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Birds - Wagtails Page 1

Image Taken on 06 Nov 2010 at 08:43    Image of day on 05 Jan 2011

An irregular visitor seen briefly only some years is a Grey Wagtail (what else do you call the most coloured wagtail!). This one has been hunting on the roof and you can see the legs of the insect 'going down the hatch'.


Ref: 20110105_df1_20101106_0843_015 grey wagtail swallowing insect 3 of 4 (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 06 Feb 2009 at 10:07    Image of day on 28 Feb 2009

Through the study window this wagtail spent an hour picking up peanut fragments dropping from the tit feeders. Here it is by a snow hidden block of vegetable fat that he has been pecking at, and we can't help thinking he is watching that snowflake above.


Ref: 20090228_dc1_20090206_1007_077 pied wagtail appearing to look up at snowflake(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 13 Feb 2009 at 13:27    Image of day on 08 Mar 2009

A less than usually nervous Pied wagtail spent quite a while paddling and pecking the wet ground under the icy melt water.


Ref: 20090308_db1_20090213_1327_151 pied wagtail feeding in snow melt puddles (crop 2)(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 13 Feb 2009 at 13:27    Image of day on 08 Mar 2009

Here it is wading in the inch of so deep 'stream' running along vehicle ruts.


Ref: 20090308_db1_20090213_1327_163 pied wagtail feeding in snow melt puddles (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 02 Jan 2010 at 13:04    Image of day on 28 Jan 2010

We see wagtails persuing insects in free flight, often after they have disturbed them trying to catch them on the warm slates or a wall. This is a genuine single frame.


Ref: 20100128_db1_20100102_1304_135 pied wagtail flying vertically about to catch insect (crop 2)(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 15 Nov 2007 at 11:43    Image of day on 15 Dec 2007

Montage of 4 images of a pied wagtail. In the first 3 (top left downwards) it just fails to catch an insect (we think a wasp) on the slates ahead of it. The bird on the ridge has in his beak the result of a successful hunt a few seconds later.


Ref: 20071215_d01_20071115_1143_075-077&084 pied wagtail hunting insect on slate roof (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 29 Oct 2008 at 12:59    Image of day on 16 Nov 2008

The Autumn return of the pied wagtail, this first view on the roof ridge.


Ref: 20081116_dc1_20081029_1259_025 pied wagtail on roof ridge(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 07 Nov 2009 at 11:02    Image of day on 04 Dec 2009

The Pied Wagtails visit from November through February and the most likely place to find them is on a sun warmed area of roof slates - they work round the house as the sun moves round looking for insects drawn into action by the warmth. From 2 years ago we include a montage of bird chasing after an insect. This year we so far have a victorious capture on the roof ridge.



Ref: 20091204_db1_20091107_1102_038 pied wagtail on roof ridge with insect(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 19 Dec 2009 at 12:48    Image of day on 13 Jan 2010

This wagtail seemed to like the lead (metal) gully to stand on but couldn't quite keep it's footing and kept sliding down. This is the last of a sequence over a few seconds where it slid about half a metre down the roof and finally flattened it's tail against the dry metal to stop itself.


Ref: 20100113_db1_20091219_1248_034 pied wagtail sliding down roof gulley (not continuous) 4 of 4 (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 06 Nov 2010 at 10:25    Image of day on 05 Jan 2011

Similar for a more regular visitor.


Ref: 20110105_df1_20101106_1025_124 wagtail on roof ridge about to swallow insect(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 17 Jan 2010 at 12:30    Image of day on 28 Feb 2010

Just one day of sunshine in the week brought out a wagtail to hunt for insects on the roof.
Here the insect before it is caught is just below the foot of the second bird from the right. The frame rate was about 5 fps.
In omitted frames 8 & 9 the bird has already landed but by frame 10 it has raised it's tail so that it didn't obscure frame 7.


Ref: 20100228_db1_20100117_1230_126-131+134 white (q) wagtail taking insect from slates to swallow on roof ridge 02-07+10 of 11 (montage)(r+mb id@1024).jpg


Image Taken on 02 Jan 2010 at 10:44    Image of day on 27 Jan 2010

These wonderful agile Wagtails can hover in front of a wall and pick off flies and such.


Ref: 20100127_db1_20100102_1044_033 white (q) wagtail taking insect from vertical wall (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 24 Oct 2010 at 12:44    Image of day on 28 Dec 2010

On the Roof
A single frame from short sequence that works better on its own than with the others. The insect was flying left to right and the bird missed it, letting the insect do a high speed exit upwards.


Ref: 20101228_df1_20101024_1244_058 white wagtail trying and failing to catch insect in flight 2 of 4 (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg


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