Mum would have called this a "Polly Dishwasher". It's a Grey Wagtail - as a child I always thought they had got the name wrong as it had a lot of yellow on it - surely it was a YELLOW Wagtail? Here we call them Water Wagtails as they are always seen by water. We regularly see them down by the river, an also on our land as we have a stream at the back and the two ponds at the front. I never realized they were rare - let alone on the Red List. I see more of these than the common Pied Wagtail. Aren't we privileged?
Black Caps - male preening on the left and female with the brown head. Not at all rare (over 1,200,000 breeding pairs) but you don't SEE them that often. That said, I have seen them along the valley in spring and these ones have been nesting in the copse beside the paddock/stream here.
There are lots of Thrushes around too. Several have nested around the paddock and we see them regularly flying about. This one came and posed by the pond for me.
This young female blackbird has been raised on cat biscuits by her father Spot. He has been coming regularly to pinch leftovers from the outside cats' bowls. He has brought up two children so far, a cock and a hen bird. They were also coming near the bowls to be fed (despite cats about!) They have survived so far.
We have also had Robins, Wrens, Spotted Flycatchers, Swallows, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Nuthatches, Magpies and LOTS of Sparrows nesting on our plot . . .
Finally, there will be some more Meadow Browns in the future - spotted these two mating on a track up the hill yesterday . . .
Lovely lots of nature to see. We are lucky.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite subject at Junior School was Nature Study. I haven't changed much. We are so fortunate living where we do.
DeleteLovely to see the birds you watch. We have had Grey Wagtail by our pond too - on passage I think as we often see them in the autumn. So envious of your Spotted Flycatchers :) Do hope Keith feels better soon.
ReplyDeleteGlad you see them too. Ours our here all year round. Plenty of water for them! The Spotted Flycatchers are still about the place as I was watching them first thing from the bathroom.
DeleteKeith slowly mending, I am glad to say.
What wonderful feathered friends you have.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
They give me such pleasure throughout the year Jackie. My heart breaks a little when the Swallows leave each year though.
DeleteOh lovely, lovely bird pics! We have a Wagtail here in Australia too - we call it Willie Wagtail and I think that might even be its official name. Maybe we even have more varieties although I'm not sure.
ReplyDeleteHi Evi. Some folk call them Willie Wagtails here too I am sure. Ours like rooves as well as wet places, and are often seen stuttering along the ridge tiles.
DeleteWhat a delight to see the birds you are able to see on a regular basis, great photos.
ReplyDeleteI have had more time to watch the birds this summer, which has been wonderful.
DeleteThank you for sharing your lovely photos. I have yet to see a Blackcap this year, you are so right that you rarely see them but it makes it all the more special when you do. We have lots of Grey Wagtails round here too, they are beautiful birds aren't they, there has to be some benefit to living in a wet area of the country!
ReplyDeleteI wish I was good on identifying birds from their songs, as there are lots of sungs being sung from the middle of bushes! The Grey Wagtails would certainly prefer the wet West Coast!
DeleteWe only have Pied Wagtails around here, I love watching them. I was thrilled to get the fantastic sight of a Kingfisher, a couple of weeks ago, down by the chalk stream for only the second time in over a decade of walking along there. I love the story of the Blackbirds and the cat biscuits.
ReplyDeleteGood news about your husband.
I have Kingfisher-envy - I have only seen 4 or 5 in my entire life - they are gone so quickly, in a flash of colour. The youngsters brought up on cat biscuits are quite . . . burly!
DeleteWhen I was teaching in Wolverhampton our playground after break would have a dozen or so Pied Wagtails every day cleaning up the crisp crumbs.
ReplyDeleteThey always have an eye on the main chance it seems!
DeleteLove the birds raised on cat biscuits. Perhaps they will grow up extra strong.
ReplyDeleteThey have indeed - both were bigger than dad!!
DeleteWhat wonderful birds you have seen both at home and when out, some special ones too! I haven't seen a thrush in a long time.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame you don't have Thrushes in your neck of the woods. I hope you will see one soon. We don't have Cuckoos any more and we used to see lots of Redstarts (and had them nesting here too) but they have also become scarcer.
Delete