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."

"Nice one. Earlier just parked up and what i thought was a leaf swirling around and then hitting car window before falling to the ground turned out to be a goldfinch fledgling. Poor little thing was startled, no sign of parents and it being next to a busy road I picked it up and took it into our garden. Held it for a few minutes and then released it and thankfully it flew off really well into neighbours trees."

"Some flipping good spots, here."

"Some flipping good spots, here."

Saw a pair of Wheatears on a feeder in Yorkshire a couple of weeks ago

"Passed through Eguisheim in Alsace, France where they have storks living in huge great messy nests in the middle of a very picturesque little town. Very amusing and beautiful creatures. Lovely."

"Nurse Ratched 1:55 Thu Aug 10 Thanks Nurse, yes it's Merlin I am using :-) Had a Spotted Flycatcher in the garden yesterday!"

Nurse Ratched 1:56 Thu Aug 10 Ah shame. Thanks for the Merlin recommendation a few weeks back. It is really good at picking through multiple birds singing at once and a handy way of learning to identify the songs as well. I went on a Nightjar walk a few weeks ago in the Ashdown Forest. Did not see any but did hear them - they are bloody noisy at dusk (Merlin got them as well). Almost all of the nesting birds have gone now except Wood Pigeons having yet another go. It is definitely quantity over quality for them as their nests are a total disaster area. Did see a pair of jays and swifts swooping overhead yesterday. After all the miserable rain the bats are back and watching them at dusk is marvellous. Also the Tawny Owls have started calling to each other again. Marking out their territories and gearing up for the next breeding season probably.

Birding doldrums. ‚ò?Ô?è

"Snareston - depends on the app. I'm on Android, and I've probably tried all of them for our region (Britain/Northern Europe). By far the best and most accurate is 'Merlin'. After downloading it, you then download a packet of data specific to your region. I can't fault it so far."

"Toms, where I work in Bristol, all the offices have the usual type of plants that you see in every office district in every city, bar one place. It's a new hotel that have employed a company to come up with something different, and what they've done is used wild flowers only - it's BY FAR the best display for many a square mile and I'd imagine a lot cheaper than the other plants too. Also get loads of bees around it. I don't know why every city doesn't go in for a lot more of it."

"Whu Exeter, lovely plant and will self seed and spread given half a chance."

How accurate are these bird apps that record and match bird songs? Recorded for 40 minutes yesterday and had 21 different types of birds in and around our garden :-)

"Put quite a bit of Mexican Fleabane down in the garden a few weeks ago, now have ladybirds, which I’ve not seen in my garden for at least 10 years."

"Yes, magpie sounds are not the most relaxing."

"Family of magpies with two new ones in the garden behind. I’m glad the two little ones have grown up quickly. I love birdsong, one of my favourite things, but the sound of little magpies demanding food for the best part of a day can take its toll."

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"Keep an eye on them if you can Nurse . I once saw two Jays consume a new family of Blue Tits , nothing I could do about it . They literally tilted their head back and swallowed the poor fuckers whole . Nature eh ?"

The great tits have brought their fledglings to my garden to show them where the grub is. Absolute chaos with parents being run ragged by squeaking babies demanding to be fed. Happy day today.

"I’m out in Jersey at the mo, nothing out of the ordinary as yet although having a gentle swim in a quiet bay a cormorant popped up about ten yards from me , I dunno who was more surprised , it hung around for about ten seconds before diving . Saw a red squirrel very close this morning ."

"On holiday, lovely place, hotel immaculate - funny enough remarked to Mrs C that aside of anything else, there wasn't even any bird guano in spite of gulls - transpires there is a good reason Well a first for me, got close and personal with a Harris Hawk and saw the beauty in action The hotel has a resident 'bird controller' with his 'gull operative' He periodically appears and at the sight of intruding herberts, sets his hawk loose, swooping and turning through the terraces, then returning for a reward perched on his wrist I had a good chat with the bloke and was able to observe the hawk at a 2ft distance - absolutely stunning bird, hefty beak and scissor hand talons No wonder it doesn't ever get to the terminal point with the gulls, they are off sharp at the mere sight An unexpected holiday highlight"

"I'm very fortunate to live in a greenfinch enclave. Beautiful, fierce-faced little things. Underrated singers."

"House Sparrows up, Greenfinches down. Rubbish."

Jazz is aural farm slurry.

Jazz is aural farm slurry.

Pesky poofy white cat from down the road murdered a wood pigeon on my front lawn yesterday event. The little white shit is in for a thorough soaking when next I see it. Has to be said it did leave the ex pigeon's feathers in a very neat pile...