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Birds, Insects & Bats in flight (outdoors) Page 15

Image Taken on 15 Sep 2013 at 06:48    Image of day on 16 Nov 2013

On a quiet morning around dawn we saw about 1000 Canada Geese in the distance and overhead. Unexpectedly we did not hear their strident calls in flight - only from the distant fields as they set off.
Although a montage (for a blur on the two left birds) this is what we saw - the bird feathers luminous in the glow of the rising sun.


Ref: 20131116_df1_20130915_0648_200+201 canada geese skeins at dawn with wings catching rising sunlight (montage for focus)(r+mb id@1024).jpg


Image Taken on 03 Mar 2020 at 17:37    Image of day on 25 Mar 2020

A Carrion crow touches down with a short but substantial stick.
So there must a be Crow's nest on our patch but we haven't found it yet. This pair of Crows habitually build in evergreen trees, and it is hard to spot from the ground with them high in the canopy.


Ref: 20200325_d01_20200303_1737_095_fb6 carrion crow carrying short thick twig in beak landing on meadow post(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 10 Oct 2009 at 14:57    Image of day on 13 Nov 2009

We like to see buzzards, but the carrion crows are a lot less keen and mob them, usually without much success beyond a minor evasion. Although only one bird is in this frame, 4 of them were wheeling round the action.


Ref: 20091113_db1_20091010_1457_680 carrion crow harassing buzzard in flight (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 01 Nov 2023 at 13:24    Image of day on 17 Dec 2023

We watched this Carrion Crow for a couple of minutes, first in the distance gradually moving closer until passing us perhaps 20 metres away. The black bird against blank clouds both prevent an 'accurate' montage, and make seeing detail in the feathers seemingly impossible. So here we go the other way as a Silhouette.


Ref: 20231217_d73_20231101_1324_045-049 carrion crow in flight (close spaced montage 2 as silhouette)(r+mb id@1024).jpg


Image of day on 22 May 2005

The carrion crows are already feeding their young at 5 a.m. This one must have visited just after the camera memory card was changed in the hope some food had been left at the visit.


Ref: 20050522_d3e_16556 fb1 carrion crow in flight 2005may19_05-33-14(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 16 Mar 2025 at 15:04    Image of day on 22 Apr 2025

Carrion crows are always about, but rarely present themselves for a photo.


Ref: 20250422_d01_20250316_1504_013+014_fb6 carrion crow landing on meadow post (montage over 500ms)(r+mb id@1024).jpg


Image Taken on 18 Feb 2019 at 14:50    Image of day on 19 Mar 2019

A day of heavy rain doesn't put the 'dampers' on the Carrion Crows.
As this Carrion Crow flies in to the post you can see water splashing above it's head.


Ref: 20190319_d01_20190218_1450_040+1451_041_fb6 carrion crow landing on meadow post in heavy rain (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 07 Jan 2018 at 15:54    Image of day on 10 Feb 2018

Mrs and Mr Chaffinch just about 3 minutes apart as the sun sets.
Did you know that both sun and Moon move their own similar visual diameters in close to 2 minutes? Here you can see that the suns (rather blurred) disc is moving down and to the right shows about this amount of movement.


Ref: 20180210_d36_20180107_1554_093+1557_094_fb4 chaffinch female & male landing on tree-stump at sunset 3 minutes apart (montage)(r+mb id@1024).jpg


Image Taken on 30 Jul 2012 at 18:47    Image of day on 02 Sep 2012

The female has a deformed or long ago injured right foot. We have seen this many times in ducks and geese (then usually caused by limbs being tourniquetted by fishing line) and they seem to manage 'OK'


Ref: 20120902_d45_20120730_1847_027_fb1 chaffinch female (right foot deformed) in flight(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 16 Dec 2011 at 14:20    Image of day on 20 Jan 2012

4 Successive frames saw this chaffinch flying fairly close by the male Great Spotted Woodpecker within just 3 minutes. We are sure it was trying harass it away.


Ref: 20120120_d3b_20111216_1420_072-1422_075_fb3 chaffinch female 4 flybys by great spotted woodpecker male in 3 mins 1-4 of 4 (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 15 Mar 2007 at 16:08    Image of day on 01 Apr 2007

Perhaps this female chaffinch is the object the fight in yesterdays image (same site and similar time next day).


Ref: 20070401_d35_20070315_1608_003 fb2 chaffinch female in flight(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 17 Jun 2019 at 16:04    Image of day on 29 Jul 2019

A female Chaffinch flies away from the kitchen window bird table with a seed in her beak.


Ref: 20190729_e60_20190617_1604_029_fb3 chaffinch female in flight with seed in beak(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 19 Jul 2015 at 18:23    Image of day on 20 Sep 2015

A capricious cloud of midges caught by this female Chaffinch triggering the camera as she aerobraked to land


Ref: 20150920_e60_20150719_1823_087_fb3 chaffinch female landing next to another + cloud of midges (crop 1)(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 19 Jul 2015 at 18:23    Image of day on 20 Sep 2015

Here is the cloud of midges in more detail.
When you are trying to stop them getting into your mouth or biting, you think of them as formless nuisances, but you can just see here that they are properly formed little insects.


Ref: 20150920_e60_20150719_1823_087_fb3 chaffinch female landing next to another + cloud of midges (crop 3 - midge detail)(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 06 Apr 2014 at 13:27    Image of day on 02 Jun 2014

A Female chaffinch blurring her wings to attractive effect.


Ref: 20140602_d36_20140406_1327_077_fb4 chaffinch female landing on tree-stump(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 28 Mar 2014 at 12:23    Image of day on 08 May 2014

Finally the female Chaffinch lands on the tree-stump. Her back is not as green as that of the males.


Ref: 20140508_d36_20140328_1223_043_fb4 chaffinch female landing on tree-stump(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 18 Apr 2017 at 18:40    Image of day on 07 Jun 2017

A female Chaffinch landing on the tree stump, photographed a day apart but at close to the same time of day.


Ref: 20170607_d36_20170418_1840_016+20170419_1851_051_fb4 chaffinch female landing on tree-stump (impression montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 22 Jun 2017 at 19:09    Image of day on 15 Aug 2017

A selection from 5 separate landings by probably the same individual female Chaffinch are here accurately montaged into a representational landing sequence.


Ref: 20170815_d36_20170622_1909_023+20170623_0847_034+0555_029_fb4 chaffinch female landings on tree-stump 1+4+2 of 5 (accurate montage)(r+mb id@1024).jpg


Image Taken on 04 Dec 2013 at 12:23    Image of day on 21 Jan 2014

Turning in mid-flight, this female Chaffinch gives us a lovely view of her face.


Ref: 20140121_e60_20131204_1223_045_fb3 chaffinch female turning in flight (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 10 Oct 2013 at 15:09    Image of day on 08 Dec 2013

A slightly half-hearted defence of the stone by the female chaffinch on the left by the Great Tit coming in to land.


Ref: 20131208_d50_20131010_1509_012_fb1 chaffinch female warning landing great tit(r+mb id@768).jpg


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