The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

There appear to be a large number of Jays around this year - probably due to the poor Acorn crop (a favourite food). So instead of keeping in their usual haunts they are spreading out in search of food...

Cheers
Ian

I sat having my lunch in the car today when I saw a bird behaving like a fighter plane as it curved down swiftly passing the gardens in front at 45% angle, then souring up over the road to sweep down into the gardens to my right at terrific speed. Any garden bird that got hit by that sparrow hawk would not know what hit it.
I never tire of watching birds of prey.

_________________
track action maniac.

The lunatic is out................heres Jonny!

Seen this little beasty at the bottom of the garden today. Does that count?

no pics sorry, but it is hatching season for magpies down here. That means the whole neighbourhood is terrorised by the adult magpies who swoop on anything that approaches the nests. The exclusion zone goes out to maybe 200m and the swooping gets very aggressive. They come in silently, try to snap their beaks at your head, then fly off to prepare for another attack.

I wonder Stu, are your Magpies the same as "ours"? This is what ours look like:

hard to get a sense of scale Alan, but ours are about the size of cats. Similar colouration. I'll see if I can get a pic tomorrow.

"European" magpies are very widespread in the Northern Hemisphere although they don't reach beyond the Boreal Forest to the low Arctic.
(In fact the Raven is the only corvid to nest in the Arctic regions.)
However, having described them as widespread, I have only ever seen one magpie in Caithness! I have never seen a jay.




Ian.

_________________
TDC Forum moderator
PLEASE help us to maintain a friendly forum,
either PM or use Report Post if you see anything you are unhappy with. Thanks.

I get the magpies knocking my CCTV cameras
After the spiders I think as the cameras are heated
Nice and cosy for them this time of year,

Yesterday we had a real " Nature in the raw" event. There was a funny bang from the kitchen so naturally I thought the dishwasher had given up, but no; it was still humming away nicely, but what was obvious was the commotion going on in the back garden. There was this enormous great bird of prey grappling with a pigeon which it flew off with into next doors garden in a flurry of feathers. I estimated a 3-foot wing-span and a big "V" cut-out in the tail. And the noise ? Well there was a strange powdery outline of a bird on the window, and lots of feathers. We think the Bird of prey grabbed the pigeon, flew up and dashed it against the window to stun it and then picked it up again and went off.
And ten minutes later there it was circling over the local area again. The strange thing was that all yesterday afternoon the back garden was completely devoid of all wildlife. Not a starling in sight ! They had been frightened off. And also this morning.
So what was the bird ? There are Red Kites up on the Chilterns but we are 30 miles south, but we do see them on the odd occasion.
I wonder what else it could have been ?
Tony.

We had a loud bang on the office window a year or so back as a pigeon flew straight into it. It left a similar outline on the glass for ages...

Red Kite no question...

Ive seen them down at TVP Tony...a few minutes from you as the Kite flies....

Jonners

_________________
Note from Admin: sadly Jon passed away in February 2018 but his humour and wealth of knowledge will be fondly remembered by all. RIP Jonners.

It does sound like a Red Kite.

These are opportunists rather than hunters (hence their decline due to poisoning) and can range over surprising distances.
I suspect that the pigeon hit the window first and the kite then saw the opportunity for an easy meal.

_________________
TDC Forum moderator
PLEASE help us to maintain a friendly forum,
either PM or use Report Post if you see anything you are unhappy with. Thanks.

Yep first red kite I saw was at Dorchester in about 2000 and since then we have seen them all over the place down here in south Hants.
Big "V" and 3 foot wing span methinks red kite.

_________________
track action maniac.

The lunatic is out................heres Jonny!

http://www.rspb.org.uk/redkite

I suppose its our equivalent of a small vulture...

Jonners

_________________
Note from Admin: sadly Jon passed away in February 2018 but his humour and wealth of knowledge will be fondly remembered by all. RIP Jonners.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-20221304

Kittiwakes provide one of the unforgettable sounds of summer.
They are unique amongst gulls because their young remain stationary (well you would given their nesting sites on narrow ledges
high up on cliff faces ) and are the last truly marine gull in the UK, only coming to land to breed.

_________________
TDC Forum moderator
PLEASE help us to maintain a friendly forum,
either PM or use Report Post if you see anything you are unhappy with. Thanks.