Bento is back!

Last year, we had a real character among the great tits coming for mealworms. We'd nicknamed it Bento, for a fairly obvious reason, clearly visible on the photo below, taken as he was visiting one of the feeders (before customisation): the feather at the edge of its left wing was bent.



But it was also recognisable by its character, very confident, forward, demanding... He was always very quick to let me know I was late in refilling the feeders. I'll never forget (well I might, but it'll take some time), one day I was at the sink when I saw it appear and then hover in front of me looking me straight in the eyes while calling loudly. I obeyed pronto! He managed to have 2 broods, so I guess his approach worked.

This year, we were wondering if we would see him again. Early on, there was this one, nicknamed Thumper by my other half, as it would often arrive on the feeder rather heavily, with a big thump, and being generally a bit of a bully to the other birds. But nothing decisive.



Them, last Wednesday, I was on the balcony taking photos of the passionflower which had started flowering, and chatting with a neighbour, when I heard a light metallic sound and my neighbour said "Don't move, a bird has landed right above you". I move very slowly, and this great tit was on the flue, less than a metre from me...



You may notice the small feather sticking out? on its left wing? I actually got to get an even better look on Friday afternoon and the feather at the edge is missing... My other half was working at home and to give him some peace and quiet I had removed the feeder in the front room and put mealworms on the window sill by my desk, giving me very clear and closer views. That evening, I texted the neighbour I share the mealworm feeding with about it, and she replied immediately "Funny you should mention Bento, I saw one today reminded me very much of him". She feeds the robins by throwing mealworms on the ground [when they don't come and help themselved in her kitchen], and it would come and pick them up in front of them, and more than one at a time (which most tits don't). I saw him take 5, almost 6, albeit rather small ones, at once, quite a feat! He now takes 2 of the big ones almost every time. To finish, this morning, I had not even finished putting the feeder back on its hooks after refilling that it had already landed on it...

I think, odds are it is the same bird. And I am very pleased it's back :) On its second brood already more than likely, all the fledged young great tits have been fairly independent for a while now.

26 February 2009

I haven't had much opportunity to go out so far this week, except for shopping, and this is on one of those shopping trip that I have seen yet another colour-ringed house sparrow, in the same spot by Sainsbury's. I also saw today the female I first noticed 2 weeks ago.

I haven't yet spotted any other ringed sparrow in the other 2 colonies I check on my patch.

The long tailed tits are still building their nest just outside the cemetery. I watched them picking up lichen/moss from a tree nearby, it looked such a small quantity, no wonder it takes them so long. I think they may be picking up material from what I am offering as I can occasionally hear their chirping at the back of the house, but if the blue tits are here they chase them away from their balcony! The blue tits are still visiting the window feeders for seeds and mealworms regularly, a great tit has started also coming for mealworm.
I have heard or seen wren and dunnock visiting the back gardens, which is a sign that they're improving I hope.

Still no sign of pink on the magnolia, but some of the daffodils are just about to bloom. The squirrels haven't managed to eat all the crocuses, so, at least at a distance, they're making a lovely blue carpet...

15 February 2009

At some point today I heard a familiar chirp but not where I'd heard it before: a long-tailed tit was exploring the chicken wire surrounding the balcony. either it was looking for insects on the passiflora clinging to it, or it was interested in the nesting material. I'll never know as a blue tit quickly arrived on the scene and started chasing it around, the long tailed tit ending up on the balcony floor. After a few minutes of the blue tit harassing it on the other side, the long tailed tit flew off towards some neighbours' bush.
Later, as I was making tea, I spotted a big sparrowhawk on the roof of the 'big house' at the back, which would explain why pigeons were all over the place a few minutes before, since both peregrines were at the time nicely settled on their perches.

11 February 2009

I had a nice surprise this morning while sitting at my desk. I heard a tweet and, when I looked up, found a chiffchaff on the broom at the back of the garden where the tits eat the worms and seeds they pick up on the balcony. It went from branch to branch, looking resplendent in the sunshine, and wagging its tail a bit. I picked up my camera, but just as I was going to press on the trigger, the neighbours' flue started spewing steam engulfing the bush and my picture ended up all white! It probably also caused the bird to move away, but I relocated in a neighbour's garden. I then took this photo of it on a rose bush.

Later on, on my way to and back from the shops through Margravine Cemetery, I was initially thinking that it was pretty quiet, but as I got close to the grove I could see 9 crows together, they were occasionally rather noisy, but mostly they were busy pecking at the ground, while avoiding the squirrels. The male great spotted woodpecker flew to the ginkgo biloba and started tapping at a branch; I don't think I've seen it in that tree before. Plant-wise, there has been a crocus explosion, the purple carpet is expanding in the north part, and planting has finally started at the roundabout, with some little box shrubs.

Both peregrines were present on the hospital for a good part of the day, eating, digesting and sunbathing, with a bit of preening thrown in...

9 February 2009

On this rainy day, there has been a lot of bird activity at the back, A great tit started taking some of the cat hair, then decided it was too wet, and went to get some seeds in the feeder instead, A dunnock, the first one in years it feels, and a wren visited the back gardens, though not at the same time, and 2 robins appeared to be looking very closely at a neighbour's ivy (this might not be such a good idea, a cat likes using the shed on which it is growing to birdwatch).