Thursday, September 09, 2010

The best birds in the world. Ever.

I'm back from five nights away on a ringing course. I was a bit worried before I went (it sounded full-on and rather intense) but once I found my feet and got the hang of how the procedures worked, I really enjoyed myself.

When a person is tired of Wrynecks, they are tired of life.

Wryneck
Wryneck!

Wryneck
Wryneck!!

Wrynecks
TWO Wrynecks!
Not only are they astonishingly beautiful, they also do crazy things (video not mine, but ours did similar things. The birds aren't hurt; it's a threat display intended to confuse a would-be predator).

We were too busy to take many photos, but here is a small selection...

Bearded Tit
Male Bearded Tit!

Whinchat
Fabulous juvenile Whinchat

Nuthatch
Female Nuthatch

Tufted Duck
Repeat-offender Tufted Duck - caught in a duck trap that works on the same principle as a lobster pot

Banoffee pie
Migrant warblers eat loads of berries. This is what ringers fuel up with at the pub...

We also caught Yellow Wagtails, House and Sand Martins, Swallows, Redstarts, Nightingales, Grasshopper, Willow, Sedge, Reed and Garden Warblers, Whitethroats and Lesser Whitethroats, a Mistle Thrush, a few Wrens, a Goldfinch, a mercifully small number of Blue and Great Tits, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a load of other stuff I can't remember...

Oh, and while I was away, garden bird number 99 made it onto the list - Wigeon!

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D

7 comments:

  1. You must have had a wonderful time. Those photos are marvellous! The wryneck is amazing... looks like an animated piece of bark. Thanks for sharing. Top post! Top blog!

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  2. Anonymous11:44 pm

    Amazing photographs. A Wigeon in the garden Katie.??

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  3. Ringing really does give a great opportunity to get fabulous close shots of the birds. I had never heard of a Wryneck and the video shows how it got its name.

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  4. Great shots - I've never seen a Wryneck - aren't they super!

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  5. Wonderful photos!

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  6. Is that cheesecake? what flavour?
    great picture, but now I have to go and find something to eat!

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  7. Sorry for being slow to reply to your comments...

    @Petra, yes I had a wonderful time - I'm so pleased I went

    @Roy. Apparently two Wigeon flew past the garden towards a nearby lake, and under our rules that's good enough :o)

    @Midmarsh John, I knew from the name Wryneck that they must do something funny with their necks, but I never realised they did that!

    @Scriptor Senex, yes, they're absolutely gorgeous. Sigh.....

    @Andrew, thanks, delighted you like the pics

    @Tony, it was banoffee pie and yes, it tasted as good as it looked. Mmm.

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