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Birds, Insects & Bats in flight (outdoors) Page 44
Image Taken on 16 Jan 2024
at 03:21 Image of day on 06 Feb 2024
This Magpie spends about 7 minutes on and around the Meadow Post.
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Ref: 20240206_d01_20240116_0321_056+1324_057+1324_058_fb6 magpie landings on meadow post over 7 minutes (montage)(r+mb id@1024).jpg
Image Taken on 08 Jan 2025
at 15:17 Image of day on 15 Feb 2025
Grab the food even if you have barely landed.
Perhaps the corn always moves in the down draft from the bird's aerobraking
and their mental equipment says 'grab it before it gets away'.
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Ref: 20250215_e6c_20250108_1517_003_fb4 magpie makes awkward landing on tree-stump(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 22 Apr 2024
at 16:45 Image of day on 16 May 2024
The Magpie nest collecting has quietened down (or maybe they have run out of
old hedge cuttings where there are cameras) but here we see a landing with one
of these awkward and spiky Blackthorn twigs messing up the bird's landing with
all that extra weight at the front.
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Ref: 20240516_d01_20240422_1645_021+022_fb6 magpie makes awkward landing with twig in beak (montage over 500ms)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 03 Dec 2025
at 13:08 Image of day on 16 Jan 2026
A sort of 'touch-and-go' landing on the Meadow Post by this Magpie.
These two images about half-a-second apart.
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Ref: 20260116_d01_20251203_1308_001+002_fb6 magpie makes touch-and-go landing on meadow post (accurate montage partly reconstructed)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 11 Jan 2025
at 13:55 Image of day on 15 Feb 2025
... but landings don't always go as intended.
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Ref: 20250215_e6c_20250111_1355_051_fb4 magpie makes very bad landing on tree-stump(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 03 Feb 2025
at 12:22 Image of day on 11 Mar 2025
A pair of Magpies can often be seen perched about 70m along the Farm hedge to our south.
They reliably depart when we appear, in this case almost vertically
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Ref: 20250311_d71_20250203_1222_006-009 magpie near vertical takeoff from hedge south of blocked gate (accurate montage @8fps)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 17 Jun 2022
at 16:25 Image of day on 06 Aug 2022
Looks to us like an adult Magpie trying to land on the Meadow Post top
already occupied by a begging juvenile. The adult decides to pass by -
possibly not the parent of the bird begging, or just nothing to give them.
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Ref: 20220806_d01_20220617_1625_055+056_fb6 magpie stopped from landing on meadow post by threating magpie already there (montage @400ms)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 22 Jul 2015
at 20:23 Image of day on 23 Sep 2015
A glorious show of feather colour as the young Magpie misjudges
his landing spot and probably fell off the front and went round
to try again or go somewhere else.
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Ref: 20150923_d36_20150722_2023_089_fb4 magpie with iridescent feathers making awkward landing (crop 2)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 22 Feb 2017
at 13:19 Image of day on 03 Apr 2017
Most of the really vivid colours in nature derive from the effects of iridescence
an interaction between fine structure and the wavelength of light and vary
widely according to the lighting, subject and viewer angles.
This chaotic image shows an incredibly bright iridescent Magpie tail.
We haven't altered the brightness or colour at all.
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Ref: 20170403_e62_20170222_1319_079_fb5 magpie with iridescent tail landing in front of rook(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 30 Jun 2016
at 05:02 Image of day on 12 Aug 2016
At sunrise a juvenile Magpie arrives for his pick of the invertebrates hidden
under the clover.
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Ref: 20160812_e62_20160630_0502_115_fb5 magpie youngster landing in clover & buttercups(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 05 Dec 2012
at 09:02 Image of day on 31 Dec 2012
We think the Magpie on the right is just landing.
The lack of reaction from the bird on the left suggests that
this might be a 'pair' waiting for Spring!
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Ref: 20121231_d36_20121205_0902_082_fb4 2 magpies one probably landing & facing each other on icy tree-stump top(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 29 May 2006
at 18:07 Image of day on 14 Jun 2006
We never tire of Mallard Drakes in Flight. He will
soon be moulting and losing those lovely colours until
Autumn.
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Ref: 20060614_d10_20060529_1807_472 mallard drake in flight(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 16 Apr 2020
at 17:53 Image of day on 06 May 2020
A triplet of Mallard ducks - the 'standard' 1 female and 2 males spent several
minutes circling the area.
Unexpectedly they decided to touch down in the margin of the field to our east.
Here the female is at the left, with one male about to land and the other doing
a rather inelegant bellyflop. Mallard ducks are not very good at landing on
solid ground but 'any landing you can walk away from is good'.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20200506_df3_20200416_1753_018 mallard duck female + 2 males landing after extended flight (adjusted crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 07 Apr 2011
at 17:37 Image of day on 30 Apr 2011
What? Female chasing the males? Genuine single frame.
 (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20110430_df1_20110407_1737_349 mallard duck female following 2 males in flight (discontinuous 4 of 5) (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 22 May 2026
at 15:07 Image of day on 02 Jul 2026
An elegant female Mallard Duck in flight.
The solid area of colour is called the 'Speculum'.
The males have a basically Blue speculum while the female's are this purplish colour.
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Ref: 20260702_r52_20260522_1507_001 mallard duck female in flight(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 05 Mar 2012
at 16:28 Image of day on 05 Apr 2012
A Mallard duck female circling the plot waiting for the 2-legs (us!) to 'vanish'
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Ref: 20120405_df1_20120305_1628_169 mallard duck female in flight (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 18 Mar 2012
at 16:09 Image of day on 16 Apr 2012
A female Mallard duck showing the signs of her 'boyfriend's
affections' on the nape of her neck where he has gripped her
while having his 'evil' ways with her.
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Ref: 20120416_df1_20120318_1609_238 mallard duck female in flight (damaged nape feathers)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 06 Apr 2011
at 18:22 Image of day on 30 Apr 2011
One pair of Mallard ducks don't let us get closer than a few
metres but seem to realise we are 'harmless'. Here this female
saw us at the meadow post providing a later than usual baiting,
and decided to fly in for a look.
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Ref: 20110430_df1_20110406_1822_195 mallard duck female landing on grass facing camera 2 of 4 (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 06 Apr 2012
at 18:04 Image of day on 30 Apr 2012
We bought the least expensive Thermal camera we could find to
help us find nests. This is the thermal image (rather wider angle
than the cropped natural image) of a concealed Mallard duck nest
from maybe 8 metres away, highlighting her presence very well.
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Ref: 20120430_ir1_20120406_1804_007 mallard duck female on nest within daffodils on round pond island (thermal - air temp 10c) (orig)(@240).jpg
Image Taken on 30 Apr 2012
at 10:42 Image of day on 28 May 2012
This female Mallard duck (with male a couple of metres left of
her) took off as we approached the pond. This montage is of the
2nd and 4th images (from a set of 9) with the bird accurately
positioned (apart from the Lily fronds blowing about in the wind).
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Ref: 20120528_df1_20120430_1042_106+108 mallard duck female takeoff from main pond @7fps 2+4 of 9 (accurate montage 300ms apart)(r+mb id@1024).jpg
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