Wild pheasants fighting

I have had two pheasants coming regularly in our back garden to eat the seeds that smaller birds drop on the ground from our bird feeder.

I have named them Donald and Mickey, because Mickey has large black feathers on the top of its head, like two large Mickey mouse ears.

Having very similar colours and one being slightly smaller than the other, I am guessing that it is a dad and son team. They rarely fight each other and like to wander around the garden. They often walk up to the patio door and stare at the glass, probably intrigued by the reflection.

Recently, another pheasant came into the garden. This caused some friction which ended up in a fight. It was quite intriguing watching them behave. It was like a little dance with their feathers slightly lifted to make themselves look a little bigger than they actually are.

Below is a small video showing you the fight. Don't worry. Nobody gets hurts! Well, not this time anyway.

 

Jay visiting my garden

We occasionally have the visit of a jay in our garden. He is very timid but I managed to film it from my lounge window.
The clip below shows shows him eating the seeds that have fallen on the ground from our bird feeder. You see it picking and eating the ones it likes, looking from side to side. No sound as the clip was taken from indoors.

Nest building crow fighting with a twig

I saw a crow behaving strangely in a bush back in May this year. As it was quite far away, I used my camcorder's zoom to try and work out what on earth it was doing in that bush.
In this funny clip, you will find that the poor crow was in fact in a bit of a bother. It had found a twig with a nice curve that would have fit beautifully in the nest it was building ....only... the stick was too large and curvy and the crow had to use all its might!
I think you might feel sorry for the crow.



So, did you???

Baby long tailed tit leaving its nest

I can't believe my luck! I have been watching long tailed tits nesting in our garden but never expected to see one of the chicks perched only about 4 meters away from me. In the short clip below, you can hear its calling sound and see that it is still very unsteady on its feet.

What do you think of the clip!

Long tailed tits nesting

I was delighted to realise that a couple of long-tailed tits had built a nest in my back garden. I would never have seen the nest if it had not been for the birds going in and out of the bush with feathers in their beaks.

Even before leaves started to grow on the bush, the nest was nearly invisible as the materials used on the outside were those found on the branches, i.e. lichen.

As the leaves grow, the bush will make a very safe environment for the chicks when they finally leave the nest. Below, one of the parents getting out of the nest:

 The eggs have hatched. The chicks have no feather and their eyes are closed:

 Five days later, eyes are open and feathers have grown. Have a look at that tongue:

And here, you can just about see a little "Mohican hairstyle":

 Now, have a look at my video. It is a small collage of my best clips. Also, notice how elasticated the nest seems: you can see the materials stretch as the parents go in and out. And at exactly 2m30, you can see the chick make a saliva bubble. Funny!

And please, let me know what you think of my video! Enjoy!

Blind wild rabbit - Myxomatosis

The young rabbits that we have been watching from our dining room window for about one month are now showing signs of myxomatosis.
Guessing that they started to venture outside their den when they were about two weeks old, they should be only about 6 weeks old.
Their eyesight deteriorated very quickly (within one week).
Their eyes are red, swollen and even runny. In the clip below, you can see that one of the siblings with a healthy eye.
You would not believe these are the same cute rabbits that I posted picture of recently.


Below are pictures of an older rabbit I took a few weeks ago with the same condition.

Lambs out in the field

The farmer just brought his ewes back to the field with their new lambs after a whole winter at the barn. This is a new experience for the lambs who never experienced the outdoors.