Tag: Feral Pigeon

Calthorpe Projects London, little bit of wildlife in the city, small bird list.

In London for the Chelsea Flower Show and trying to get around London to see a few things, I canā€™t manage a lot of the wandering so a lot of sitting and eating, far too much! Ā I did get to to ā€“ Calthorpe ProjectsĀ which has a small but decent nature garden right at the back including bees nests and a pond, for the first time ever I saw newts, who would have thought the first time I saw newts would be in the centre of London! Ā So impressed. Ā While there I also managed to see:

  1. Blackbird
  2. Magpie
  3. Starling
  4. Wren

There were a lot of butterflies as well, and a few moths, but didnā€™t pick up what types, think small white was pretty common, but canā€™t be sure.

Other birds from today, all over the place

  1. Dunnock
  2. Blue Tit
  3. Feral Pigeon
  4. Woodpigeon

Not a big list for today, but was very happy with the newt!

 

These were comments added before the website went down

6 responses to Calthorpe Projects London, little bit of wildlife in the city, small bird list.
Wes Donze said on May 20, 2013
I am heading to the Chelsea flower show tomorrow ā€“ it is the 100th anniversery of the 1st show ā€“ have not been for 3 years so looking forward to the show ā€“ itā€™s right by the Thames so you might get to see some birds there as well as in the normal gardens on the site
if you do have a spare day or part thereof you might like the London Wetland centre http://www.wwt.org.uk/visit/london/
There is a direct bus from Hammersmith to the centre

KiwiGav said on May 20, 2013
Hey Wes, Thanks for the info!
Iā€™ll be there tomorrow as well, canā€™t wait, my first Chelsea.
Iā€™m going to see how my feet are on Wednesday and see if I can make it out to the London Wetlands, I didnā€™t bring scope, bins or even a long lens for my camera. Just didnā€™t have the space in my bag for carry on luggage for the flight down. Itā€™s on my list if I can, Iā€™m sure I can still get a good list with eyes only.

KiwiGav said on May 21, 2013
Have a good day Wes? Would have suggested meeting up, but was unsure of what my parents and wife wanted to see and do. I hope to be back next year!

Wes Donze said on May 20, 2013
yes iā€™m sure you will still get to see plenty ā€“ i believe there may be binocular hire there too

KiwiGav said on May 20, 2013
Thanks Wes!

KiwiGav said on May 21, 2013
Told my dad this today and he said ā€œIā€™ve got mine, you can borrow them!ā€ YAY! I know where Iā€™m off to tomorrow!
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Keukenhof gardens and the birds I spotted there.

Had a bumper day today and added a few life birds, Great Crested Grebe (bit slow on that one!), yellow and pied wagtails. Ā Once again internet has been down most of the evening so just a quick note of the birds in the hope the net stays up long enough.Ā  Most from Keukenhof or on bus journey there.

  1. Blackbird
  2. Blackcap
  3. Carrion crow
  4. Chiffchaff ā€“ heard and seen
  5. Common Buzzard
  6. Coots
  7. Dunnock
  8. Feral Pigeon
  9. Great crested grebe
  10. Greylag goose
  11. Grey Heron
  12. House Sparrow
  13. Jackdaw
  14. Morehen
  15. Oystercatchers
  16. Pied Wagtail
  17. Lapwings
  18. Magpie
  19. Mallard Duck
  20. Moorhens
  21. Mute Swans
  22. Skylark ā€“ seen and heard
  23. Sparrowhawk
  24. Starlings
  25. Swallow
  26. Tufted duck
  27. Yellow wagtail

TheĀ Keukenhof gardens are great, but donā€™t go on parade day, itā€™s so busy! Ā I was hoping to go to Haarlem to see the parade at the end of the day but my ankles were worn out again and I couldnā€™t face another bus ride. Ā Hopefully one year Iā€™ll get back over here to see the festival! Ā I also managed to update the best interest rates for instant access ISAs tonight as I was informed Coventry have changed their best interest rate to a 1 year and no longer instant access, you can see the best instant access ISA here:Ā http://www.saverscene.co.uk/isa/highest-interest-rate-for-instant-access-isa.htmlĀ (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession) ā€“ Gardening, birds, saving money and pensions my friends call me middle aged Gav, Iā€™m 34, I sure hope to live to over 68!!! Ā Iā€™ve been interested in most of these things since my teen years, just I lived in Australia and havenā€™t seen a lot of European birds and there wasnā€™t wonderful tax free savings accounts like ISAs there! Ā Sorry rambling again, had pain killers and beer! Ā whoops! Ā ā€“ Gav out!

Update, thought Iā€™d list this as a friend asked me what a lapwing looked like, thereā€™s photos on here from when I lived at Musselburgh

Edinburgh Garden bird list for 29th of March 2013

My list for my garden in Edinburgh for Friday 29th of March 2013:

  1. Blackbird x 2
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Carrion crow x 20+ flying over at dusk
  4. Dunnock x 2 ā€“ think thereā€™s a fair few more as I can see movement in the hedge, hope theyā€™re building nests.
  5. Feral Pigeon x 1
  6. Long-tailed tit x 2
  7. Magpie x 2
  8. Woodpigeon x 3

Spring finally on the way in Edinburgh?

The Long-tailed tits were so close to me today, it was fantastic! Ā Maybe less than a foot away, great views for a few seconds, then they were on their way again. Ā The Magpie I did see was once again collecting nesting material, this time it looked like moss so maybe close to finishing their nest. Ā 2 of the woodpigeons were mating, another great sign of spring, weā€™ve missed most of the snow, hope for a few fine days soon! Ā My garden bird list and 1 feral pigeon that I spotted from the car:

  1. Black-headed Gull x 3 ā€“ flyovers.
  2. Bullfinch x 2, 1xm, 1xf
  3. Dunnock x 2
  4. Feral Pigeon x 1 ā€“ not in my garden, on Ballgreen Road.
  5. Long-tailed tit x 2
  6. Magpie x 1
  7. Starlings x 9
  8. Woodpigeon x 3

Added Collared Dove to my list today :D

Well done to England in the Rugby, probably the more exciting game of the weekend, got a bit worried about the scrums and ref at the start but things settled. Ā English defence is amazing! Ā Now onto the birds, I managed to add another first for the garden aĀ collared dove, very happy to see one show up in the garden, although itā€™s the one bird my dog doesnā€™t seem to like due to the noise they make.

The day started with heavy snow showers, it was quickly burnt off by the sun, then returnedĀ intermittently throughout the day and as dusk rolled in was quite heavy again and is lying out there now. It was the first day the feeders were heavily used in a few weeks and were almost cleared out. Ā The Long Tailed Tits were back and was great to see 2 birds together inside a RSPB half coconut eating the fat, it seems to be their favourite as they dash to branches near by have a feed then back to the coconut.

Hereā€™s my list for today:

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Blue Tit x 2
  3. Carrion crow x 4 fly over
  4. Coal Tit x 1
  5. Collared Dove x 1
  6. Dunnock x 1
  7. Feral Pigeon x 1
  8. Long-tailed tit x 2
  9. Magpie x 2
  10. Woodpigeon x 1

I wonder where all my house sparrows have gone? Ā Not seen any since February 23rd

Added Collared Dove to my list today.

Well done to England in the Rugby, probably the more exciting game of the weekend, got a bit worried about the scrums and ref at the start but things settled. Ā English defence is amazing! Ā Now onto the birds, I managed to add another first for the garden aĀ collared dove, very happy to see one show up in the garden, although itā€™s the one bird my dog doesnā€™t seem to like due to the noise they make.

The day started with heavy snow showers, it was quickly burnt off by the sun, then returnedĀ intermittently throughout the day and as dusk rolled in was quite heavy again and is lying out there now. It was the first day the feeders were heavily used in a few weeks and were almost cleared out. Ā The Long Tailed Tits were back and was great to see 2 birds together inside a RSPB half coconut eating the fat, it seems to be their favourite as they dash to branches near by have a feed then back to the coconut.

Hereā€™s my list for today:

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Blue Tit x 2
  3. Carrion crow x 4 fly over
  4. Coal Tit x 1
  5. Collared Dove x 1
  6. Dunnock x 1
  7. Feral Pigeon x 1
  8. Long-tailed tit x 2
  9. Magpie x 2
  10. Woodpigeon x 1

I wonder where all my house sparrows have gone? Ā Not seen any since February 23rd

Been away for a few days & indoors so havenā€™t seen a lot.

Hi all, sorry for the slow updates, Iā€™ve been away for the past few days and havenā€™t really had a chance to see many birds, hereā€™s my list:

Sunday morning, my garden:

  1. Blackbird x 2
  2. Dunnock x 1
  3. Magpie x 1

Sunday Birmingham airport:

  1. Kestrel x 1 ā€“ first for the year.
  2. Starlings x 2

Monday was indoors all day and saw nothing

Tuesday managed to see about 20 pigeons flying past hotel window before heading to the Focus On Imaging halls at the NEC Birmingham, but after that nothing for the rest of the day.Ā  Tomorrow should get back to normal with hopefully a good list of garden birds.

A very warm day in Edinburgh and a great day of birding and gardening!

Wow what a wonderful day in Edinburgh, I actually think I got sunburnt! Ā It was definitely T-shirt weather, great for being out in the garden and there were a lot of birds around, finally got a full set of tits that visit my garden in one day, hereā€™s the list:

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Bullfinch x 1 Male
  4. Carrion crow x 2
  5. Coal Tit x 1
  6. Common Buzzard x 1 -flying the lowest Iā€™ve seen it over my house. Ā Very awesome!
  7. Dunnock x 2
  8. Feral Pigeon x 1
  9. Great Tit x 1
  10. Long-tailed tit x 2
  11. Magpie x 2
  12. Woodpigeon x 2

Not sure where the chaffinches, robins and wrens have got to this year, the wren hasnā€™t even made it on the list yet and weā€™re over 2 months in!

Iā€™m not sure if Iā€™ll have internet access for the next few days, so donā€™t worry if Iā€™m not here. Ā I will try and do the finance updates for SaverScene & Saver Scene AustraliaĀ (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession) and any bird lists that I get to see if I have internet access, if not theyā€™ll be a few days late, but will keep record.

Watched the Rugby, more DIY and few birds about.

What a wonderful day for Scottish Rugby! Ā Today started with snow, a lot of snow but a few hours later there was almost none lying, by the end of the day it was just a boggy mess. Ā I would have expected a lot more birds around however thereā€™s also a lot of insects about so the birds arenā€™t needing the feeders as much as a few weeks ago. Ā Itā€™s amazing how many moths are about, talking to others theyā€™ve had almost none but Iā€™m having to remove and release up to 5 a day from the house, so there should be a lot more out and about. Ā Hereā€™s my list for today:

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Blue Tit x 2
  3. Bullfinch x 1 ā€“ female
  4. Dunnock x 1
  5. Feral Pigeon x 1
  6. Magpie x 2
  7. Woodpigeon x 4 ā€“ really showing mating behaviour today.

Small amounts of snow brings out a few birds. Plus photo of a Robin.

Today started off slightly white, pretty sure itā€™s the first snow for just over 2 weeks and then finished very wet. Ā The birds were loving a left over vegan pancake from yesterday. Ā The bad weather brought out the birds today and one of the longest lists Iā€™ve had in a few days:

  1. Blackbird x 4
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Carrion crow x 4 ā€“ fly overs
  4. Chaffinch x 1
  5. Coal Tit x 1
  6. Dunnock x 1
  7. Feral Pigeon x 1
  8. House Sparrow x 3
  9. Robin x 1
  10. Woodpigeon x 3

Hopefully get Robins nesting in the garden this year, below is a photo of one that was collecting my hair that Iā€™d had cut and put out for the birds:

Robin collecting hair for nest building

Robin collecting hair for nest building

Not sure why but colours have washed out a lot on export.