West Ham Online

"I thought you might like this video.



It's a compilation of different birds singing. Beautiful photography. If you expand the 'title' under the video it gives a list of species and the times they pop up in the video. Most of the species are familiar to us in the UK, but there are some 'exotics' (the cranes - wow, what a noise!) It was filmed in Belarus. The guy has a channel you can subscribe to. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and maybe it'll take your mind off you-know-what for a few blessed minutes."

Blackcap

First one ever in my garden

I just weighed a monkey nut: 3 grams. 

A bluetit weighs 11 grams.

So that money nut was about a quarter of the bluetit's bodyweight. 

I just watched a bluetit peck into a monkey nut on the ground, then fly off with it! WTF??

This woman's channel is good fun.

I've seen videos on YouTube of kookaburras turning up each morning in people's gardens to be social with the humans. 

Nurse Ratched" wrote: ↑18 Jan 2025, 19:00 I've never seen a kingfisher. Would love to. 

You'd be surprised at how regularly they can be around but hard to spot. Get one in the pond in my town park in winter and people walk past oblivious to it. They fly fast and normally you just see a blink of bright blue flashing past. They are also much smaller than people imagine, probably not much bigger than a sparrow. Also, when they are perched, they often face you and their orange breat is really good camouflage in the reeds of embankment vegetation.
My kingfisher highlight was in Australia. The kookaburra is the world's largest kingfisher and unlike here gets very tame and shows up.anywhere, even not near water. I was in the bunya mountains and one.landed on my table at a bench outside a cafe. I was able to hand feed it chips.

I've never seen a kingfisher. Would love to. 

I’ve developed a bit of a fascination for Kingfishers. Bloody gorgeous little things. 

Chaffinch ! In my garden

I know that generally they are common, but not where I live. This has been a very good week.

I love firecrests. Mwrlin pick them up but have never seen in the garden but there are a few nearby woods that have lots of them. They are as close as you get to a humming bird in the UK.
There was starling who used to park himself on the roof of my old office at dusk and go through its impression routines on top the usual starling beatboxing. It did blackbird, wren, tawny owl, robin, grey wagtail, the default android ring tone with others and, best of all, truck reverse. We had a Scania garage on the next unit in the industrial estate and that one made me laugh.

Lee Trundle" wrote: ↑16 Jan 2025, 15:31 Speaking of lovely coloured birds, I saw my first YellowHAMMER of the year at the weekend.

Speaking of lovely coloured birds, I saw my first YellowHAMMER of the year at the weekend.

Clever cat!

My firecrest spot, in my scruffy urban neighbourhood, will not be bettered this year, I think. First one I have ever seen. I heard it calling in a tree on my street and whipped round to look for it because I wasn't familiar with the call. I knew it was something 'different'. Then I saw how tiny it was. It hung around for a while, flitting from branch to branch, still calling. I realised it was either a goldcrest or firecrest. I whipped out my Merlin app and it confirmed 'firecrest'. Just before it flew off I caught the bright head streak and eye stripe. I've had a spring in my step all day.

Just googled, what a lovely coloured little bird

Most exotic it gets in my garden is jays, I do love their colours.

That cat, no word of a lie has now twice mimicked nearby magpies. The first time I heard him doing it, I initially thought he had something stuck in his throat, but the second time he did directly after two magpies had been noisy. I googled cats mimicking magpies and apparently it's not unknown and there's some youtube footage of their efforts.

Firecrest!

Been to the East Grinstead Rudlof Steiner Emerson College place. Not exactly a cult but they manufacture beigeness there on a industrial scale - I shall never go there again and couldn't resist calling their man Adolf.

Arf! Sounds like a nutty place.

Nurse Ratched" wrote: ↑02 Jan 2025, 20:40

zebthecat wrote: ↑02 Jan 2025, 20:34 There was bird a fight in my garden this afternoon for the perching spots on the apple trees in my garden8-10 Herring Gulls appeared out of nowhere a couple of months ago - not seen a single one before in the 12 years I've lived here.
The Gulls were sunnign themselves in the upper branches of the trees this afternoon and a whole load of Javkdaws arrived. Have had Jackdaws nesting in a disused chimney for years and they all move on once the chicks have fledged but they are back to start nesting and breeding now.
After a lot of harassing and chasing the Jackdaws drove the Gulls out of trees and elsewhere. Interestingly a few Magpies joined in on the Jackdaws side.
The East Grinstead Corvid Massive ftw.



 

East Grinstead? Is that the place where all the cults plot up? I've been reading a bit about cults again over the last few days. You know how something sets you off and you go down the rabbit hole? I keep coming back to 'cults', for some reason. That and MK Ultra. 

zebthecat wrote: ↑02 Jan 2025, 20:34 There was bird a fight in my garden this afternoon for the perching spots on the apple trees in my garden8-10 Herring Gulls appeared out of nowhere a couple of months ago - not seen a single one before in the 12 years I've lived here.
The Gulls were sunnign themselves in the upper branches of the trees this afternoon and a whole load of Javkdaws arrived. Have had Jackdaws nesting in a disused chimney for years and they all move on once the chicks have fledged but they are back to start nesting and breeding now.
After a lot of harassing and chasing the Jackdaws drove the Gulls out of trees and elsewhere. Interestingly a few Magpies joined in on the Jackdaws side.
The East Grinstead Corvid Massive ftw.

 

There was bird a fight in my garden this afternoon for the perching spots on the apple trees in my garden8-10 Herring Gulls appeared out of nowhere a couple of months ago - not seen a single one before in the 12 years I've lived here.
The Gulls were sunnign themselves in the upper branches of the trees this afternoon and a whole load of Javkdaws arrived. Have had Jackdaws nesting in a disused chimney for years and they all move on once the chicks have fledged but they are back to start nesting and breeding now.
After a lot of harassing and chasing the Jackdaws drove the Gulls out of trees and elsewhere. Interestingly a few Magpies joined in on the Jackdaws side.
The East Grinstead Corvid Massive ftw.
 

Sunny (the stray cat) has pretty much doubled in size over the last 2 months. Not overfeeding him, but it's dawned on me that not only is he likely to be getting food from other neighbours, but we live near a load of takeaways and during the early hours he can probably tuck into the equivalent of a couple chickens, if he braves it with the foxes.

he (evidently) ain't going to go hungry, although at this rate I may need to get a bigger outside cat house....

Saw a Woodcock today , it got out of some bracken just in front of me . They don’t fly far before dropping down again , I’m sure they prefer to fly at night . 

Just took down a nest box I put up sometime in May or June - had been meaning to put it higher in the tree and thought it wouldn’t be housing anyone until this spring. But I couldn’t resist the curiosity of what was inside and, lo-and-behold, on opening it up I found it had been nested after all. The nest was a fine mix of moss, the bratchet’s hair and poop - extraordinarily compact and no doubt super comfy. So I’ve hastily put the box back up the tree in what I hope will be a higher, even more attractive location. Will now be watching it a lot more carefully with the old Weiss nocs.

Have a cornflower come up, in December…that’s really unusual isn’t it? 

anyone with experience of Helleborus Orientalist?

(sorry if it’s been asked before)…..

My woodpecker is back. You can all relax now.