Friday 21st May 2020

Hugs and who's that knocking..?

Good Morning!

Give yourselves and your loved ones a huge hug for navigating yet another week under lockdown. You are all amazing!

Look what Mrs Laurie spotted on her bird table this morning – do you know what bird it is? She also saw two very busy starlings feeding their huge chick that was almost as big as them already! You might like to use the two links below to do some bird investigating of your own - make sure you have asked permission from an adult first.

https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/gbw/gardens-wildlife/garden-birds/a-z-garden-birds/great-spotted-woodpecker

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/identify-a-bird/

What birds or wildlife have caught your eye and interest? Where? Have you seen anything that you think is unusual?

Remember we won't be posting any blogs or suggested activities until Monday 1st June so have a good rest and lots of fun in the meantime.

Mrs L & Mrs B

Fox James 4 years ago
Hi Mrs L and Mrs B We keep on seeing birds landing on our fence but not our bird table (maybe the know not to use it so that the owners of the bird table buys some bird food sneaky birds). We have seen squirrels and pigeons running across our fence the dog tries to catch them but he always fails because he either doesn't go quick enough or just jumps onto the fence try to bang it although they can fly off, Patrick has the lock down going to his head too. We also keep on seeing my favourite bird the Blue Tit.
Fox Oliver 4 years ago
Good morning Mrs B and Mrs L recently we been seeing loads of robins around because a robin is nesting in our shed but she left so we cracked her eggs open but there was no chicks. All of the robins we been seeing is near our conservatory and near our decking. We have been seeing less robins because the mother left.
Fox Aston 4 years ago
I have a rspb book about birds and it is a female great spotted woodpecker. If it was a male it would have a red spot on his head. It drums its beak against a trunk instead of singing and to tell other woodpeckers that this is their home. We see red kites flying in the fields around our farm and we have white doves in our barn. The farm across the road has an owl and when there are owlets they make a funny noise. We also see bats swooping out of their barn at night.🦉🕊🦇🦄
Fox Aston 4 years ago
I hope you all have a happy holiday.😀
Ela 4 years ago
Good Morning everyone, I have a set of cards for bird spotters and I found the one in the picture: great spotted woodpecker (card number 25). Scientific name is Dendrocopos major and they eat insects, seeds and nuts. We see robins, starlings,magpies, blackbirds, pigeons, bluetits, redkites and sparrow hawks, also recently we have lots of goldfinches coming to drink from the pond in our garden. We hear the cuckoo every evening and the owls. There is a heron in our village but I havent seen it recently.
Fox Esme 4 years ago
Hi Mrs L and B, I think the bird on the table is a woodpecker because we saw one in our garden once. I am seeing a lot of red kites in the sky and they are really loud! I hope you have a great half term. From Esme
Mrs L & Mrs B 4 years ago
Hi James, you certainly have a lot of animal and bird activity going on in your back garden - is Patrick the name of your dog? Blue tits are very pretty - it's not surprising that they are a favourite of yours. Thanks for keeping in touch and have a lovely half-term holiday!
Mrs L & Mrs B 4 years ago
Hi Oliver, great to hear from you. We often seem to hear about robins nesting in unusual places, such as sheds and even post boxes believe it or not. You seem to have lots of them living around your house - lucky you! Have a great bank holiday and take care,
Mrs L & Mrs B 4 years ago
Hi Aston, you are a careful observer and an ace bird watcher! You noticed that the woodpecker does not have a red cap and this does mean that it is a female great spotted woodpecker. Well done - 10/10! You also mentioned that it makes a drumming sound - we gave a hint about this in the blog heading 'who's that knocking..?' Spot on again! How interesting that you have got owls living near you. Their chicks do make a strange hissing noise. Are you able to hear some of the high-pitched clicking noises that the bats make sometimes? It can sound a little like a (clockwork) wristwatch being wound up. You have been busy watching the wildlife around you ! Have a lovely holiday and we hope to see you soon.
Mrs L & Mrs B 4 years ago
Hi Ela, well spotted too - excuse the pun. 10/10! You've clearly been keeping an eye out for birds around your home - a real mixture and range. Herons are lovely birds - sometimes people with ponds in their back gardens don't like them because they have a tendency to eat all the fish! Have a lovely weekend and take care,
Mrs L & Mrs B 4 years ago
Hi Esme - well done for noticing it is a woodpecker. Red kites are very noisy, we agree. They are also quite large and look like they could easily carry off quite large prey. Interestingly enough, they are relatively slow moving birds so actually mostly eat worms and dead prey or carrion! Have lovely restful half-term break too,