From the lockdown loftroom I've been hearing a bird call the last few days, that I couldn't quite identify. I knew the direction it was coming from was behind the far corner of the field, but couldn't see the bird.
Deep mellow 'peeee peeee peeee' calls....
I tried googling bird calls and listening to the suggested birds, but all I could liken it to was a Kingfisher. Yet the pitch was wrong, and when I hear Kingfishers I tend to hear them calling as they fly, so the sound travels away from me. This bird call was always coming from the same place. I'm used to the Red Kite calling, but even that call sometimes seemed to come from behind the far corner of the field, and often happened when I was watching 'my' Red Kite (more about him/her later) perched in one of the tall trees.
Today, despite the really heavy rain we had all morning, the calls kept coming, and the minute the rain stopped early afternoon I was off out with my camera to try and locate the bird and find out what it was. Identifying this bird could not wait a moment longer !
Beyond the inaccessible field is a small narrow orchard, and then the Grand Union canal, so I walked up the towpath until I got to where I thought the far corner of the field was. There was a handy log there to sit on, so I sat and waited. And waited. And waited....
…..and then the familiar song started again. It actually made me jump a little as it was (obviously) much louder than before, and along with the 'peeee peeee peeee' call, there was a rattle call, and then a mew like a Red Kite and then the songs would all intermingle and begin all over again....
and there, about 10ft away and on the other side of the canal, was this Song Thrush...
Getting a bit closer I realised this individual was not only singing, but in amongst the melodious tunes it was mimicking other birds. The Kingfisher, the Red Kite and what sounded like a Starling. Amazing !
 |
| same bird, same perch, different angle |
I did make two short video recordings on my iPhone but Blogger is being a bugger and wont let me upload them.
Waiting around wasn't that much of a hard ship. The views were pretty good ...
 |
| female Mallard and ducklings |
 |
| Pochard - female or juvenile male - not sure |
 |
| female Pochard and duckling |
 |
| Coot and cootlings (haha) |
 |
| juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker |
 |
| Mayfly - my first ever photo of one |
I also had a Kingfisher fly past (with no call)
Having satisfied my curiosity I made my way back to the lockdown loftroom, stopping only to investigate a scrubby area by the side of Moorhall Road.
I see and photograph loads of damselflies, but decided to try something new with this one...
...weird looking critters aren't they ?
As mentioned in my most recent blog posts, ladybirds are being seen in various stages of their lives at the moment, and this small two metre long area of roadside scrub had signs of at least four species, and a big fat FIRST for me....
 |
| 7-Spot adult |
 |
| 7-Spot larva |
 |
| !4-Spot adult (tiny and fast moving) |
 |
| and my first EVER 14-Spot larva (even tinier and faster) |
 |
| 14-Spot larva |
 |
| 14-Spot larva |
 |
| 2-Spot adult (bigger than a 14-Spot but smaller than a 7-Spot) |
 |
| Harlequin pupa shell case top left, and Harlequin larva bottom right - weirdly I couldn't find any Harlequin adults |
My first ever 14-Spot larva !! I couldn't believe just how tiny it is, and it's hard to put the perspective into my photos.
Back at the lockdown loftroom, the Red Kite that has been loitering around the tall trees at the back of the field was of course, still there. Below are three photos I took yesterday and this morning, with the times in caption....
 |
| 17/06/20 3pm |
 |
| 17/06/20 7.30pm |
 |
| 18/06/20 11am - in the pouring rain ! |
I'm still not sure what is going on with this bird. Immature male ? Been booted off the nest whilst the missus broods eggs or chicks ? I really don't know, but watch this space for any updates.
No comments:
Post a Comment