in teh garden but cannot make out whether it is a house or wild variety. It eats suet balls from the bird feeder which is ok with me. A cat often sits near the bushes so perhaps there is a nest there, suggesting it is indeed a non-domestic variety. Does anyone else have mice outside but not inside?

[siousxiesue]

Apologies if this has already been covered, but the RSPB 2021 bird watch is coming soon!

29th-31st Jan

https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/?sourcecode=BWMITH0230&channel=paidsearch&gclid=Cj0KCQiAjKqABhDLARIsABbJrGnlYaXLjRXsEdLBAOer9OyNTT3PSqPB7bC9hzjXRfCshEaTxB7safUaAhbKEALw_wcB

[malumbu]

I expect all mice around here are house mice, think the species evolved due to contact with humans. We've had them inside and out, but never felt like we were infested. And ta for the link to the bird watch. Not lot to do at the moment.

[heartblock]

Redwings....about a week ago on the pyracantha 😁

[Penguin68]

Mice who live in the garden (and are slightly brown rather than grey) are wood mice. They can come into the house but not to stay. House mice preferentially live in houses,and are dust grey

[heartblock]

Or were they fieldfares? As man city had a flock....I dunno now 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Sue]

Nigello Wrote:

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> I have a mouse or two in teh garden but cannot

> make out whether it is a house or wild variety. It

> eats suet balls from the bird feeder which is ok

> with me. A cat often sits near the bushes so

> perhaps there is a nest there, suggesting it is

> indeed a non-domestic variety. Does anyone else

> have mice outside but not inside?

I would have said yes, as I have mice in the garden both in the summer and winter, but very recently I have seen a mouse inside - no sign of droppings etc.

I'm very careful not to leave food out, but I had some suet balls by the back door waiting to be put out, and there were signs of nibbling 🤣

Lesson learned! 🤣

[malumbu]

Red wings have the red underneath and are often in flocks. Eg in Mayow park. I get much of my info from Winterwatch! (and the other seasonal ones) https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/natureuk/entries/0224cbff-d977-4053-aa7e-4cfe28bc70e1

[Nigello]

I saw about four or so redwings in D Park last week. Maybe there were more but I only clocked a small number.

[mancity68]

Apparently red wings and field fares often travel in mixed flocks.

[Lynne]

A very large bird just slowly sailed overhead, being mobbed by some sort of crow

Hadn't got the tail of a kite, so I'm wondering if it was a buzzard

if so, this would be a first as far as I'm concerned

[BrandNewGuy]

Very exciting - yes, buzzards have occasionally been seen, particularly around Sydenham Hill and Dulwich Woods. Not breeding yet, AFAIK.

[heartblock]

Buzzard how exciting.. I think my little flock were redwings, thank you for the link

[Sue]

Lynne Wrote:

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> A very large bird just slowly sailed overhead,

> being mobbed by some sort of crow

> Hadn't got the tail of a kite, so I'm wondering if

> it was a buzzard

> if so, this would be a first as far as I'm

> concerned

Lucky you!

[wolis]

Small flock (7-8) of Redwings in a rear garden in Tyrrell Rd. just now. Feasting on Rownan berries.

[tuscany se22]

6 - 8 Redwings hanging about in our garden eating berries

[malumbu]

Half a dozen goldfinches on the ground pecking at the grass, not seen this before and can't find anything on line. I've also put up a sunflower seed feeder by the nyger seed feeder which attracts gold finches, blue tits and great tits, which squabble a bit.

Doing the big garden birdwatch shortly

https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/everything-you-need-to-know-about-big-garden-birdwatch/

Love to know what binoculars people use, these ones seem decent mid range at about ?140 https://shopping.rspb.org.uk/binoculars/rspb-avocet-8-x-32-binoculars-2020.html

[RichH]

malumbu Wrote:

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> Love to know what binoculars people use, these

> ones seem decent mid range at about ?140

> https://shopping.rspb.org.uk/binoculars/rspb-avoce

> t-8-x-32-binoculars-2020.html

30+ year-old Leica BCA 8x20. For bird watching I find keeping the objective lens diameter to a minimum is advantageous. Traditional binoculars with large objective lenses seem to scare the birds as they perceive two enormous predatory eyes staring at them. But as you reduce the objective lens size it helps to go for the best quality within your budget to keep the light-gathering capability as high as possible. The RSPB ones look pretty decent, as you say.

[AylwardS]

malumbu Wrote:

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> Love to know what binoculars people use, these

> ones seem decent mid range at about ?140

> https://shopping.rspb.org.uk/binoculars/rspb-avoce

> t-8-x-32-binoculars-2020.html

If you can afford it look at the RSPB BG range. We had a pair of these for years before we traded up.

If you look at ones around ?100 go for a bigger size to let in more light. The difference between 8x32 at that price and 8x42 is noticeable.

The RSPB range is good for the price and your purchase supports a charity. When allowed to open again the RSPB reserve Rainham Marshes sells optics and you can try out various binoculars to see which you prefer. Within a price range it is a personal choice - how they feel and the view you get is different for different people.

If you can wait until things reopen to try out a few I?d say do that. As well as the RSPB Rainham Marshes the In Focus shop at WWT London Wetland Centre will let you try out various pairs. Try them out on a grey day not a sunny one - you?ll get a better idea of how they capture light.

[malumbu]

Cheers all. My hour counting birds yielded nothing particularly unusual and of course the second I look out of the window now I see far more activity. Didn't feel like cheating though!

[Sue]

malumbu Wrote:

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> Cheers all. My hour counting birds yielded

> nothing particularly unusual and of course the

> second I look out of the window now I see far more

> activity. Didn't feel like cheating though!

We had 8 sparrows, two wood pigeons and three mice.

Two what might have been great tits in a tree overlooking my garden, don't think that counts.

One crow flew over, don't think that counts either.

The peacock didn't show up this year 🤣

ETA: Interested in the info about binoculars, thanks.