I love that orange beak on the blackbird Philip. Boy, you've either got some really fat birds there in Ireland or they were all fluffed up against the cold but every one of them is round. Even the mallards look fat.

Its surprising how many locals don't know the difference between the Blackbird and this is a farming community

Fat Birds is right,..i did remark that myself,..then thought i was missing out that everyone was fat,..checked the mirror,..nope,..not yet but working on it

Oops had to edit,..mentioning fat,..i suppose Hot Cross Buns are not fattening,..i have two of them.



Oops again,..just ate one lol.

This is Off-Topic, but I wanted everyone to see this report: This is the Hurricane Season Predictions for 2016 and 2017:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/...

Ugh. ugh. ugh. Be prepared!!!

I got slammed in 2004 by back to back hurricanes and was hoping I would not ever see another season like that. This prediction has me worried.....

Oh Becky, take heart! Those predictions are seldom accurate. This year their early prediction was so far off it was a joke. They revised it twice, and still didn't get even close. Heck, they can hardly predict the hurricanes strength and track even after they've formed.

On the other hand, it's always good to be prepared. We have shutters and a generator, and I do always buy hurricane supplies like water and canned goods. Plus we have a plan. That gives me peace of mind. but . . .

Last night I was woken at 2:30am by my cell phone telling me there was a Tornado Watch in effect for our area. I lay awake through the whole of a really dramatic thunderstorm, thinking "what do I do if I hear a tornado coming?" We only have one room without a window, so I decided I'd have to collect the cat and hunker down inside the truck in the garage. Collecting the cat would have been the kicker there - she was already cowering under our (king size) bed, where I couldn't possibly reach her. So if the tornado rolled over our house, it would have struck while I was still trying to retrieve her. So much for having a plan, huh?

I want a hot-cross bun!!! Actually four would be better. Now I seen one, it is all I can think off.

Elaine - The weather group that gave the prediction has been very successfully predicting hurricanes since it started tracking weather patterns and ocean currents a few years ago. They are a relatively new weather group in Ocala. They predicted Sandy and one other destructive hurricane of recent. They boast an 85% accuracy rating. So I am taking their predictions for the next 2 years very seriously. I really do hope and pray they are wrong and it remains calm out there in the ocean and off Africa. Fingers and toes crossed.

Bush Stone-curlews are nocturnal. One of the families flies in when I whistle.


I try only to call them up at night because the ibis have learnt my whistle. They will turn up and bully the curlews.

Is there something to eat along with that whistle?

Aw, that curlew is precious - is it a baby?

We ibises are pretty good at showing up if there's food involved

Those curlews.... I swear, you just want to hug them!
Oh my gosh! They've all learned your whistle!


@IbisFla

I feed the curlews when they have young. This year's baby is full grown now and very aggressive with the parents in badgering them to feed him. Eventually they will get sick of him and give him his marching orders.

Not if you keep whistling them up, and feeding them, Glen! Isn't that the way of the world though.

I still think they have the most "human" eyes of any bird I've seen. Beautiful.

Very nice birds Glen,..great that they will react to your whistle that is a great achievement well done

A few from Oxfordshire, all today - we had a power cut so I couldn't work!

Jackdaw


Robin


Great spotted woodpecker


Wren (tiny, adorable!)


Long tailed tit


Hawfinch (reputed to be extremely shy so rarely sighted, although this one seems brave enough)


Blackbird


Sparrow


Wood pigeon (wonderfully portly birds, they remind me of Charles Dickens characters)

Love the spotted woodpecker!!!!

Me too. The one with blackbird looking into the camera makes me laugh for some reason.

Thanks, guys. Yes, the blackbird does look rather indignant...

Great photos, and you get an acorn for mentioning my favorite author.

Aww, thank you!

Okay, now that I satisfied the butterfly thread, I have bird pictures, too! You know me, I never said they were good pictures!

I was sitting in the Starbucks drive thru the other day when a bird came and landed in an empty parking spot. Of course, I had my camera so I took pictures! Don't worry, the line wasn't moving. I believe this is a Cattle Egret. I've been seeing them a lot more lately. I literally had to let one cross the road yesterday.




Yesterday, I was volunteering at MOSI when I saw two Mockingbirds eating berries off the Firebush. Those birds really don't seem to care if you get pretty close. Although, the one did start singing and I think it was the "Human with camera in area" song.




Then, there was another little bird that joined in. I thought it was one of the Warblers, but I didn't see it doing the tail-flicking thing. It had yellow on its belly. I managed to get some okay pictures when it hopped out of the Firebush.