Thursday 27 February 2020

From My Window

Earlier in the week, while I was out for a walk, I managed to step into a hole and hurt my back. I've done it before and know that the cure is to keep moving but keep warm. So what could be better than staying indoors and getting up every few minutes to watch the wildlife through my porch window.


Most of these will be very familiar to people from the UK but maybe not so well-known to those from further afield. I probably don't need to tell anyone that the first photo is of a Robin. Their old name used to be Redbreast, but at some time in the past it became popular to give some birds human names - Robin Redbreast, Jenny Wren and Tom Tit, for example. Now we think of the proper name as Robin, while Robin Redbreast is something for children's books.


Here's another - Jack-Daw. Yes, these small crows used to be called just plain Daws till some playful person added Jack to their name. They've been Jackdaws ever since.


I recently hung up a feeder on my shed for a few weeks. It was not the most successful experiment; this Great Tit was the only visitor I had.


The pigeon family are not universally popular, though the Stock Dove generally escapes too much criticism, indeed most people don't even know that such a bird exists. They are a little smaller than the Wood Pigeons that can devastate farmers' crops and used to delight in uprooting my cabbage plants as soon as I'd planted them in my mother's garden. And they're a bit bigger than the Collared Doves that make such a mess if you have bird feeders.


Blackbirds already think it's Spring and some of them can be heard singing in the mornings and superb singers they are, though we're so used to them that they're not as much appreciated as the Nightingale or the Blackcap for example. But this morning it didn't look so Spring-like....


This Grey Squirrel sought shelter behind a tree as we had the first snowfall of the year in this part of England - it may even be the first snow this little creature has ever seen.


This male Chaffinch wasn't much impressed either as he searched the ground under the bird feeders for any fallen seeds.


A gang of Starlings suddenly descended and grabbed everything they could, scaring away some of the smaller birds. This one has a leg ring but I couldn't get a shot where I could make out the number.


Up in the tree there was a Great Spotted Woodpecker. It's one of those birds that's not as big as its name suggests or most people imagine - only a fraction bigger than a Starling.


This little Muntjac deer passed by in the field just beyond where we've been looking at the birds. They are quite numerous around here and I often hear them "barking" at night.

As I look out of the window now the snow has just about disappeared - it might well be the last we see in this mildest, but wettest, of winters.


Take care.



24 comments:

  1. You are so lucky to have these birds to look at.
    I have lived here for 56 years and in that time have watched the wild life decline.
    I live in an ordinary street in Brighton uk and used to see Bats, Thrushes, Swallows, Swifts and House Martins among several others, but no longer. People around here have paved their gardens over for cars and the railway line nearby has been stripped out of anything green. I am sad about this.
    Briony
    x

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  2. What a delightful group of visitors John, I love all your little birds. I get woken up by the song of the mudlark, which I enjoy, sometimes the chattering of the rainbow lorikeets. I don't enjoy waking to the sounds of Mr and Mrs Crow exchanging raucous caws in my birdbath 😊 I'll always think of robins as robin redbreasts 💙

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  3. Lovely visitors to your garden. Blackbirds have started siging in the mornings here too. We have chaffinches visit but no woodpeckers or stock doves just the collard doves. Last night we heard a tawny owl and also the foxes barking:)

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  4. I only ever see mourning doves on the ground beneath feeders. I think pigeons tend to go to cities around here...may be wrong because I seldom go to cities to birdwatch! Yes, singing birds are delightful in mornings here too (Black Mountain NC)

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  5. Sometimes it can take the birds a while to find a feeder, but when they do, there is no stopping them.
    Sorry to learn that you have hurt your back, do get better soon John.

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  6. You do see such beautiful birds out your window. The Robins there are so different the ones we call Robins here. We used to see many more species just a few years ago, but there's been a noticeable decline. Although, the Robins are definitely out in big numbers this year. Love that Muntjac. Hope your back is feeling better.

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  7. I especially like your shot of the Jackdaw John - you have just caught him in a typical pose.

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  8. I hope your back is well on the mend, and thoroughly enjoyed seeing so many things whose names I know well which I will not see for myself (with the exception of the pigeons and the starlings). Thank you.

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  9. I love your Robin...not that ours isn't nice. But your is just so pretty. I had not heard of the Stock Dove at all. Have of course seen Blackbirds and Starlings...the others I have seen of on blogs. And just simply love seeing them.

    I hope your back is better soon...that is no fun.

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  10. Great series of common British birds, no less delightful for their familiarity.

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  11. Beautiful birds. Thanks for sharing.

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  12. It may be that the feeder takes time to draw attention.

    The deer is quite different from the white-tailed variety I'm used to.

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  13. A veritable smorgasbord of wildlife through your porch window! Take care of that back and hope you are better soon.

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  14. Very well done for just looking out the window. Now North Americans really didn't get robin. We call a thrush a robin.

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  15. Looking out your window, you definitely get a delightful view of all your visitors. An enjoyable way to spend the day. Take care and be careful, sore backs are not good.
    Thanks for sharing this wonderful post and narrative.

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  16. I enjoyed your feathered friends and others. That was a poor excuse for snow, John. Lucky you.

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  17. Keep getting that exercise between your chair and the windows!

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  18. Interesting how there are similar, but not quite the same,birds on either side of the pond. Our robins also have a reddish breast but, I believe, are larger and darker on their backs. The Great Tit looks a lot like our Black-capped chickadee. The Great Spotted Woodpecker looks a lot like our Downy Woodpecker. The starling is the same as ours - we could do with fewer of them. We get red-winged blackbirds which also announce spring.
    Hope your back feels better soon. Over here we have cloth bags filled with dried peas(I think) that you heat up in the microwave and they work wonders for any aches and pains. And yes, many gentle movements.

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  19. You sure had some great visitors to your yard, John, and a bit of snow as well it seemed. We also see birds outside our window and they are in the river below, mostly Canada Geese, various gulls, ducks and that's about it. I like your variety much better.

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  20. What a lovely selection of birds from my childhood.

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  21. Hi John - hope your back improves ... I messed up my knee on a trip to London this week ... so am hobbling around ... but I will get out - needs must. Lovely photos - and great to see 'so many' in your garden and over the fence - cheers Hilary

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  22. How nice you have such different species of feathery visitors! I have only Japanese white-eyes and Brown-eared bulbul to my garden at this time of year and hear bush warbler singing in the distance. I also see black birds on the vantage points in the surroundings; they are not Blackbirds(so cute in your photo) but Crows. The downside of their visits is droppings left here and there. Hope your back has gotten better.

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  23. So enjoyed your bird pictures, - I have dozens of English Sparrows, the occasional woodpecker and some ring-necked pigeons and lots of quail, but nothing exotic here in town!! I look forward to driving into the country to hear the first meadowlark!!

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  24. What a good range of species you got for your 'wildlife from my window' day! I'm so late commenting on this one but hope that means your back is much improved now.

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