Swan Swam Over the Lake

The pond we often visit for walks/Pokémon hunting used to have a swan couple. they were kind of the mascots of the village, featuring on signs, they were looked after and taken in during winter, but last year the unthinkable happened: a swan divorce! One of them left and the other one soon vanished (died?), so for the last year there were no swans. Now they got a new swan family, complete with cygnets.

BTW, shortly before I took these from a safe distance, a lady let her baby(!) up to one metre to the swans. But guess whom she would have blamed if the baby had gotten eaten…

Wood Pidgeon

This was the first time I have seen this bird near my house.

Soaring Birds of Prey

A couple of high fliers on the hunt, from Avalus.

…2 different birds of prey, not easy to capture with them on the move.

There are many birds of prey hunting on the fields between my home and University but they are hard to capture in flight.

Hummingbird Tongues are Weird

Last week I posted a story from kestrel about her rescue of a hummingbird. A few days later, this video crossed my desk, and it explains why the bird was likely so calm – torpor, which is a bit like going into a coma when you sleep. The video also covers a lot of general information about hummingbirds, focusing on their perfectly adapted and unique tongues. This channel is a bit irreverent, but their videos are humorous, engaging and well researched.

Storks Doing Stork Stuff

Avalus is treating us to a closer look at these magnificent birds, this time including a short video. No photos of delivering babies. I guess they do that in secret.

First a stork preeening…

And now a stork doing I know not what. Avalus suggests maybe hunting or possibly yoga. (Avalus apologizes for the quality of sound, explaining he is unfamiliar with video art and editing. He suggests you may want to turn your sound down, but I didn’t find it problematic.)

A Rare and Special Hummingbird Encounter

I have something very special to share today, from kestrel. I’ll let her tell the story,

The other day I was working near the scarlet runner beans when I saw a hummingbird behaving a little strangely.

You might think, “But that’s what hummingbirds do – drink from flowers!” And I would agree with you. The strange thing was, this hummingbird was behaving like this right next to me. I took these with my phone!

As I observed the hummingbird more closely (this is a Western Broad-Tailed Hummingbird, I believe a juvenile male) he seemed exhausted. He is in one of my pens for chickens. It’s got a net over the top, to keep predators out of my chickens, but hummingbirds can easily fly down through the net. Most are intelligent enough to then fly back UP through the net, but this one I suspected had been in there for quite a while, due to being young and silly, and not knowing about that flying up thing.

Yep. Looks pretty exhausted. So, I went in there, and was able to walk up to him and pick him up in my hand. I carried him out of the pen and took him over to the hummingbird feeder. He acted like a trained pet parrot; he stood perched quietly on my finger, and when I brought him to the feeder, he very calmly stepped onto the feeder like he had been doing that his whole life.

Once on the feeder, he sunk his beak in all the way and then drank for over a minute. No dainty sipping here; I think this guy was near the end of his reserves. I stood by the feeder to stop any other hummingbird from chasing him away, until he was able to fly away on his own. Fly well, little bird, and remember, “up” is a direction too!

Storks on the Hunt

Avalus is doing some fieldwork with his new camera and he’s spied this flock of storks. He tells me that they’ve been around for awhile and hints that we may see them again.

Wednesday Wings: Haven’t you grown?!!!

It’s been a while since I posted an update on our adorable Nile geese.

The first pics are from two weeks ago.

They have almost their parents’ colouring and size, only the heads are still darker. Sadly, 7 gosducklings turned into 4, but nature is a cruel place where often adorable baby birds turn into a fox’s next meal.

On Monday we met again, and one of them was just as interested in me, as I was in it.

There was no aggression in its behaviour, just pure curiosity in that strange creature with a box for a face.

Not an Ugly Duckling in Sight

The cygnets of Edinborough are growing quickly and Anne, Cranky Cat Lady’s daughter, Emily Davis, has sent us an update.

The cygnets are looking more swan-shaped, look at their long necks!

A Fledgling Comes to Visit

There’s a robin’s nest in the eaves over my front porch, and I haven’t got the heart to evict them. Instead, I provide them with a birdbath and a regular supply of mealworms. In return, they’re cheerful to have around and provide me with lots of pleasant chirping and peeping and poop. I could do without the poop, but it’s a package deal, so I try not to grumble about the mess. It cleans up quickly enough with the hose.

This morning I heard one of the young birds making a fuss, so I went to the door expecting to see one of the parents out hunting in the yard. Instead, I found this little fellow sitting on the arm of my wicker rocking chair, looking a bit dazed and confused about what to do next. I watched him for about 20 minutes from inside the house as he quietly looked all around, trying to process this new perspective on the world. He spread his wings a few times, and I could see he had his flight feathers but hadn’t quite figured out how to use them. His mama was watching over him from a nearby tree, so I shut the door and walked away from it, hoping that mama would feel safe enough to come to his aid. Over the next 2 hours, I checked on him from the window, and the only thing that happened was that he took a nap. That seemed like a good opportunity to sneak out the side door with my camera, and I took a few snapshots through the railing before leaving him to the care of his still hovering mama. The next time I went to the window to check on him, he was gone. Bye, Bye, Birdie. Thanks for cheering me up 0n day eleventy-seven of the pandemic.

More Adorable Fluffiness

Last week we saw this fuzzy clutch of cygnets all huddled together in the nest. Today we get to see them venture forth and go for a swim. Thanks to Anne, Cranky Cat Lady and her daughter Emily Davis for sharing them with us.

Adorable Balls of Fluff

These sweet floofy faces were photographed by Emily Davis, who is the daughter of Anne, Cranky Cat Lady.

Emily has been watching the swans at Holyrood Park during her daily bird walks. They’re nesting, and today she has pictures of fuzzy cygnets.

Beautiful Buntings

From Nightjar,

Just sharing a couple of cirl buntings I’ve been seeing regularly around here.

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Swan Swam Over the Lake

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Wood Pidgeon

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Soaring Birds of Prey

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Hummingbird Tongues are Weird

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Storks Doing Stork Stuff

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A Rare and Special Hummingbird Encounter

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Storks on the Hunt

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Wednesday Wings: Haven’t you grown?!!!

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Not an Ugly Duckling in Sight

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A Fledgling Comes to Visit

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More Adorable Fluffiness

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Adorable Balls of Fluff

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Beautiful Buntings

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