For the last few days I've seen a couple of birds (probably a pair)
flying into the old Cedar tree at the bottom of our lawn. They also
walk on the ground below the tree, probably feeding and/or collecting
nesting material. They seem fairly 'bold' and not scared off when I
opened the window or other birds fly around them.

This morning, I saw them mobbing a rook & driving it off, so perhaps
they were objecting to it investigating their nest. That tree is also a
rookery. I'm the only one that's seen them and that's from our bedroom
window which is quite a distance from the tree. At best guess, I'd say
that they're roughly the size of a blackbird, perhaps a bit bigger and
may have a light or speckled breast.

This morning some of the nursery team heard a bird call they'd never
heard before and I heard it this afternoon. It's an extremely fast
sound and made me think of someone sawing wildly at a violin! Greg
thought it was like a car alarm going off! I've tried id-ing the sound
on the various sites and the closest seems to be a nightjar but the
behaviour surely makes that impossible? It's around during the day!
Anyone got any suggestions as to what it could possibly be? I'm
assuming it's something that isn't usually in these parts and that -
perhaps - extreme weather in other parts of the country have driven it
further SW. The general behaviour looks as if it's building a nest in
the Cedar or at least, thinking about it. Naturally, when I went
outside and stood there like a frozen thing this afternoon, it didn't
show as much as a wingtip!
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

"Sacha" wrote


For the last few days I've seen a couple of birds (probably a pair)
flying into the old Cedar tree at the bottom of our lawn. They also
walk on the ground below the tree, probably feeding and/or collecting
nesting material. They seem fairly 'bold' and not scared off when I
opened the window or other birds fly around them.

This morning, I saw them mobbing a rook & driving it off, so perhaps
they were objecting to it investigating their nest. That tree is also a
rookery. I'm the only one that's seen them and that's from our bedroom
window which is quite a distance from the tree. At best guess, I'd say
that they're roughly the size of a blackbird, perhaps a bit bigger and
may have a light or speckled breast.

This morning some of the nursery team heard a bird call they'd never
heard before and I heard it this afternoon. It's an extremely fast
sound and made me think of someone sawing wildly at a violin! Greg
thought it was like a car alarm going off! I've tried id-ing the sound
on the various sites and the closest seems to be a nightjar but the
behaviour surely makes that impossible? It's around during the day!
Anyone got any suggestions as to what it could possibly be? I'm
assuming it's something that isn't usually in these parts and that -
perhaps - extreme weather in other parts of the country have driven it
further SW. The general behaviour looks as if it's building a nest in
the Cedar or at least, thinking about it. Naturally, when I went
outside and stood there like a frozen thing this afternoon, it didn't
show as much as a wingtip!


Try listening to a Fieldfare, seems to fit the description.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On 2013-03-29 17:41:31 +0000, Bob Hobden said:

"Sacha" wrote


For the last few days I've seen a couple of birds (probably a pair)
flying into the old Cedar tree at the bottom of our lawn. They also
walk on the ground below the tree, probably feeding and/or collecting
nesting material. They seem fairly 'bold' and not scared off when I
opened the window or other birds fly around them.

This morning, I saw them mobbing a rook & driving it off, so perhaps
they were objecting to it investigating their nest. That tree is also a
rookery. I'm the only one that's seen them and that's from our bedroom
window which is quite a distance from the tree. At best guess, I'd say
that they're roughly the size of a blackbird, perhaps a bit bigger and
may have a light or speckled breast.

This morning some of the nursery team heard a bird call they'd never
heard before and I heard it this afternoon. It's an extremely fast
sound and made me think of someone sawing wildly at a violin! Greg
thought it was like a car alarm going off! I've tried id-ing the sound
on the various sites and the closest seems to be a nightjar but the
behaviour surely makes that impossible? It's around during the day!
Anyone got any suggestions as to what it could possibly be? I'm
assuming it's something that isn't usually in these parts and that -
perhaps - extreme weather in other parts of the country have driven it
further SW. The general behaviour looks as if it's building a nest in
the Cedar or at least, thinking about it. Naturally, when I went
outside and stood there like a frozen thing this afternoon, it didn't
show as much as a wingtip!


Try listening to a Fieldfare, seems to fit the description.

I don't think so, Bob but thank you. I think the mistle thrush that
was suggested on the bird group is more probable. I'll have to remember
to take camera and recorder to our room!
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

Are you assuming that the strange sound is being emitted by the pair in the cedar tree, or do you know that? It's conceivable that you have two new birds! That said, the mistle thrush alarm call is more like a night jar than the fieldfare alarm call. And if they're really nesting, then mistlethrush is resident, fieldfare is a winter visitor. Surprised you've not seen mistle thrushes before, though. They're not that common, but we have them gobbling our holly berries every year.

On 2013-03-30 10:20:44 +0000, kay said:

'Sacha[_10_ Wrote:
;979912']

I don't think so, Bob but thank you. I think the mistle thrush that
was suggested on the bird group is more probable. I'll have to remember

to take camera and recorder to our room!


Are you assuming that the strange sound is being emitted by the pair in
the cedar tree, or do you know that? It's conceivable that you have two
new birds! That said, the mistle thrush alarm call is more like a night
jar than the fieldfare alarm call. And if they're really nesting, then
mistlethrush is resident, fieldfare is a winter visitor. Surprised
you've not seen mistle thrushes before, though. They're not that common,
but we have them gobbling our holly berries every year.

I'm assuming! But it would be quite a coincidence. In fact, when I went
hunting round the bird call sites, I did think a nightjar was most
similar, other than the small fact of this bird being active throughout
the day. I've never seen a mistle thrush here but talking to Ray about
that possibility, he said he had seen them some years ago, in another
part of the garden. I haven't seen or heard them today, so I hope the
rooks haven't scared them off. I don't think we've ever seen
fieldfares but then, until last year or so, we hadn't seen long-tailed
tits, either!
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

In article ,
says...

On 2013-03-30 10:20:44 +0000, kay said:

'Sacha[_10_ Wrote:
;979912']

I don't think so, Bob but thank you. I think the mistle thrush that
was suggested on the bird group is more probable. I'll have to remember

to take camera and recorder to our room!


Are you assuming that the strange sound is being emitted by the pair in
the cedar tree, or do you know that? It's conceivable that you have two
new birds! That said, the mistle thrush alarm call is more like a night
jar than the fieldfare alarm call. And if they're really nesting, then
mistlethrush is resident, fieldfare is a winter visitor. Surprised
you've not seen mistle thrushes before, though. They're not that common,
but we have them gobbling our holly berries every year.

I'm assuming! But it would be quite a coincidence. In fact, when I went
hunting round the bird call sites, I did think a nightjar was most
similar, other than the small fact of this bird being active throughout
the day.

And the fact it's a migratory summer visitor, arrives late April to
mid May; given the cold spring and their insect diet, an early arrival
seems unlikely.

Janet

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2013-03-29 17:41:31 +0000, Bob Hobden said:

"Sacha" wrote


For the last few days I've seen a couple of birds (probably a pair)
flying into the old Cedar tree at the bottom of our lawn. They also walk
on the ground below the tree, probably feeding and/or collecting nesting
material. They seem fairly 'bold' and not scared off when I opened the
window or other birds fly around them.

This morning, I saw them mobbing a rook & driving it off, so perhaps
they were objecting to it investigating their nest. That tree is also a
rookery. I'm the only one that's seen them and that's from our bedroom
window which is quite a distance from the tree. At best guess, I'd say
that they're roughly the size of a blackbird, perhaps a bit bigger and
may have a light or speckled breast.

This morning some of the nursery team heard a bird call they'd never
heard before and I heard it this afternoon. It's an extremely fast sound
and made me think of someone sawing wildly at a violin! Greg thought it
was like a car alarm going off! I've tried id-ing the sound on the
various sites and the closest seems to be a nightjar but the behaviour
surely makes that impossible? It's around during the day! Anyone got
any suggestions as to what it could possibly be? I'm assuming it's
something that isn't usually in these parts and that - perhaps - extreme
weather in other parts of the country have driven it further SW. The
general behaviour looks as if it's building a nest in the Cedar or at
least, thinking about it. Naturally, when I went outside and stood
there like a frozen thing this afternoon, it didn't show as much as a
wingtip!


Try listening to a Fieldfare, seems to fit the description.

I don't think so, Bob but thank you. I think the mistle thrush that was
suggested on the bird group is more probable. I'll have to remember to
take camera and recorder to our room!
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

With the limited informaion I thought of Mistle Thrush as well.

Bill

I'll have to remember to
take camera and recorder to our room!


I didn't think this was that sort of group

On 2013-03-30 22:06:15 +0000, David Hill said:

I'll have to remember to
take camera and recorder to our room!


I didn't think this was that sort of group

I'm working on it! ;-))
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

"David Hill" wrote in message
...
I'll have to remember to
take camera and recorder to our room!


I didn't think this was that sort of group


Why not? with this cold weather gardening is out anyway :-)

Bill

Fieldfares and mistlethrushes are well known blackbird-sized odd noise makers, and in cold weather mistlethrushes tend to be seen in places they are not usually seen. At a glance, mistlethrush looks generally brown like a thrush or a Mrs Blackbird. Fieldfare looks generally grey.

99.9999% of winter hoopoe reports turn out to be jays, and 99.9999% of winter golden oriole reports turn out to be green woodpeckers. Nightjars are even harder to spot than those, so 99.9999% of winter nightjars are not nightjars also, especially in a part of the country nightjars are rarely found. Nightjars are not just rare, localised, migratory, like the previous, they are nocturnal. They specialise in lowland heath, and the heaths of central East Angular are their UK stronghold. I have a friend who has published many professional-quality bird photos on the web, including some rather lovely pictures of mistlethrushes and fieldfares there under "Birds of Wayside and Woodlands" Zenfolio | James Gibbs if you want to check them out. He has photos of many hard-to-see things, including hoopoes, but no nightjars: they are very hard indeed.

On 2013-04-08 10:53:36 +0100, echinosum said:

'Sacha[_10_ Wrote:
;979956']That said, the mistle thrush alarm call is more like a night
jar than the fieldfare alarm call.

I'm assuming! But it would be quite a coincidence. In fact, when I went

hunting round the bird call sites, I did think a nightjar was most
similar, other than the small fact of this bird being active throughout

the day.
Fieldfares and mistlethrushes are well known blackbird-sized odd noise
makers, and in cold weather mistlethrushes tend to be seen in places
they are not usually seen. At a glance, mistlethrush looks generally
brown like a thrush or a Mrs Blackbird. Fieldfare looks generally
grey.

snip

I might have caught a glimpse of the mistlethrush this morning but I'm
not certain because it's too far away to see clearly on a claggy day.
I do hope I'm right though. What we have also noticed is that the rooks
are coming down onto the lawn where the bird feeders hang and picking
up dropped seed and peanuts. This is unusual for them but they seem to
be hungry and I'm assuming that their usual sources of food are lacking
because of the cold weather. A bonus is that yesterday morning I saw a
song thrush close to the house. We know that they often nest on that
side of the place, so with luck we've got a family, or will have!
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk