Wednesday, 7 May 2014

Woodpecker, Sparrowhawk, Roe Deer and a Bird List

Tuesday 7th May 2014

This blog contains a few odds and ends, things I have been meaning to include in a blog and haven't got round to.  Firstly, on holiday last week I listed all of the birds we saw and I'm quite impressed by the number, this is the list.

wren                                                     buzzard                                magpie
great tit                                                stonechat                             herring gull
black backed gull                               fulmar                                   kittiwake (maybe)
dunnock                                               sand martins                       raven
jackdaw                                               crow                                     mallard
wood pigeon                                       chiffchaff                              blackbird
chaffinch                                              swallow                                sparrow
skylark                                                 greenfinch                            robin
blue tit                                                  blackcap                              cormorant
goldfinch                                              pied wagtail                         kestrel
house martin                                       starling                                  feral pigeon
willow warbler                                      rook                                      gannets

An odd thing happened a couple of weeks before we went away, a greater spotted woodpecker started drilling on the telegraph pole opposite our house.  This bird spent about four or five days on and off really trying to get into the top of the pole - it was really loud and certainly got the neighbours scratching their heads, if only they had looked up!  After a very good attempt the bird must have found itself another more desirable residence as it hasn't been around for a few weeks.

We got home on Saturday to the sight of a sparrowhawk tearing into a sparrow in the back garden - not the best home coming!

Finally last night my daughter and I had a late evening walk in the dark around our neighbourhood and a short distance from home the eagle eyed one of us - her not me - spotted a deer on the edge of some woodland alongside the main road, opposite where we were walking.  I was very concerned that we might spook it so we cautiously moved along and into the cut way through to some houses, all the time being watched by the deer who didn't move.  It seemed to be on it's own and I have seen a deer in this spot before but in the daylight and I am fairly sure it was a roe deer as it had small pointy antlers and the big black nose.
                                   

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