new garden has Coal Tits nesting in a box on a Scots pine
― Jarlrmai, Monday, 11 May 2009 10:31 (4 years ago) Permalink
The robins in our garden are being very charming at the moment. One of them, presumably the male, keeps coming to the feeder to get a sunflower seed, then flying up to a nearby branch to feed it to his mate as a sort of little love offering.
x-post - we've got blue tits, kind of apprehensive about the chicks first few days 'in the wild' what with all the cats round our way (the furry bastards).
― Enemy Insects (NickB), Monday, 11 May 2009 10:34 (4 years ago) Permalink
Yeah, I'm getting confused - when we were talking about american Robins being Thrushes I thought - european thrushes but I see now (having gone to wiki - d'oh) that it's a whole different thing. and quite groovy looking.
― Ned Trifle II, Monday, 11 May 2009 10:47 (4 years ago) Permalink
Yeah, they're smart looking fellers aren't they? Colourwise they're kind of a composite of the body of a song thrush, head of a blackbird, breast of a robin. Every now and again, one will get blown over the Atlantic by a storm and will turn up in a garden somewhere for a few days. Lords knows what happens to them after that.
― Enemy Insects (NickB), Monday, 11 May 2009 10:53 (4 years ago) Permalink
So to sum up...(to get it clear in my tiny brain)
European Robin (with eggs)
American Robin (see above)
European Thrush and eggs
― Ned Trifle II, Monday, 11 May 2009 10:53 (4 years ago) Permalink
I like the way that those robins painted a picture of a church in their spare time.
― Enemy Insects (NickB), Monday, 11 May 2009 11:06 (4 years ago) Permalink
They seem to have rigged up an electricity for the nest as well
― Jarlrmai, Monday, 11 May 2009 16:14 (4 years ago) Permalink
Oh, they're clever.
― Ned Trifle II, Monday, 11 May 2009 16:24 (4 years ago) Permalink
with all the topics on ILX that turn into US/UK comparison threads, I'd still never have guessed "robins" was one of them
― nabisco, Monday, 11 May 2009 16:43 (4 years ago) Permalink
the poster responsible...less of a surprise
― sorry for british (country matters), Monday, 11 May 2009 16:54 (4 years ago) Permalink
I retract "silly", although I maintain that calling it a robin is a big fat misnomer
― sorry for british (country matters), Monday, 11 May 2009 16:55 (4 years ago) Permalink
― the Member for Paisley (gabbneb), Monday, 11 May 2009 17:05 (4 years ago) Permalink
we see your fancy britishes robin and raise you a california condor
― the Member for Paisley (gabbneb), Monday, 11 May 2009 17:13 (4 years ago) Permalink
my backyard in SF is populated by Anna's hummingbirds:
and Stellar's Jays:
― the table is the table, Monday, 11 May 2009 17:17 (4 years ago) Permalink
and occasionally the fearsome Common Raven, western:
these guys actually scare me. they're big as fucking gulls, and i'm used to crows.
― the table is the table, Monday, 11 May 2009 17:19 (4 years ago) Permalink
I retract "silly", although I maintain that calling it a robin is a big fat misnomer― sorry for british (country matters), Monday, 11 May 2009 11:55 (24 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
― sorry for british (country matters), Monday, 11 May 2009 11:55 (24 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
I spent most of this winter complaining about these texas-sized robin imposters. Turdus Migratorius indeed.
― Prince of Persia (Ed), Monday, 11 May 2009 17:22 (4 years ago) Permalink
Genus Erithacus or nothing, mate. Red breasted bastard thrush.
― Prince of Persia (Ed), Monday, 11 May 2009 17:24 (4 years ago) Permalink
My dad had a big, barrel-shaped barbeque grill used for smoking meats. It had a little chimney with a latch that could open or close access to it. My dad had left it open and some robins built a nest in it. My dad wanted to remove the nest so he could cook on it, but naturally his three daughters greeted this with protests and tears. This debate happened every few days until the birds left the nest.
― fillibustar superstar! (Abbott), Monday, 11 May 2009 18:15 (4 years ago) Permalink
british robins are very territorial and will fight to the death to protect their territory.
― djh, Monday, 11 May 2009 18:16 (4 years ago) Permalink
The national aviary here in pittsburgh one of these
a pygmy falcon, which would probably loose in a fight with an territorially aggrieved robin.
― Prince of Persia (Ed), Monday, 11 May 2009 18:22 (4 years ago) Permalink
omg such conflicting and confused thoughts about that bird
― sorry for british (country matters), Monday, 11 May 2009 18:24 (4 years ago) Permalink
They have one of these too
For a so-called national aviary it is very small, I think someone built the national aviary of Liechtenstein here. They have a sloth as well which is rather delightful but not strictly a bird.
― Prince of Persia (Ed), Monday, 11 May 2009 18:28 (4 years ago) Permalink
Is that a pygmy owl? I know such a breed exists.
― sorry for british (country matters), Monday, 11 May 2009 18:30 (4 years ago) Permalink
Ah, so it is. URLs are so helpful.
There are several breeds, I really want to got to the dessert to see the cactus dwelling ones
― Prince of Persia (Ed), Monday, 11 May 2009 18:33 (4 years ago) Permalink
That Condor is more goth than Bimble.
― Ned Trifle II, Monday, 11 May 2009 18:37 (4 years ago) Permalink
Bimble needs to up his game and start wearing some identification tags around his arms imo
― sorry for british (country matters), Monday, 11 May 2009 18:45 (4 years ago) Permalink
I know I put this somewhere else but I'm very pleased with it.A Partridge On My Patio.
― Ned Trifle II, Monday, 11 May 2009 18:48 (4 years ago) Permalink
― high (latebloomer), Monday, 11 May 2009 18:59 (4 years ago) Permalink
but not their good names, apparently
― nabisco, Monday, 11 May 2009 19:14 (4 years ago) Permalink
i like how their brazen hardness is perceived as cuteness.
― djh, Monday, 11 May 2009 19:32 (4 years ago) Permalink
i like to get on with birds<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/carljgodwin/2707309584/"; title="Hello there! by carljgodwin, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3210/2707309584_ca294bb2ca.jpg"; width="333" height="500" alt="Hello there!" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/carljgodwin/2707319866/"; title="At one with nature... by carljgodwin, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3058/2707319866_973405e1c8.jpg"; width="500" height="333" alt="At one with nature..." /></a>what are these btw?
― not_goodwin, Monday, 11 May 2009 21:17 (4 years ago) Permalink
nooooo!i like to get on with birdswhat are these btw?
― not_goodwin, Monday, 11 May 2009 21:18 (4 years ago) Permalink
thats better
choughs
― sorry for british (country matters), Monday, 11 May 2009 21:20 (4 years ago) Permalink
coastal members of the crow famly, tend to nest on cliffs, i think they might be the official bird of cornwall or wales or some shit
― sorry for british (country matters), Monday, 11 May 2009 21:21 (4 years ago) Permalink
there's a little robin redbreast that is in my garden everyday. He perches on top of the same seat and shits on it.
― languid samuel l. jackson (jim), Monday, 11 May 2009 21:23 (4 years ago) Permalink
i was in Austria at the time.
― not_goodwin, Monday, 11 May 2009 21:23 (4 years ago) Permalink
oh shit they might be Alpine Choughs then! Actually, given the colour of their beaks, I'd say that's exactly what they are. My bad.
― sorry for british (country matters), Monday, 11 May 2009 21:26 (4 years ago) Permalink
Argh I can't believe I made such an elemental error
― sorry for british (country matters), Monday, 11 May 2009 21:28 (4 years ago) Permalink
Don't be angry with yourself, at least you know what they are.
― not_goodwin, Monday, 11 May 2009 21:44 (4 years ago) Permalink
Different beaks. But damn it you were close enough!
― Ned Trifle II, Monday, 11 May 2009 21:45 (4 years ago) Permalink
xp
now all you gotta do is pronouce em correctly
― sorry for british (country matters), Monday, 11 May 2009 23:30 (4 years ago) Permalink
crows are bastards
― chip dumstorf, Monday, 11 May 2009 23:38 (4 years ago) Permalink
Featherstonehaugh-Cholmondeley
― Ned Trifle II, Tuesday, 12 May 2009 08:23 (4 years ago) Permalink
crows and gulls are the kings of birds imo, theyre just harder, cleverer, more resourceful and more straight-up aware of their surroundings than the sweet innocents of the avian world
and crows, on top of this, are passeridae, the more advanced and sophisticated half of the phylum...it's everything in one package: brilliant flying skills, advanced social interaction, improvised eating routines, fearless predation
― sorry for british (country matters), Tuesday, 12 May 2009 13:17 (4 years ago) Permalink
Dunno if you've seen them in the wild LJ, but choughs in particular are amazingly agile flyers and so at home too in the windiest and wildest of places. Awesome critters.
― Enemy Insects (NickB), Tuesday, 12 May 2009 13:29 (4 years ago) Permalink
you dare doubt the lengths this not-quite-recovered ornithologist would go to to see a chough? pfah!
anyway, yeah, when we went to Wales and scouted out Skomer Island that one time, choughs aplenty cavorted by the cliffs. this was approximately 2 weeks before the sea empress disaster fwiw
― sorry for british (country matters), Tuesday, 12 May 2009 13:32 (4 years ago) Permalink
Ooooh, never been to Skomer. Gonna wait till the kids are a bit older and then take them birding up there to see da puffinks. This year's plan is to show them OWLS. Failed miserably to manage this last year though.
― Enemy Insects (NickB), Tuesday, 12 May 2009 13:39 (4 years ago) Permalink
turkeys outside my window at 5:00 this morning. lobblelobblelobble. they've gone all huge, fat and wattley for summer. it's shooting season, so all the little country stores are selling "turkey supplies". by which they mean things with which to murder the beasts.
― controversial vegan pregnancy (contenderizer), Monday, 20 May 2013 13:12 (4 days ago) Permalink
Went for a walk down the Thames foreshore at lunch and there were 2 Canadian geese with 3 goslings, so cute. Loads of geese around today, 3 different types. They're pretty tame, we were walking by really close and they just eyed us a bit and went back to napping.
― Just noise and screaming and no musical value at all. (Colonel Poo), Monday, 20 May 2013 13:16 (4 days ago) Permalink