What's flying near you?

First time I've heard a blackcap on our lane today. Going for a short walk I thought it was a robin but it looked like a sparrow with a black top to it's head as it sat singing on an electric wire.

Pesky Wood pigeons are building a nest in the bay tree, just outside the door to GH2. They're driving the dogs mad with their flapping and cooing and not doing much for me either! I can see the nest, a collection of twigs, the scruffiest nest I've ever seen. The pigeons crash land on the GH roof, with a bit of twig in their beak, then clatter their way into the centre of the bush. They show no sign of fear of me or the dogs. I'm really torn between trying to persuade them to pack their bags and go find another nesting site, after all there are hundreds of trees locally, or put up with it and let them get on with it.  I've already seen them eating the redcurrants, and that's just 2 of them. Just think how much a whole family of pigeons will eat.

No amount of dogs barking, GH work or peeping through branches has deterred these pesky pigeons. There's at least one fluffy, scruffy "squab" in the nest. It/they make a funny noise, a sort of trilling. Just warming up for their annoying Coo, coo, cucookoo.

Lots of linnets feeding on the tall grass seed heads in the wild flower and overgrown areas

Don't think I'd recognise a linnet - so, for other dumbos like me..........https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/linnet

2 red kites were soaring overhead yesterday afternoon. In years past we used to get excited about seeing and hearing buzzards, now they're two a penny and not really worthy of note, I wonder if we'll get blasé about kites.

We don't see Red kites here so I'd be excited!
I "think" that the young pigeon has left the nest - more than that, there's a pile of pigeon feathers nearby and Spud was eating something this morning! I'm not saying he caught it, but I think he ate it!!

Lots of linnets feeding on the tall grass seed heads in the wild flower and overgrown areas

I lied to you! Redpolls not linnets . Quite similar from a distance. 


Red kites are spreading their territories rapidly which is fantastic. Looking like a success story like the buzzard. I’d never seen a buzzard until I moved to Somerset. Now they’re everywhere. They maybe common now , but still beautiful.


well done spud   . I’m with him, pigeon is a good tasty bird. Especially the feral ones.

Give Spud a medal. Pigeons are a menace. On the other hand, several white doves have taken to chilling out on ours and neighbour's roof tops. It started with 1, then 2 now it's up to 7. We think they're from a dovecot some 3 miles away. They like to roost under nexdoor's solar panels and are so curious and nosy they shuffle to the edge of the roof just to see what we're doing. Nextdoor don't like them much, I think they're lovely, as we know, nextdoor are wierd. Having explained that a row of shrubs deliniating the 2 front gardens were spring flowering and flowered on growth made during summer, she's gone and chopped all new growth off. They're her shrubs so she's entitled but anything growing seems at risk.

My neighbour used to have some white doves but they (the doves) left home and moved to somewhere else.
After the doves he had a Harris Hawk. From one extreme to the other!
Next up was a Macaw and an Amazon Grey parrot. He still has the Grey one and it mimics me! It used to shout "Puppies" when the dogs were younger. Now it shouts "Quiet" when I'm trying to stop them barking at something - like the pigeons.

The very small dot in the sky. A white tailed eagle. Phone camera just don’t do things well at a distance. It makes them look even further away!
   

There is something pretty awesome about being able to see eagles from my garden. 

I heard them before I saw them. Which is quite normal. When ever I hear them I stop and look for them. 

This morning there was 3 of them having a bit of a set to !