Hello, A blue tit hovers at my window and at the back door window landing on the door handle lots of times a day . There doesnt seem to be any insects about ,I am worried it will tire its self out poor thing . the blind in my window is often closed when [...]
Rural scene in Ethiopia with Cattle Egrets in the middle distance (click to enlarge) During our visit to Ethiopia last December we hired a driver to take us through some of the rural areas north of Addis Ababa. We drove just over 100 kilometres to a locality known as Portuguese Bridge. On the way [...]Bev is still having garden birds attacked by sparrowhawks. Bev, Sorry for the delay in replying. I have been reading back over some other comments. Here are one or two notes for you to think about that other readers have suggested 1. Only feed in a morning as sparrowhawks are late risers. 2. Crows do [...]I’ve received this from a reader who is having so much trouble with sparrowhawks. I’ve tried the plastic Eagleowl and it seemed to work but only for a week or two. The Sparrowhawk came back again. Will try the mirror. -0-0-0-0- She got this idea from another reader Gary. Here is his advice and knowledge [...] Hi, I’m in Derby and have a flock of about 20 for about the last 2 weeks eating from my holly bush Neil. feb 2012. -0-0-0-0- Very interesting. It must have been amazing to have them their in your garden for so long and to be able to get so many sightings of them. Did you [...]
The Tacazze Sunbird was one of the more spectacular birds I saw in Ethiopia. In its adult breeding plumage it has a deep violet and iridescent colouring but the individuals I saw were mainly in the immature stage or non-breeding plumage, like the bird shown in these photos, taken in a private garden in suburban [...]
One of the bird species I recorded on only a few occasions during my two week stay in Ethiopia last December was the Thick-billed Raven. Only once did I manage to get a few photos of this species, shown here today on this post. They were very easily distinguished from the locally common Pied Crows [...]
Over recent weeks I have been writing about the birds I saw in Ethiopia on a visit there last December. I’ve already written several posts about Yellow-billed Kites here and here. Today I feature several more photos taken in the grounds of Bingham Academy in Addis Ababa, an international school where my daughter was teaching [...]
Pied Crows are one of the common birds you can see on a visit to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. I saw many on my visit there late last year to visit my daughter who was teaching at an international school in the capital. The birds shown in this set of photos were feeding on the [...]
Sometimes birding opportunities occur in a split second or two. This sighting was one of those. I was taking photos of some other birds in the grounds of Bingham Academy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia last December when we were visiting our daughter while she was teaching there. This large bird flew overhead and was gone [...] I can’t believe how many magpies there are now. I used to see the odd one now and again but we have lost count how many are around now. The last two years they have raided every nest in my garden I dont think the blackbirds got any of there chicks last year and [...]
Yesterday I wrote about a Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) with missing feathers (click here to read). As promised I have several more photos to show today, including some much closer up than those shown yesterday. These photos were taken on the campus of Bingham Academy, Addis Ababa, the international school where my daughter was teaching [...]
One of the more unusual birds I saw on my visit to Addis Ababa last December was this Hooded Vulture. In another post in a few days’ time I will show some close up photos of this species, but today I want to focus on this particular bird. It was soaring low over the oval [...]Definitely not a Chaffinch. It moves its wings alternatively. It has two flanks of white on both sides of its body. Unless Chaffinches breed with Dunnocks. But its always in the garden and the Robin chases it off. We also have two robins now and they do not fight -0-0-0-0- The above is in reply to the [...]I’ve had this question and all I can think of is a chaffinch. The chaffinches that come to my feeders have white on their wings. But can anyone help with more advice? We have in our gaden a bird that is very much like a Dunnock, but it has white feathers on both its wings.We [...]