Saturday, October 30, 2010

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

The Stonechat sitting on a Bramble

Stonechats are robin sized birds. Males have striking black heads with white around the side of their neck, orange-red breasts and a mottled brown back.

This one is lacking the striking colours and is likely a Female or a yearling. The females lack the male's black head, but have brown backs and an orange tinge to their chests.

Birds are frequently seen flicking their wings while perched, often doing so on the tops of low bushes.

As its name suggests, birds utter a sharp loud call that sound like two stones being tapped together. You can often attract a response from territorial males by tapping 2 stones together to imitate their cry.

They breed in western and southern parts of the UK, but disperse more widely in winter. They eat bugs, invertebrates, seeds and fruit, particularly blackberries as seen from the photograph.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Friday, October 22, 2010

Friday, October 15, 2010

Bluebird of Happiness: The Blue Tit


Don't forget to feed the birds this winter!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Monday, October 11, 2010

Autumn colours

Chris Lynam sent us several pictures, including this lovely one of an autumnal path

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Sun on the burn