BUZZARD, CUCKOO AND CO.

I had a visit off Steve Carter on Saturday he wanted to check the boxes and a couple of natural nests he's found around the farm. He firstly went to check on the buzzard nest I posted about a few weeks back, for those who forgot what the solitary chick looked like here's a reminder:-

the buzzard chick a few weeks ago

Steve climbed the nest and took these couple of pic's look how it's grown.



this rather large buzzard chick is what Steve found in the nest, don't think it was pleased to see him



one of the parent birds on the hunt



We've had a Cuckoo or two around the farm over the last couple of months and every time Steve thought he had a Cuckoo egg in a nest (mostly Pipits) it's been predated or in the case of last year washed away. Steve's good mate Gary Pitt another local birder and nest finder has his own nest box colony and when Steve and Gary were over there they discovered a Cuckoo egg in a Tree pipits nest, here are the two eggs for comparison:-

tree pipit on the left and cuckoo eggs

    A couple of weeks later they checked on the nest again and the young Cuckoo had hatched and had thrown the Tree pipit chicks out of the nest.



the young cuckoo settles down after throwing the tree pipit chicks out of their nest



As the Cuckoo gets bigger it starts to fill the nest.

the cuckoo chick a week or so later

This last photo is when Steve went over to see it being ringed it's huge now compared to its foster parents the Tree pipits.

the now huge chick getting ready to be ringed

It'll be off soon to Africa where hopefully it will survive its first year and be back with us next spring. Cuckoo's in general are declining the reasons are not really known, the adult birds are already starting their long migration back to west Africa and some have been tagged to try to find out why.

Steve also climbed and checked this Woodpigeon nest which has two eggs

woodpigeon nest

The Great tits are doing well these chicks wont be long about.

great tit chicks

 The Redstarts that Steve ringed and I posted about a few weeks ago successfully fledged that was great news in itself but a check on the nest box revealed that the birds are going for a second brood.

five eggs in the Redstarts second brood.



Big thanks again to Steve who provided me with all the photo's Ta mate.

NEW LIFE.

As well as the blackbird chicks successfully fledgling, their nest being in my shed, I also have a brood of swallows that look ready to leave the nest any time. They also made their nest in the shed they've been coming back to breed there since we've had the house.

a nice healthy brood of 4 chicks

I've also spotted a few juvenile goldfinch about the feeders, so I think they've had a good year.

young goldfinch

I think with all the birds chicks starting to leave their nests it's a time when the birds and animals that predate them start hunting in earnest to feed their own hungry broods. This buzzard has started to show a lot more hovering in the wind.

this buzzard is on the hunt

A lot of birds now will be thinking of starting their second or even third broods now, and because of the very late spring I wouldn't be surprised if this years nesting season goes on into late July or even August.

SOME PICTURES

Here's a few photographs that I've recently edited, I'm back in work now and all is going well with my new hips. Haven't been out with the camera lately thought I'd better edit the ones that I've taken over the last few weeks. Going back to work has restricted my birding time but one must earn a crust so no stories to tell just the pictures.



woodpigeon



This woodpigeon has started coming to the feeders.

great tit

nuthatch

dunnock

male reed bunting

female reed bunting



blackbird fledgling these are the blackbirds that I've posted about lately lets hope they make it.



with it's sibling



silhouette of the female



male blackbird

displaying meadow pipit

male siskin

female siskin





 

been trying to get a decent shot of a redstart but these feeble efforts were the best I could muster (so far)



female redstart

stonechat

blue tit

redpoll

great spotted woodpecker

goldfinch

some more nuthatch

a jay having a stretch

silhouette of a raven

swallow

chaffinch

another female siskin

and another male reed bunting

another redstart

another male siskin

and finally (thank god for that I hear you say) another dunnock

Hoped you liked them..........................................!