Our next-door neighbour has a bird feeder hanging from the plum tree not far from either house and I take great pleasure in watching the various birds that come to visit. There are house sparrows, chaffinches, goldfinches, greenfinches and blue tits regularly on the feeder while robins, wrens, great tits, blackbirds and song thrushes hang around close by. A little farther away are the wood pigeons, magpies, jackdaws, rooks and herring gulls.
Most of the birds that use the feeder sit there on the perch and take what food they want before flying into the plum tree. The house sparrows, in particular, are messy eaters, always dropping crumbs. The blue tits act differently. They never try to get on the feeder while other birds are there, sitting in the tree patiently waiting their turn. When they do get on the feeder, they take a piece of food and carry it onto a branch of the tree. There they hold down the food with a claw while they eat it before going back for more. There's one in the plum tree as seen from my bedroom window.
A couple of days ago I mentioned a series of television programmes, Frozen Planet. I should have realised that there would be clips on Youtube and indeed there are, like this one:
3 comments:
Nature is certainly marvelous and infinite in its variety. Birds in particular are fascinating.
Ah, but the Beeb's vids are blocked in the US. More's the pity.
How funny is that! Thanks!!
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