Birds you've seen today

Sarah approved a picture by Roy Jackson today, of a Greater Spotted Woodpecker. I saw the picture and added a comment to it, as I hadn't seen one for 20 years.
Just after I'd finished adding the comment to the site, I then brought up a page on the RSPB website to show Sarah some more pictures of them, telling her how excited I was when i first ever saw one as a teenager. I also said to her I wonder if Sue H will see my comment about not seeing one around Wheatley, and mention if she used to see them around here or not as a keen birdwatcher. I then leaned back in my chair, looked out the window towards the bird feeder, and low and behold, there was the first Greater Spotted Woodpecker I'd seen in 20 years!

Anyway, on spotting it I almost left my chair with excitement, causing Sarah to jump out her skin in the process as i screamed for her to look at it quickly as I scrambled for the camera.  I was worried if she didn't see it she'd never believe me. Anyway, she got to see it, and I managed to get a quick shot of it hanging from our bird feeder before it flew off. Not a very good one but I'm showing you all anyway!!

You may think whats the big deal, he saw a Greater spotted woodpecker, but it was such a coincidence after I'd just made the comment on Roy's pic about not seeing one in 20 years, and then talked to Sarah about them, and how I missed seeing them etc, to then turn round and see one right there on the feeder was incredible. A moment to treasure forever.

Here is Roy's pic which started off the chain of events  Thanks Roy

Picture by Roy Jackson

and here is the shot i managed to grab just moments after making my comment on Roy's pic. Again, sorry about the really poor quality, but I was all of a fluster

Picture by Poe

They are there Lyn, and also in Wheatley, but they are hard to see when they are up in the canopy. I hate to tell you this Chris, but I've seen several over the years as I've walked up Old Road. I see quite a few just past Preston's going up the road.

And I don't mean to be picky, but it's actually a Great Spotted Woodpecker. I mention this as I see several people calling it a Greater.

I love your story about seeing one though Chris, as it reminds me of doing the exact same thing a few different times.

Now I have a story to tell. When I looked out of the kitchen window this morning there, right on my lawn was a American Bittern. If you know anything about Bitterns, you will now that they are NOT garden birds, in fact it is very hard to find them in the wild.  It is in fact still roaming around the garden, but it does not look injured, I think it must have landed here and got itself confused. I am not too sure what to do about it right now, as it is easy prey for the neighbourhood cats.

Anyway, it is a very slow bird, and I took the opportunity to practice with my new Canon. I will link a few of the pictures here, and if POE wants to make them visible, well that would be great.

I really had no idea what buttons to press, so I just tried a few different things and got several pictures, some better than others.

Wow, thank you POE. If you feel they are too big you may go back to links.

I have taken a few more. This one is the quintessential Bittern pose. Not how the head is pointing upward but the eyes are fixed keenly on the camera (or the threat behind it).

Hi Sue. Those pictures are great. Let us know what happens with the Bittern. It looks a fascinating bird!

Regarding the woodpecker, thanks for the correction on its name.

I really should get out and walk more round Wheatley, maybe I would have seen one again before now. The last one i saw was when I lived with my parents on the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire 20 years ago. That was a great place for bird spotting. We had no immediate neighbours, just surrounded by fields and woodlands, and it makes me wonder what things i'd have seen if I still lived there now. The most precious memory I have of living there was when I saw what looked from a distance like a sparrowhawk sitting on our fence, cause we used to get a lot of them hunting around the garden.
Suddenly a small bird flew down and sat right next to it on the fence, and i couldnt believe my eyes so i grabbed the binoculars and as i got them both in focus, the large bird which with naked eye I had first thought was a sparrowhawk because of it's striped front/ size etc, suddenly opened its mouth around what i could now see was a robin, and the whole of the Robins head disappeared inside the larger birds mouth. I couldnt believe what i was seeing, i though what kind of suicidal bird is this?!!, but as the robin pulled its head back out unharmed, and i focused in on the larger bird more I could see that in fact it was something I'd never seen before but often heard, the cuckoo, and the robin was obviously its foster parent feeding it. I'll never forget this sight, or the fox that on a cold snowy night sat outside our patio doors, right up against it in the snow, staring in at our roaring log fire as if he wanted to come in and curl up in front of it. Great memories.

I'll add your other image now

Hi Folks.

First I have to say that I am sorry if my picture of the ‘Great’ Spotted Woodpecker cause some trouble in the POE household. There has to be some strange coincidence here, perhaps the woodpecker had been visiting your garden for some time but you had not really noticed it.

If as Sue says, it is not unusual for this bird to be seen in your area, it is highly unlikely that this would have been its first visit to your garden. My guess is that now you have seen it once you will find that it is a regular visitor.

In any case it is a bit spooooooky that it should be seen within minutes of my photo being spoken mentioned.

Sue, you are correct with the comment about the ‘Great’ spotted title for the bird. Just lax speech on my part. But, I cannot understand why its cousin is known as the ‘Lesser’ spotted rather than the ‘Less’ spotted.

It’s also a bit spooky that just after my comment to you about rare birds visiting your garden to park on your camera, that this Bittern should turn up. If the American Bittern is as rare as the British version then you are well in luck. At the last count, if the RSPB is to be believed, there are only 51 breeding males left in this country.

Thanks to POE for allowing the AMERICAN picture to be seen on the site.

Regards Roy J.