What have you seen

Interested, like those parakeets, Little Owls are an introduced species in ‘our’ country!

We had a very poorly looking Magpie on our patio the other day. I went to see if it had gone a couple of days later and found it under the barbie tangled in the cord that ties the bottom of the cover. The poor thing must have been twisting round umpteen times trying to get free, it was really badly tangled in the cord and the gas pipe. It’s leg and tail feathers were tightly caught.

It took me a good half hour but I managed to free it in the end without having to cut anything. I don’t know why but I found myself talking to it all the while. It didn’t seem to help, it still tried to peck me!

Spotted a "spotted" longhorn beetle....it seems to be a good year for insects, more grasses left to grow locally.

Glad you managed to free the magpie Papgeno.

We sat in Wetherby services a few days ago watching a Red Kite wheeling round and round above us, quite low at times and for about twenty minutes. Are the services a good area for easy pickings? I knew that they were spreading north but hadn't realised they were so far north yet.

Harewood House had a reintroduction programme of Kites and is very close to Wetherby so it may well still be a local bird. We have not long returned from a cottage about 10 minutes drive from Harewood and the area had a couple of resident Kites.

Question to the birding experts..... Walking round one of our local reservoirs today, and among the Canada and Greylag Geese was another goose, slightly smaller than a Greylag and with similar colourings  except it was unmarked down both sides of it's neck and it had bright yellow legs and feet compared to the pink of the Greylags. I might pop back tomorrow and try and get a photo of it if it is still about. 

Also saw a Raven while there and later a Charm of Goldfinches.

We have a brown hen blackbird (the French have a single word Merlette instead of our three). which has taken a liking for fat balls. Being unable to perch and hang on to a dangling bird feeder it has developed the humming bird technique of fluttering furiously to feed from them while hovering stationary in mid air, and after a week’s practice is getting better at it as each day goes by.

Visited the WWT at Slimbridge yesterday. Last time I visited was 65 years ago! It's changed a bit. The cycle ride along the canal from our CL could have done with either a pair of secateurs or Boudicca's chariot to deal with the encroaching growth.

Note to self: check E-bike battery before going off in the moho.

This morning we had one of these small, wooden ground feeding tables in our garden.

Back from an afternoon stroll to find 5 magpies tearing it to pieces 😱.

Beyond repair, so it’s been binned. Never seen this sort of behaviour from corvids before. And don’t want to see it again! 
🙂🙂🙂

Bean goose, maybe….🤔

Just a guess, I’m no expert! 🙂🙂🙂