On 8/4/08 12:46, in article ,
"echinosum" wrote:

'Sacha[_3_ Wrote:
;783094']I'm bad indeed at bird recognition but I saw one the other day
that I really
do not recall before. It was a very little larger than a sparrow and
much
the same colour but while it was on the ground, its tail had a
constant
'bobbing' action, rather like a wagtail. Can anyone help me ID this
one?

Pipits are dull brown birds allied to the wagtails, bob around a bit.
Little brown jobs all three regular species here, probably need an
electron microscope to tell them for sure.
Whitethroats are fairly dull have quite a long tail which they bob, but
I've never positively identified one. Long-tailed tits aren't remotely
sparrow coloured.

I've changed my birdseeds this year, and we have attracted an entirely
different crowd from usual. Goldfinches are now the most common bird in
my garden. I used to put out niger seeds, but they didn't attract them,
it is pre-shelled sunflower seeds that has pulled them in, the lazy
wotsits. Siskins and bramblings have been frequent, birds which I had
not positively identified before. I initially mistook the bramblings
for (winter plumage) linnets, which we have had occasionally in the
past.



I don't think that's what I saw but we do have them around here and often
see quite a few darting in and out of hedgerows along the lanes.
I've put a lot of niger seed in two feeders and nobody seems interested in
it so I'll have to re-fill with the mixture. Peanuts are going down well as
are sultanas and bits of left over cake and scone crumbs!


--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'