Lots going on in the garden today, much of it concerning Blackbirds chasing each other round the lawn.
One very noisy visitor was a Great Spotted Woodpecker. I has a drumming tree somewhere near by, but I'm not sure where exactly. At least it not drumming on the metal cowling on out chimney this year.
It sat in the tree making it's loud "pic pic" call, and I noticed that each time it called the second eyelid, the "
nictating membrane" blinked across the eye. I can understand this when it is drumming as I'm sure it would afford the eye some protection.
This little Blue-tit had to give up his place in the bird bath when gang of
Greenfinches arrived. It was very patient and water on the side of hid turn to come again.
When it did he took maximum advantage and had a thorough bath and shower.
I noticed a Robin arrive, but it was a while before I saw that a second one had joined. As Robins can be very aggressive and quarrelsome birds I expected a fight.
Instead of the expected belligerence the first first bird started to beg and almost before I realised the second bird darted across and fed the gape in front of it.
I presume that they were a pair. This form of
allo-feeding was once thought to be solely for pair bonding, but research has shown that the extra food provided by the male is crucial to the success of the female laying eggs and incubating them.
One very noisy visitor was a Great Spotted Woodpecker. I has a drumming tree somewhere near by, but I'm not sure where exactly. At least it not drumming on the metal cowling on out chimney this year.
It sat in the tree making it's loud "pic pic" call, and I noticed that each time it called the second eyelid, the "nictating membrane" blinked across the eye. I can understand this when it is drumming as I'm sure it would afford the eye some protection.
This little Blue-tit had to give up his place in the bird bath when gang of Greenfinches arrived. It was very patient and water on the side of hid turn to come again.
When it did he took maximum advantage and had a thorough bath and shower.
I noticed a Robin arrive, but it was a while before I saw that a second one had joined. As Robins can be very aggressive and quarrelsome birds I expected a fight.
Instead of the expected belligerence the first first bird started to beg and almost before I realised the second bird darted across and fed the gape in front of it.
I presume that they were a pair. This form of allo-feeding was once thought to be solely for pair bonding, but research has shown that the extra food provided by the male is crucial to the success of the female laying eggs and incubating them.
1 comment:
I dream of having birds like that in my bird bath, as I've said before, finches seem to be a thing of the past in my garden.
What is interesting is watching a blackbird building a new nest in a prostrate conifer behind the pond. The conifer grows sideways rather than up and is only around three feet high and yet the blackbird has chosen that rather than the mature hedges round the garden.
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