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Bird question
On 8/4/08 12:04, in article
, "Des Higgins" wrote: On Apr 7, 11:47 pm, Sacha wrote: 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? -- Sachahttp://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon 'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.' Black Redstart? They are robin sized; females are cocoa brown and males are sooty black. The tail is red when "flashed" (flicked kind of liike a wagtail). No but that's lovely. I've never seen one. -- Sacha http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon 'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.' |
Bird question
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.' |
Bird question
On 8/4/08 12:47, in article , "The
Old OakTree" wrote: 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? Sounds as if it could be a Dunnock? It used to be called a Hedge Sparrow, and it looks superficially like a sparrow, though it's not actually a sparrow but an accentor. They do flick their tails, though I wouldn't describe it as wagging like a wagtail. Yes I think that's the most probable. It's not the almost constant wag of a wagtail but the occasional flick, yes, so I think that clinches it. Thanks everyone, this has been so helpful! -- Sacha http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon 'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.' |
Bird question
On 8/4/08 13:30, in article
, "Cat(h)" wrote: On Apr 7, 11:47*pm, Sacha wrote: 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? -- Sachahttp://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon 'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.' I think birdwatchers have a term for those... LBJs, as in Little Brown Jobs :-) Cat(h) (who only recently cottoned on that what she took to be girly sparrows were in fact dunnocks). I saw Echinosum had used that but didn't know it was a technical term. ;-)) -- Sacha http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon 'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.' |
Bird question
"Sacha" wrote in message ... On 8/4/08 12:47, in article , "The Old OakTree" wrote: 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? Sounds as if it could be a Dunnock? It used to be called a Hedge Sparrow, and it looks superficially like a sparrow, though it's not actually a sparrow but an accentor. They do flick their tails, though I wouldn't describe it as wagging like a wagtail. Yes I think that's the most probable. It's not the almost constant wag of a wagtail but the occasional flick, yes, so I think that clinches it. Thanks everyone, this has been so helpful! -- Sacha Very easy to confuse. I have had great difficulty with that one. You are not alone. Happy Twitching Mike -- www.rneba.org.uk. The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association. 'THE' Association to find your ex-Greenie mess mates. |
Bird question
"Donna Ludlow" wrote in message ... Dunnock??? That's what I think. They tend to keep close to the ground. We've had a pair for years. Mary |
Bird question
On Apr 8, 2:40*pm, Sacha wrote:
On 8/4/08 10:40, in article , "Donna Ludlow" wrote: Dunnock??? Very much looks like it. *It was certainly on its own and was fossicking about at the base of a laurel hedge. *I think that may well be it and now I'm going to have to go and see if I can see it again! * I'll throw some seed out where I first spotted it. *Thank you, Donna. Hmmm.. Fossicking. I've just learned a new word. Thanks Sacha! Cat(h) |
Bird question
Any time :) I only thought it could be a dunnock after seeing a sparrow
like bird in the garden and wondered what on earth it was myself. The robin doesnt like it in the garden that is for sure, always chasing mine away... Poor thing... lol... |
Bird question
On 8/4/08 17:22, in article , "Donna
Ludlow" wrote: Any time :) I only thought it could be a dunnock after seeing a sparrow like bird in the garden and wondered what on earth it was myself. The robin doesnt like it in the garden that is for sure, always chasing mine away... Poor thing... lol... Here, the robins and blackbirds seem more preoccupied with chasing each other! The blackbirds are particularly aggressive and all ours have the orange bills we see on Scilly. They can spend hours hammer and tonging it either side of a pane of greenhouse glass! -- Sacha http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon 'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.' |
Bird question
On 8/4/08 16:52, in article
, "Cat(h)" wrote: On Apr 8, 2:40*pm, Sacha wrote: On 8/4/08 10:40, in article , "Donna Ludlow" wrote: Dunnock??? Very much looks like it. *It was certainly on its own and was fossicking about at the base of a laurel hedge. *I think that may well be it and now I'm going to have to go and see if I can see it again! * I'll throw some seed out where I first spotted it. *Thank you, Donna. Hmmm.. Fossicking. I've just learned a new word. Thanks Sacha! Cat(h) ;-) I have no idea of its origins or even if it's a 'real' word but it does describe such an action perfectly. -- Sacha http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon 'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.' |
Bird question
"Sacha" wrote in message ... On 8/4/08 16:52, in article , "Cat(h)" wrote: On Apr 8, 2:40 pm, Sacha wrote: On 8/4/08 10:40, in article , "Donna Ludlow" wrote: Dunnock??? Very much looks like it. It was certainly on its own and was fossicking about at the base of a laurel hedge. I think that may well be it and now I'm going to have to go and see if I can see it again! I'll throw some seed out where I first spotted it. Thank you, Donna. Hmmm.. Fossicking. I've just learned a new word. Thanks Sacha! Cat(h) ;-) I have no idea of its origins or even if it's a 'real' word but it does describe such an action perfectly. -- Sacha http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon 'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossicking Kind regards Mike -- www.rneba.org.uk. The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association. 'THE' Association to find your ex-Greenie mess mates. |
Bird question
Hmmm.. Fossicking. I've just learned a new word.
Cat(h) ;-) I have no idea of its origins or even if it's a 'real' word but it does describe such an action perfectly. Sacha It's real enough - I wondered if it was ultimately derived from Latin 'fossa' meaning a ditch or excavation, but according to Chambers Dictionary, it is an Australian term, possibly connected with an English dialect word meaning a troublesome person. |
Bird question
On 9/4/08 09:24, in article ,
"Martin" wrote: On Tue, 08 Apr 2008 23:44:01 +0100, Sacha wrote: On 8/4/08 17:22, in article , "Donna Ludlow" wrote: Any time :) I only thought it could be a dunnock after seeing a sparrow like bird in the garden and wondered what on earth it was myself. The robin doesnt like it in the garden that is for sure, always chasing mine away... Poor thing... lol... Here, the robins and blackbirds seem more preoccupied with chasing each other! The blackbirds are particularly aggressive and all ours have the orange bills we see on Scilly. They can spend hours hammer and tonging it either side of a pane of greenhouse glass! The green parakeet is back in the chestnut tree. It rips buds off at an alarming rate. I wondered why the lawn was covered with buds yesterday. I can imagine that they aren't popular with fruit growers. I wonder why they do that. It's a bit like sparrows or whatever-it-is tearing the middles out of Primulas. -- Sacha http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon 'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.' |
Bird question
On 9/4/08 09:28, in article ,
"Martin" wrote: On Tue, 08 Apr 2008 23:45:01 +0100, Sacha wrote: On 8/4/08 16:52, in article , "Cat(h)" wrote: On Apr 8, 2:40*pm, Sacha wrote: On 8/4/08 10:40, in article , "Donna Ludlow" wrote: Dunnock??? Very much looks like it. *It was certainly on its own and was fossicking about at the base of a laurel hedge. *I think that may well be it and now I'm going to have to go and see if I can see it again! * I'll throw some seed out where I first spotted it. *Thank you, Donna. Hmmm.. Fossicking. I've just learned a new word. Thanks Sacha! Cat(h) ;-) I have no idea of its origins or even if it's a 'real' word but it does describe such an action perfectly. Cornwall via Oz? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossicking Well there you are! I'm bilingual and I didn't even know it. ;-)) -- Sacha http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon 'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.' |
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