Okay, less pretty, but it is a bird. I went out to water the plants, and this vulture was chillin' on top of the utility pole.

Melanie, great photos - it's odd, but there's something strangely attractive about certain vultures. But don't get any ideas - I'm definitely not a vulture whisperer!

Took some pics today of some of the birds enjoying the afternoon rain.

Also, can anyone identify this little guy? The pictures were taken through a window screen. He/she has been coming every day for about five days now.

Marie, I believe it is an Indigo Bunting, such a pretty little bird, I do not get them here.

male indigo bunting

Mika, what kind of deer are those??? Are they elk?? I bet it was exciting to see them.

cliftoncat said:Thanks, Elaine, Kurt, Ibis. Great photo of a heron, Kurt, although they are my least favourite bird!

Eventful day in the garden here: look what visited this evening (not birds, I know, but SO exciting for me!)




At first they were quite far away, but they came closer and closer








They munched on a few of the roses, but I'm happy to share! I love wildlife

Stunning!!!

Wow, what a fantastic bunch of photos you guys!!! I'm loving every one of them.

Thanks Margaret and Kurt on the bunting ID.

@cliftoncat. Your deer photos are jaw-dropping!

What a wonderfully varied number of bird visitors you get, Marie - they're beautiful, I'm seriously envious! Amazing range of colours, and I love birds with crests...
Yes, I was very excited to see the deer wandering into the garden, even more so when they got nearer and nearer to the house. I think they are Fallow Deer, but I need to check to be sure. Whatever they are, I really hope they stay around. Big smiles from me

Elk!

Hm maybe a bit too small for elk, and I'm not sure they have elk in England, too. Fallow deer do have those magnificent antlers, and I thought they all had spots on their backs, but after looking it up, some don't so I'm pretty sure Mika is right.

They're beautiful, and you took lovely pictures.

Ok. I wasn't paying attention to England. They do look a little smaller than our Elk, but the markings are the same. I don't think I've ever seen an Elk with a rack like that either, but I don't see them at all here.

Quite nice antlers adorn said deer head.

That's the first thing I thought they were... elk, but whatever they are they are lovely!!!

I'm sure Mika knows the UK deer better than we do. Fallow deer it is. I Googled & it & found this:
"The fallow is the only British deer with palmate antlers."
http://www.bds.org.uk/index.ph...

What regal looking deer!

Thanks everyone for all the lovely comments. Making a positive ID for the deer-bird (!) hasn't been that easy - I found a society that could help, but only if I subscribed for £200. Outrageous!
But they are definitely fallow deer - the antlers and the black and white rear end were the deciding characteristics. Most fallow deer do have spots on their flanks, those that don't are black or almost white - neither of which fitted the visitors; but eventually I found a helpful deer expert who said that there were occasional variations in colour.

It seems we have six varieties of deer in the UK, plus recently reintroduced elk and moose (in Scotland). Sorry to take so long, my knowledge of deer is pretty non-existent!

That's interesting, Mika. I wonder why they would introduce Elk and Moose in Scotland...game animals?

It's more of a reintroduction, not an introduction. Apparently we used to have them, but they were hunted to extinction a very long time ago. A multi-millionaire has bought a huge estate and is trying to reintroduce and breed lots of extinct or endangered species. Including wolves and bears - I'm not sure how I would react to meeting either of those face to face on a highland walk!