Hobbies and Crafts

Brewers Blackbird.. American bird named after Thomas Mayo Brewer The one you spotted was the male bird. The hen bird has brownish grey plumage. The eyes are dark. It is not related to the English blackbird. The Eastern species belongs to the
same genus as the American Blackbird This is known as the Rusty Blackbird.
It is unusual to spot American birds in English gardens. Probably the one you saw was an "escape" from some aviary. Just a suggestion. Caldervale

Looking out of the kitchen window this afternoon something caught my eye.
It was a tiny bird on the side of the brick wall. It was a bluetit..... no mistaking
that with the blue an yellow colour. Haven't seen one of these for a long time!

No strange little bird seen here today but we had a wild baby bunny rabbit!!
We have fields at the beginning of the village but have never had any rabbits
in the street. We had our gt nephew a very lively little toddler. It was the only
time that he was quiet and sitting still as we waited for the rabbit to appear from
the shrubbery. His little face was a picture of joy when the baby rabbit came out.

I am still puzzling about this new little bird. I Googled Dunnock Vera and we call
this bird a hedge sparrow. The strange little bird came back yesterday and today.
I have been able to have a longer look and his head is not entirely black as I had first thought. It looks like a sparrow but smaller and quicker in its movements. It has black stripes on its head and dark marking on its back feathers??? Definitely some kind of
sparrow/siskin/finch??? not sure what though. I am going dizzy Googling it!

I had to stop and think what a hedge sparrow looked like and then realised it is the bird I call a dunnock.

I've had a look at the RSPB bird identifier site and haven't come up with anything that really fits your description. House and tree sparrows have the stripes on the back but not the black head, the blackcap has the head colour but not the stripes. This one's a bit of a puzzle. Let us know if you find out what it is.

This morning I have seen a new little bird in the garden. At first I thought that it was
a hedge sparrow as it had the same colouring but it was slightly smaller and had a black head and black stripes on its back, any ideas what this little bird could be please?

We get blackbirds singing here and lots and lots of sparrows plus the occasional paraqueet.

A blackbird singing has got to be one of the loveliest sounds. I sat in our conservatory yesterday listening to one on our roof and it was so beautiful.

OH is getting annoyed as the birds are pulling all the blossoms off the hawthorn tree :-|

It's really interesting seeing the blackbirds and starlings feeding their young.
The new robin is still here and quite tame. He doesn't mind me being around.
The blackbird has been singing around dinner time..... just amazing to hear him.

I hope Ann and Jane are enjoying time relaxing with their hubbies on holiday.

Poor bird Vera. In case I don't get on here, enjoy your holiday. I missed Jane I think, hope she has a great time in France. It is sooo hot here today I have to keep coming inside to cool down. :-) :-)

Have a great time Jane. You're going to Paris and Avignon aren't you? I love Paris. Never been to Avignon but it's on the "to do" list. We are off to Majorca with a large group of friends at the end of the week.

We have just arrived back from our annual weekend get-together with OH's siblings and partners and found a dead young blackbird outside the conservatory. Our cat is in the cattery and there are no feathers around to indicate a kill by a neighbourhood cat so I think it must have flown into the glass. Poor thing :-(

The robin is still bobbing about in the garden.

Mostly starlings here today though..... as hungry as always. Interesting watching
them feed their young ones though.

Have a safe journey Jane. Hope you both have a lovely time.

Robins are so funny aren't they.They don't mind being close to us Humans :-D OH often has one following him around the veg patches :-D

Of in a couple of hours .Can't wait to get going now.France here I come :-D :-D
I must remember to remind my son to FEED THE BIRDS :-D

The new little robin is very tame. I have been weeding and the robin has
been really close to me. Great!

Could it have been a big thrush Vera? I think they look a bit similar.I usually see the Field fares in large groups over in the horses fields.

My window feeder is taking much longer to empty .(I am not complaining :-D )

It was good to see the photos Ann and to be reminded of Madeira.

Yesterday just as I was going out a neighbour called me and insisted there was a fieldfare on my roof. Looking up, all I could really see was a brownish bird of roughly the right size and shape. It would be lovely to think it was a fieldfare but I've only seen them before in small flocks in late autumn. This one was on its own and either was late leaving or very, very early arriving here. It was probably a female blackbird but neighbour was sure she knew best, even dragging her poor window cleaner into the discussion!

The good thing about these digital cameras is that you can take as many photos as you like and then delete the ones you don't want.So light weight too :-DNo bulky camera bags and straps.Before we went digital and were in Venice,my OH left our camera on the Vaporetto (the water bus) :-S :-S.That holiday was a bit doomed as I had had my purse stolen at Stantead Airport just before we flew.

We have some iffy looking clouds here now.I think we might be in for a bit of thunder ..

Thank goodness for digital cameras. I have always been the same and it was a nightmare when you had to pay for films and developing.

:-D You take as many photos as I do Ann on hols :-D :-D

Glad you enjoyed them. Yes the doors were great as was the market.