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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2012 16:35:31 GMT
Hi Guys, Quick Edit: - It would appear that pics of the first visitor have time expired and will not display, but worry not, it was only a grey squirrel . so please ignore the references below to Visitor 1.A few more pics taken through patio doors of the wild life that gets to benefit from my attempts to feed the birds. I'm fairly certain of the identity of the first visitor but less so of the second and third - don't be deceived by the size of the second one, it is very small and is not a baby - it's been visiting us for quite a while, on it's own, and gets no bigger no matter how much seed it tucks away ;D . I suspect it hibernates during the winter 'cos it seems to visit us when the weather's nice and warm. Any suggestions on the identity of the secondand third would be welcome - I have an idea for the second but even though I have an interest in birds I'm currently clueless on the third - I don't think I've ever seen anything with tail markings like that. Apart from the tail markings it looks much like a big 'sparrer'. Visitor 1i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv4/DaveAndSue/DSCF1843.jpg]Visitor 2Visitor 3Cheers, Dave.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2012 17:35:23 GMT
Is that a doormouse Dave? (and a greenfinch)
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2012 17:49:01 GMT
Is that a doormouse Dave? (and a greenfinch) Hi Ian, I'm no expert (on anything, really ) but I would guess at doormouse - I don't recognise the bird as a Greenfinch though but I could be wrong . My idea of a Greenfinch is (as it's name suggests) there is a tincture of green about it but I didn't see one, I don't recall them having such a 'neat' tail feather pattern and, although it don'treally show on the pics it didn't seem to have a short chunky finch-type bill - but you may be right, I'll dig some books out tonight and do a bit more digging. Cheers, Dave. EDIT: I also looked a bit big for a Greenfinch I thought.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2012 19:02:41 GMT
You're right Dave. I wonder what it is?
A young greenfinch? It has that greeny yellow stripe under the wing. The tail looks almost goldfinch like but we can't see the bill. (It's thinner on the goldfinch than the greenfinch)
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2012 19:39:47 GMT
Ian, About once a month I get update e-mails from the BTO. If the combined resources of RG cannot positively identify it by the time I get the next one I'll bang the pics off to them and see if they can identify it. IMHO it is something that I don't think I've ever seen before and as I grew up in a small (mining) village totally surrounded by open (to us kids, anyway ) countryside (and we were avid egg collectors I'm ashamed to say ), and spent a lot of time on a mate's farm up to my mid twenties, that really does suggest it's not yer average sparrer . Now watch someone come along and confirm it's just a Tree Pippit or someat ;D . Cheers, Dave.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2012 19:39:58 GMT
Young goldfinch I reckon.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2012 19:43:13 GMT
Young goldfinch I reckon. Nah!!, no chance, too big, no finch bill and we do get Goldfinch families visiting the feeding station but I've never seen anything with those tail markings.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2012 22:07:48 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2012 0:28:36 GMT
Hi Dave, Chris is correct your bird is a Goldfinch however let's see it's bill as it's a bit indistinct from the rear. Looking at it again it's possibly a hybrid..........a mixed up bird. Here's a greenfinch first next up goldfinch all taken in my garden. I'd say that it's in moult from the state of it's feathers.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2012 0:33:16 GMT
Goldfinch
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2012 0:40:16 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2012 0:46:29 GMT
I reckon your mouse is a Woodmouse a cracking wee fellow with big ears and eyes, here he is in our garden.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2012 0:50:01 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2012 0:53:45 GMT
On a serious note now............................... do you have any Fairies at the bottom of your garden? This is Elvira Mae she's pretty sad and Mr Frog is rather concerned for her. My five year old granddaughter would like to take her home with her but Grannie says no.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2012 9:24:48 GMT
Being a gentle, peaceful (and old ) man I will defer from arguing with an armed Spanish hill-billy sausage maker as I have no wish to finish up as the filling in a length of pig's intestines ;D . So I think he may well be right, but given the mottled feathering on the upper back and shoulders I wonder if it might actually be a hybrid? I'll keep my binoccies and camera handy and see if I can capture a few more details if and when it comes back. Meanwhile I've e-mailed the BTO to see if they have a more definite opinion - I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile I'll also go with the Woodmouse identification. Cheers guys , Dave.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2012 10:02:41 GMT
I didn't know you could get hybrid finches!!! That is a slightly odd looking bird. The Greenfinch doesn't have that back but it has that greeny yellow bit under the wing so I guessed it might be a young one. When you mentioned the size, I thought there was something odd. Then the goldfinch - it's showing the tips on its tail feathers, but again, the back is wrong so it could be a juvenile something. Do just finches crossbreed? Surely not with sparrow types? (It has a sparrow like back) I had a jay trapped inside the building a couple of weeks ago. Such a pretty bird close up and then I think - a variation of the crow (in its behaviour) which puts me off a bit. When I was a kid, I saw pictures of jays and thought they were a small bird. I couldn't believe the size of them when I first saw them. Another one I was always curious about was the hoopoe (?) I saw one in Cornwall years ago and couldn't believe how odd they look. Then of course, I went to Spain and saw them all over the place. (Like sparrows) But in Spain, I loved the Bee eaters and these iridescent birds down in the south. They were iridescent blue like a kingfisher but bigger. It was near the desert region and they turned out to be Rollers. Absolutely gorgeous:
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mrarroyo
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Post by mrarroyo on Jun 30, 2012 10:08:14 GMT
As you can imagine the wild life in Miami Beach is a bit different than what you are all posting. Attachments:
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2012 10:17:01 GMT
;D ;D ;D Miguel, you are incorrigible!!! ;D I don't know why, but Miami is one of my favouritie cities!!! I love the complexity of it and the heat. The Spanish area where I went to do some serious haggling, the dock where we could take a boat out, shopping, Everglades down the road, hurricanes, and some seriously huge cops on the streets, lovely beaches and diving out on the sea. (I was headbutted by a shark and stalked by a barracuda) I also got serious sunburn to the point the skin on my back shrunk and cracked open. My wife looked after me really well .... told me to lie on the bed on my front (cos I couldn't lie on my back) and then she bloody took a photo. I looked like a slave who had just been whipped. It bled like the feck. I even saw an arrest in the Hispanic area where that long road for shopping is where the cops slammed in to this poor guy who had his nose rubbed on the bonnet. I was so scared, I couldn't take a picture. Lake Okichokee (I think it was). But my wife wouldn't let me go to the beach to do some birdwatching. ;D I do like Miami.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2012 10:29:04 GMT
Miguel's wife won't let him either. That's why he has a telescope ! Attachments:
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2012 11:06:58 GMT
At first I couldn't believe that was a post from Miguel, surely those birds have too much plumage
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Will
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Post by Will on Jun 30, 2012 11:26:08 GMT
As we are identifying birds, anybody have a guess as to what this baby will be? We left him alone, obviously, but his cheeping was very persistent for most of the day. Our woodpeckers has taken a distinct liking for fat.. and the two that visit will get quite cross with each other if the other is in the way. The squirrels quite like the birds being messy.. And we were quite pleased to get Mr&Mrs Bullfinch in the garden (always when I need to mow the lawn!) Ian, I'd love to have seen a bee-eater in Spain, they are lovely looking. I've seen Hoopoe a lot, and plenty of others. Lots of Flamingo's and more 'normal' wading birds at Santa Pola salt flats and also 'El Hondo' nature reserve. My father in law is quite friendly with a guy called Malcolm Palmer in Spain, who a professional 'birder' (for want of a better word). It's through this that I've been able to see some Bonelli's Eagles, which were amazing to see. It involved a fair trek up in the mountains, but along with seeing greater and lesser Shrikes and a little owl, well worth it!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2012 11:58:37 GMT
Hi Will,
Yes, the Bee Eaters are lovely but the Rollers just took my breath away. You just see this bright blue when they fly. Actually, you've remineded me about the flamingoes and that reserve. I went there too. I took a Leica telescope with a 20 - 60 lens, so when I saw something out there, I could really hone in to it.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2012 17:10:45 GMT
Goldfinch
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2012 9:11:17 GMT
Hi Guys, To put all your minds at rest because I know you will all have been puzzling about this all weekend the BTO have responded to my request for identification of the bird on our feeder and confirmed that it is indeed a juvenile Goldfinch, so well done to those that said so. I have no problem in accepting their identification - if they don't know who does - but my visitor seems, from my pics, to have got it's bar markings going halfway up it's back, rather than just on the tail. It does explain the speckled feathers on the upper back though. Here is what their response said and below it is their link of more pics to confirm - I still prefer my pics though . Thanks very much for your enquiry, the bird in the image is a juvenile Goldfinch identifiable by the white wing markings, yellow sidebars and streaked head and back. Lots in my garden at the moment too. For reference here is a page of photos which provides different angles of view for the same birds www.flickr.com/search/groups/?w=1106239%40N20&m=pool&q=juvenile+goldfinch. Cheers, Dave.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jul 3, 2012 8:30:16 GMT
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