Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
Deaths And Entrances
by admin - 18:24 on 11 June 2014
Many species of bird have been seen in The Rural Retreat's garden – a few, admittedly, only once or twice and briefly – but there've been some notable absences too.
Top of the miss list was the starling. Now, it seems, a few have found us.
I first spotted one a few weeks ago. Since then there've been occasional visits although never by more than two at a time – it may be a while before we have our very own murmuration.
So my first garden-based starling snap is just for the record, grabbed in the few seconds it was at rest near the feeders. With luck there'll be better ones to come.
An even shorter visit was made by a mystery bird that touched down on the garden gate for all of two seconds yesterday. After consulting my RSPB bird book I'll hazard a chiffchaff or one of the warblers, but not with any great confidence.
Willow has also been taking a close interest in garden birdlife, with unfortunate consequences. Today's victim was already dead when dragged through the cat-flap by its neck, then taken back outside when no pleasure in her hunting skills was shown by humans.
I was able to examine the remains when The Grey Streak had finished flinging them about and practising her pouncing, but I'm no wiser as to the species. I'd have guessed a young blackbird or thrush were it not for the blue and white stripes underneath the wing.
If you're better informed than me (which isn't difficult), please let me know what it was.
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