These are a few photos from a very chilly winter's day at Minsmere. The bird above is a Fieldfare, and I believe I have only seen this member of the Thrush family once before. I gather these birds eat worms and insects in addition to the Hawthorn berries that the one in the photo was enjoying.
There was one small solitary Muntjac deer grazing among the pigeons.
The bird below (and again the twilight interfered with my photography!) is a Redwing. Like the Fieldfare above, Redwings are also members of the Thrush family. You can make out the distinctive cream stripe above the eye and its Robin-coloured flank.
And finally ...
in my last post I posed the question, 'why do we watch birds?'
These were our answers ...
[a] professionally
[b] to tick off the species as you see them
[c] casually and for enjoyment
[d] to record trends in the avian population (which you submit to relevant bodies)
[e] because you enjoy photographing them
[f] because bird watching encourages exercise
[g] other
[a] - 1 reader
[b] - 3 readers
[c] - 4 readers
[d] - 1 reader
[e] - 4 of us (with one qualification!)
[f] - 1 reader (me!) included exercise
Kay added 'My watching birds really isn't on the list...they are fascinating, uplifting, always beautiful... ' I'm inclined to think this may constitute a [g] for this purpose!
So thank you to all who responded!
1 comment:
We have flocks of birds that I've never been able to truly identify here on the moor and I wonder what you think. I can never get close enough to get a decent picture but have wondered about the fieldfare. they look like a big thrush, are rarely alone but I haven't noticed that red bit!
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