Today was a strange one, still very windy with the aftermath of the very bad storms that we experienced these last few days. We have good news today! The Collared Dove male has been reunited with his mate who must have escaped the talons of the Sparrowhawk after all. She seems no worse for wear and I therefore have no idea where the collection of feathers, found the other day, had their origin. All I am certain of is that they definitely belonged to a Collared Dove. We have on occasions had up to three in the garden so I am making the assumption that the one taken was not one of our resident pair. I must say I was relieved to see them back together again.
We had a visit from a pair of Greenfinch late this afternoon and from my usual position I took shots of both individuals. I have posted them for you to compare. As you can see there is quite a dramatic difference between the two. Note the bird on the right…..the hen……. she is noticeably brownish and blothchy. Her head is much more refined with a less heavy beak and a smaller head. In the bird on the left……… the cock-bird…….. note the thickset beak and clear greenish colour with no hint of brown blotches spots or stripes. They both however, have the fish-tail and bold yellow flash in the wings which is shown at rest as a long horizontal stripe. Have a look at the post from the other day to see another photo of the Greenfinch Hen.
Blue Tits were again feeding on the Sumac Berries. The Blackbirds are now seen less frequently, probably incubating eggs.
There is still very little, or no insect activity. The Hoverflies and Drone flies seen in early January are absent and there has been no sightings of Ladybirds or Butterflies either. I am making the assumption that any Hoverflies seen earlier in the winter must have been survivors of late Autumn broods. This is an area that deserves much further study.
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