Wildlife mid 2009

[Paul T]

Armin,

We've had a young crested pigeon constantly begging food from it's parents for the last couple of weeks here.  Never seen them do it before, but this one just won't give up.  Doesn't make a lot of noise, but sits and shimmers it's wings and flattens itself to the ground while doing it.  We get them breed in a pittosporum out the back every year, but I have never seen one hang around with it's parents like this after it is out of the nest.  Normally we never see them again after that.  Maybe they've been watching humans and worked out that it is better if they stay at home and cadge off their parents until they're middle aged, which is a growing trend apparently. 

[Armin]

Paul,
my son is now 15 - I notice some similarities in behavior...

[mark smyth]

Armin that's a fine looking cock sparrow on the table. His black breast shows he is probably top bird in the area with lots of female admirers. All the sparrows around my house have gone off for their summer holidays. Not a peep at their night roost

[Armin]

Mark,
you might be right with the cock sparrow. The high number of young sparrows is the result of 10 nest boxes I fixed around my house/our street trees. This is a successful breeding program I would say.
Now the troops of youngsters straggle around to learn and break away from their parents.
Some neighbour cats and sparrow hawks have caught already some incautious.

[Anthony Darby]

Would the pale starling be a youngster moulting out his juvenile plumage?

[mark smyth]

They are lovely when the spotty waist coat comes through. All the my local starling chicks look like that

[Anthony Darby]

I found a swallow's nest in a disused old 'shed' type thing (looks like an old railway container with a door in the side and boarded up windows at the ends) two days ago. There were some very young chicks in it. Judging by the empty plastic bottles and crisp packets, some young people must have been in, perhaps sheltering from the rain. Either they didn't spot the nest, which is seems to be only attached to a roof beam by its edge, or they left it alone.

[Ragged Robin]

About 25 & a 1/2 (in birdbath) or so, Armin, but my eyes were going round in circles - it's like counting sheep in a field (a shepherd can do it easy peasy but me, never!)

Thanks for the great action shots of the sparrow flock in your garden - very amusing and definitely would take your mind off itchy bites.....for a few seconds!  When you say they were small black flies, what type - midges?  And what on earth are Walleye fish??

[mark smyth]

Anthony I guess they didnt see it

[mark smyth]

RR I see 25 also.

Armin do you feed the sparrows? I feed mine with parakeet seed mix

[Armin]

Robin,
Mark,

thanks for the puzzle replies - quite good. That was also my first result. On the original high resolution image I counted finally 32 birds after several recounts! lol

I admit the lower resolution of the image posted makes it a bit hard to find the rest of them And the sparrows earth brown colouration melts with the background and gives them a very good camouflage on the sandy ground.

Mark,
no I do not feed any birds during summer/breeding season. Only in winter/frost periods I use a bird box with a mix of sunflowers, oat flakes, raisins and hacked haselnuts.

Anthony,
it must be a juvenile starling as Mark wrote. The others around looked evenly darker brown.
Did not recognise the paler colouration of juvenile ones earlier because usually we see them only in their showy plumage singing from a roof.
Never stop learning.

[Ragged Robin]

In amongst the symphony of wild flowers a butterfly duet 

[mark smyth]

RR they look like Meadow Browns  Maniola jurtina

[Ragged Robin]

Thanks Mark, seems so - just so amazing to see two in the same pose on the same meadow flower in the same shot!

[Anthony Darby]

Both males.