Birds 2013

[mvanrheenen]

Well Pat, spending that little time with this Flying Smurf saterday made me wanting more. So I spend a chilling 5 hours in the snow, but had a hell of a time and not without rewards







All shot with the a580, 70-400G on a monopod. The white haze on the last image is actually snow, the grain/noise on the images is because I needed to use ISO1600 constantly and had to add some sharpening.

Mark

[Wildieswife]

Three more.

Collared Dove (lots about)This is a stitch of 4 images - it was very close!!

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Starling





And a real treat - a Jackdaw actually came in when I was in the hide.




Pat

[Wildieswife]

Think we cross posted there, Mark. You can't have too many Kingfisher shots - lovely!

Pat

[mvanrheenen]

But wait, there is more!

Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago)

This guy/gal is actually pretty hard to find and is on a Red List in my country. I thought I saw him before more then a year ago. Today, on the exact same spot, same bush even, there he/she was again. Boy, was I excited!



Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca)

Another not common resident of out little nation.



Juvenile Common Gull (Larus canus)

And finally a BIF that worked well for a change!



Mark

[mvanrheenen]

Haha, it would seem so Pat!

Love the hide shots! Look at those oily colors on the Sparrow, wow! What kind of shelter do you have in your garden?

Mark

[aster]

Very impressive, Mark and Pat.

Considering the weather conditions these birds are some exeptional finds.

All extraordinary. I love the Starling shot, Pat.

Thanks for sharing both of you.

I saw a flock of green Parakeets passing siftly by a couple of times but no tree high enough for them to rest and for me to photograph from the apartment.

Yildiz

[Wildieswife]

Nice snipe, teal and gull! There's a lot of wastage with Bifs - at least with me there is

This is our hide a couple of years ago - built by my OH. It has camouflage over the front now and the roof needs redoing. Still better than standing outside, though.




Pat

[cosmonaut1959]

We have, in my home town, a family of Eagles that have moved in. They have chosen a fairly strange place to nest. Just off of a parking lot at a local college. But what a beautiful bird?

eagle-01 by Cosmonaut's, on Flickr

[mvanrheenen]

@Pat: you must have a large garden then. I don't have that kind of space for a hide. Now and again I'm dabbling about the idea of a mobile hide, but then again I like to be flexible in the field and carying a hide isn't... next stop will be a good tripod when I get the funds.

@cosmonaut: hell yes they are beautiful! Must be a real treat! Great image too by the way!

Mark

[sury]

Your postings is certainly made the thread enjoyable. Thank you all.
My appreciation for your patience, eye, not mention the talent has gone
up my ten fold. With much humility, I bow with respect and in appreciation.

With best regards,
Sury

[mvanrheenen]

Your postings is certainly made the thread enjoyable. Thank you all.
My appreciation for your patience, eye, not mention the talent has gone
up my ten fold. With much humility, I bow with respect and in appreciation.

With best regards,
Sury

Same goes for you my friend for your floral quests!

Mark

[Greg Beetham]

The slug pellets I referred to are the pellets, containing Metaldehyde, that people scatter about the garden to kill slugs and snails. They unfortunately harm wildlife and pets, too.
I'd never consider harming or trapping a cat - my comments were in jest. However, I do sometimes chase them out when they breach our defenses! Over here I'd be prosecuted for animal cruelty if I did anything worse and I don't think I could actually harm a cat. I had 2 cats who lasted me over 35 years but since the last one died I'm more interested in my wildlife!

Pat

Pat you/I would get prosecuted here as well if you were caught murdering a cat, but for that you need absolute proof, witnesses or a confession. Thing is cats aren’t a natural part of the landscape or eco system in Oz so they do immense damage, they have sent species to extinction here for sure (Paradise Parrot for one and a few others I can’t remember offhand, mostly ground nesting birds and small marsupials) and people still want to own a cat for some reason. The domestic population act as a reservoir to re-supply or increase the number of feral cats in the wild because they do have lots of litters if they haven’t been neutered and people often irresponsibly dump them out in the bush when they can’t give away enough of them.
I think the situation with people’s attitude towards cats here is gradually improving though, there are occasional articles in the paper about the damage they do.
The cats my friend traps are quite safe IF they stay in their own yard, which of course they don’t because they have already murdered everything in their own yard so they go looking elsewhere for things to kill.
I’ve noticed changes even in my own yard. There used to be a plentiful supply of what we call Knobbyknobby lizards, they are just a small dragon lizard that have always been around the yard since I went to school, now there are none, not a single one left in the yard and obviously none next door or the next next door either otherwise they would re-colonise my yard. What might have eliminated the entire population of a native animal in my suburb? a useful one at that, they catch and eat various insects that probably do damage unchecked now that one of the controls is gone. I have absolutely no doubt what is responsible as I have in the past witnessed the act of one being caught and killed by a cat.
What set my friend off was when a nesting Sunbird was killed by a cat in his yard, (he actually witnessed the nest being torn down) Sunbirds http://www.graemechapman.com.au/library ... c=495&pg=1 often build a nest close to humans probably for protection (a study found that in the wild a nest has only a 20% chance of survival long enough to produce fledglings), I have seen them come and go here but I have never seen them build a nest in my yard mores the pity.
Greg
Ps love your work Mark, Cosmonaut and Pat. One would have to wonder why a nomadic bird like a Snipe (we get them seasonally as well but ours fly back to Siberia or Arctic tundra areas for nesting as winter approaches here) is doing there in the northern winter, also the Eurasian Teal is off course too I think.

[Wildieswife]

Pat you/I would get prosecuted here as well if you were caught murdering a cat, but for that you need absolute proof, witnesses or a confession. Thing is cats aren’t a natural part of the landscape or eco system in Oz so they do immense damage, they have sent species to extinction here for sure (Paradise Parrot for one and a few others I can’t remember offhand, mostly ground nesting birds and small marsupials) and people still want to own a cat for some reason. The domestic population act as a reservoir to re-supply or increase the number of feral cats in the wild because they do have lots of litters if they haven’t been neutered and people often irresponsibly dump them out in the bush when they can’t give away enough of them.
I think the situation with people’s attitude towards cats here is gradually improving though, there are occasional articles in the paper about the damage they do.
The cats my friend traps are quite safe IF they stay in their own yard, which of course they don’t because they have already murdered everything in their own yard so they go looking elsewhere for things to kill.
I’ve noticed changes even in my own yard. There used to be a plentiful supply of what we call Knobbyknobby lizards, they are just a small dragon lizard that have always been around the yard since I went to school, now there are none, not a single one left in the yard and obviously none next door or the next next door either otherwise they would re-colonise my yard. What might have eliminated the entire population of a native animal in my suburb? a useful one at that, they catch and eat various insects that probably do damage unchecked now that one of the controls is gone. I have absolutely no doubt what is responsible as I have in the past witnessed the act of one being caught and killed by a cat.
What set my friend off was when a nesting Sunbird was killed by a cat in his yard, (he actually witnessed the nest being torn down) Sunbirds http://www.graemechapman.com.au/library ... c=495&pg=1 often build a nest close to humans probably for protection (a study found that in the wild a nest has only a 20% chance of survival long enough to produce fledglings), I have seen them come and go here but I have never seen them build a nest in my yard mores the pity.
Greg
Ps love your work Mark, Cosmonaut and Pat. One would have to wonder why a nomadic bird like a Snipe (we get them seasonally as well but ours fly back to Siberia or Arctic tundra areas for nesting as winter approaches here) is doing there in the northern winter, also the Eurasian Teal is off course too I think.

Thanks for the explanation, Greg. Cat's are indeed bad news as far as wildlife is concerned. Here as well. They shouldn't be here and each year they needlessly kill hundreds of millions of other animals in the UK. Bad.
Thanks also for the kind words Also to Suri.
Great Eagle, Cosmonaut! We don't get many of those hereabouts

Mark - the garden is biggish by modern standards in the UK - most new builds have 'postage stamp' gardens if they have any. Compared to some, our garden is small but we make the most of it as regards being wildlife friendly. Trees, bushes, wild flowers, wildlife pond etc.

Pat

[caporip]

I remember having a heated debate on an RSPB forum about the damage cats do. In my cul de sac of some 12 houses at least half have cats and that level of predatory animals is bound to have an impact on the wildlife. If you extrapolate that across the country its clear that they are a major factor in declining bird numbers yet the RSPB (probably wary of the subscription/donations it may lose) consistently fails to mention this or raise it as an issue.

[cosmonaut1959]

Thanks Pat.

Pat you/I would get prosecuted here as well if you were caught murdering a cat, but for that you need absolute proof, witnesses or a confession. Thing is cats aren’t a natural part of the landscape or eco system in Oz so they do immense damage, they have sent species to extinction here for sure (Paradise Parrot for one and a few others I can’t remember offhand, mostly ground nesting birds and small marsupials) and people still want to own a cat for some reason. The domestic population act as a reservoir to re-supply or increase the number of feral cats in the wild because they do have lots of litters if they haven’t been neutered and people often irresponsibly dump them out in the bush when they can’t give away enough of them.
I think the situation with people’s attitude towards cats here is gradually improving though, there are occasional articles in the paper about the damage they do.
The cats my friend traps are quite safe IF they stay in their own yard, which of course they don’t because they have already murdered everything in their own yard so they go looking elsewhere for things to kill.
I’ve noticed changes even in my own yard. There used to be a plentiful supply of what we call Knobbyknobby lizards, they are just a small dragon lizard that have always been around the yard since I went to school, now there are none, not a single one left in the yard and obviously none next door or the next next door either otherwise they would re-colonise my yard. What might have eliminated the entire population of a native animal in my suburb? a useful one at that, they catch and eat various insects that probably do damage unchecked now that one of the controls is gone. I have absolutely no doubt what is responsible as I have in the past witnessed the act of one being caught and killed by a cat.
What set my friend off was when a nesting Sunbird was killed by a cat in his yard, (he actually witnessed the nest being torn down) Sunbirds http://www.graemechapman.com.au/library ... c=495&pg=1 often build a nest close to humans probably for protection (a study found that in the wild a nest has only a 20% chance of survival long enough to produce fledglings), I have seen them come and go here but I have never seen them build a nest in my yard mores the pity.
Greg
Ps love your work Mark, Cosmonaut and Pat. One would have to wonder why a nomadic bird like a Snipe (we get them seasonally as well but ours fly back to Siberia or Arctic tundra areas for nesting as winter approaches here) is doing there in the northern winter, also the Eurasian Teal is off course too I think.

Thanks for the explanation, Greg. Cat's are indeed bad news as far as wildlife is concerned. Here as well. They shouldn't be here and each year they needlessly kill hundreds of millions of other animals in the UK. Bad.
Thanks also for the kind words Also to Suri.
Great Eagle, Cosmonaut! We don't get many of those hereabouts

Mark - the garden is biggish by modern standards in the UK - most new builds have 'postage stamp' gardens if they have any. Compared to some, our garden is small but we make the most of it as regards being wildlife friendly. Trees, bushes, wild flowers, wildlife pond etc.

Pat