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Catweazle
Nov Member 2005

Catweazle

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*gasp!*

He's always 'far too busy doing something important' to mess with such trivialities. I see a bout of enraged fiddling with chicken wire and wire cutters coming on, culminating in me vowing to track down and throttle the individual who invented such pure evil whilst nursing the thousand scratches and gouges on my hands and wrists.

28-Oct-2014 20:59:02

Wilf
Jul Member 2019

Wilf

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Think mine was originally for putting against a wall for climbers to grow on. However with rented property stuff like that gets left so I decided to make use of it instead. Bit thicker than chicken wire and not as many wires to cut to get it into shape either :P

28-Oct-2014 21:09:24

Catweazle
Nov Member 2005

Catweazle

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Hmmm. Now you come to mention it I think we may have a chunk of the wire grille left over from when we covered the fish pond. It's quite sturdy enough to support itself from edge to edge over the pond so I bet I could bend it about to do the job. The holes are bigger and it's not homicidal, like chicken wire.

My hands aren't strong enough to do it so I may have to raid the Bastion of Masculinity in a search for suitable tools. This is unheard of so I'll have to do it while he's at work. I hope he hasn't got the place booby-trapped.

28-Oct-2014 21:16:38

Bernadette
Dec Member 2021

Bernadette

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I have Canon 10x30 binoculars with image stabilisers, which helps as I have never been good at holding things steady. I have decided to try to photograph the birds I can see in the garden, to give a better chance to identify them but I need to set the camera on a tripod so the photos aren't too blurry. I think the garden birds know they are under surveillance now, as they are hiding from me!

Yesterday was a grey rainy day so only saw a few great **** (or the same one many times over), blackbirds, crows, magpie, pigeons and a pair of gold finches sitting in the beech tree. The trees still have a lot of leaves, so seeing what is in them is a bit harder. Lots of little birds flitting over the fields, but I have no idea what they were.

We always have gulls flying around and I saw a buzzard again soaring overhead. The Ducks were very restless about something and kept taking off from the reservoir circling and landing again. We also had a heron fly over, possibly checking out the reservoir which does have fish in.

I have only just started looking at birds with more of an intention to properly identify them so I will watch out for a tree sparrow. There was something in the hawthorn today, but I didn't get to see what it was before if flitted off over the fields.

When I was younger most birds fell into the LBJ category until I learned to tell some of them apart. My favourite birds were the house martins who built their nests under the eaves of our house.
One man's Truth is another man's Lie

30-Oct-2014 20:55:47

Wilf
Jul Member 2019

Wilf

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Nifty bins!

What camera do you use? are you fairly clued up?

They'll be starting to form mixed flocks now so there could be all sorts in and amongst.

If you get a taste it won't be long before you'll be buying a spotting scope :P

I'm not too good on gulls which is something I'm slowly working on. Just a case of having a chance to see confusion species together so I can not any differences in the field as opposed to from a book. The good ones are where they have a feature that is a different colour such as eye or feet.

No house martins where I am but again they are just up the road near the farms. Can see them and the swallows flying about when they go over the fields though.


Do you record what you see?

30-Oct-2014 21:11:02

Bernadette
Dec Member 2021

Bernadette

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I'm not terribly good when it comes to cameras. We have a Samsung 26x Optical zoom which has anti-shake so most of the time the pictures are just about ok, except when it is zoomed right out - no amount of anti shake can help me then! That is why I try to put it on the tripod, but that only works if a bird hoves into view where I have focussed it, and if the dratted thing hasn't turned itself off! I take far too long to release it and refocus if something appears elsewhere.

I finally saw the Jay in the garden, unfortunately it was right at the far end and by the time I focussed the camera it had hopped up the bank by the ditch and was hidden by tufts of grass. I did have a good look at it with the binoculars first though - very pretty colours.

I relocated a couple of feeding things into the Elder tree, which is closer to the house. The Great **** seem to like it, and spend a lot of time pecking at the bark between their feet. Unfortunately Mr B is intent on digging it out as it is where we are redoing a border. I will try to get it reprieved.

I watched the Heron circling around again yesterday - a couple of crows seemed to be diving at it. I haven't noticed that before. I have seen the crows diving at buzzards in the spring and summer.

We had three pheasants in the field at the front today. I heard them before I could work out where they were***** B said we have had some in the garden, but I haven't been around to see them.

I have just started making a note of what I see, when I remember.
One man's Truth is another man's Lie

02-Nov-2014 00:34:22

Wilf
Jul Member 2019

Wilf

Posts: 17,032 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
I used to have a canon super zoom sx40? for the price second hand can't beat it really.

Ye, crows gulls etc etc will mob herons as they see it as a predator which it is definitely eat chicks if it could get them.

I started recording stuff last year, and I think so long as you keep doing it it will in years to come be an excellent reference.

Slightly miffed at the moment though as with being busy till the afternoon this weekend I didn't get chance to do much and there have been rough legged buzzards in the area, and they've been seen again today. But with it now being dark for 5pm can't see them after work :( .

Hoping they stick around for the weekend.... One was reported as a juvenile so it may be here Saturday, but I'm not too hopeful.

Would have been a new bird for me as well.

See grey wagtails daily where we are working now which is nice, and I'm getting good with the calls. Seen Sparrowhawk as well and that's about it really.

03-Nov-2014 18:49:31

Tsun-Chan

Tsun-Chan

Posts: 3,682 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Catweazle said :
*gasp!*

He's always 'far too busy doing something important' to mess with such trivialities. I see a bout of enraged fiddling with chicken wire and wire cutters coming on, culminating in me vowing to track down and throttle the individual who invented such pure evil whilst nursing the thousand scratches and gouges on my hands and wrists.

Uhm, what cuts? Get some solid thick gloves and cover the rest of your body fully, with a jumper etc.

03-Nov-2014 19:25:34

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