Wednesday 9 July 2008

Twitterings

It is quite a while since I posted, because, as most of you know, Sindie has been poorly and has been staying with me. However, she was well enough to return home at the weekend, so I thought I would sit at my computer and update my blog.



Firstly, the diet is going well, and I have now lost a total of 1stone 1 pound. Sindie has also lost this amount, but unfortunately for her, the steroids she is on have made her face balloon out, and the weight loss is not so evident until you look at the rest of her! Thankfully, she is now cutting down on the steroids, so we have high hopes of her facial swelling going down, albeit slowly.



Now, I haven't mentioned this before, but we are very keen amateur bird watchers (in our garden, that is!) We feed them constantly, and have a lot of regular birds visit us. One day we had a Jay, a blackbird, a mouse and a squirrel, all eating together on dry porridge oats that we left out:0) We have a very scruffy blackbird that is always fighting to protect his territory. Whenever I put food out, he is there, chasing off the other birds! We call him Sid, and he was here last year as well, making his home in the large bushes in our front garden. The lady next door calls him Scruff. He always has disheveled feathers, and feathers sticking out! Hence the name given by the lady next door:0) He is not at all nervous of us, and has three babies in the front garden, and although they try and chase him off, he still feeds them regularly. When they were very young, he used to dive bomb us whenever we went on to the drive!



We were looking out of out kitchen window into the back garden, watching the birds, when we saw what at first glance, we thought was a Jay. It was half hidden behind a shrub. We noticed it was eating strangely, and on closer inspection we saw that it was a beautiful Merlin! But he was busy eating one of my garden birds! All we could see of the bird he was eating were the skinny black legs sticking up in the air, and our first thought was of Sid:0( After our initial shock, we got the binoculars out, and studied it more carefully, and prayed that it wasn't Sid. The Merlin stayed in the garden, eating this bird for at least 15 minutes, then it picked it up an flew away with the remains. It definitely looked black.



We went down the garden and inspected the feathers, and they were dark grey. We still were not sure what colour legs our blackbird had, and were on edge for ages, until, who should we see come hopping into the back garden, but Sid! We have decided that the unfortunate bird was probably a young starling.



I have attached a phot of a Merlin in the middle of a meal, and you can see what a beautiful bird it is. http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/raptors/Merlin.html



I now spend ages scanning the sky in case he returns. If he does, I hope I see him in time to warn all my little feathered friends! (Click photo to enlarge)

14 comments:

Babs (Beetle) said...

I'm confused. Who's babies are they? Why do they try to chase Fred off?

I've decided that I don't like Merlins. They eat there own kind. :O(

Gary said...

Not Fred...SID!Sid's own babies are getting big and try to chase their dad off. I never knew that daddy blackbirds fed their young and where is the mummy? Sid is very good with them you know.

The Merlin was very beautiful, but so mean eating a poor bird!

Mum, I don't think you should use that photo because of copyright.

GoldAnne said...

oh I dont think im too keen on merlins!!!!
how lovely all the birds and lil animals in your garden though !!!
love anne xxx

weechuff said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
weechuff said...

I have accredited the photo to The Canadian Peregrine Foundation, so hope I am okay now?

Croom said...

Oh how lovely to have a variety of birds to feed Sandie, we have mainly only one type. Do you remember that little 'birdie num num' we used to feed for about two years (the scruffy one, I sent a short video of her feeding from Dave's hand) she no longer comes :O(

Across the road we often see the most beautifully coloured Pigeons. We cannot make up our mind if they are natural colours or dyed by an owner. They are very beautifully patterned and all the same.

I do not like the idea of Merlin’s either :O( They are as bad as cats, well cats kill mostly for fun but at least these birds kill for food.

Thank you for a lovely blog and well done in the weight loss, it is quite a good loss.

Fatty.x

Babs (Beetle) said...

Nothing wrong with this one.

Anonymous said...

[url=http://www.dressaleuk.co.uk]http://www.dressaleuk.co.uk[url] Even before the explosion of MMA into mainstream popularity, TapouT was at the forefront of promoting, sponsoring, and educating fans about the culture of Mixed Martial Arts.. [url=http://www.zoeroad.com]princess prom dresses[/url]
[url=http://www.xmpllc.com]orange homecoming dresses[/url] uiionweo Also a bee is dangerous, deceptive as it flies in pretty colours and hides a potent sting but again, once a bee strikes it signals its own demise, is its own murderer.. uvzrfmqd [url=http://www.mulberrylondonshop.co.uk]mulberry sale uk[/url]

Anonymous said...

[url=http://www.dressaleuk.co.uk]cute prom dresses tumblr[/url] Even in the event you often find or encounters some part effects, you have 60 nights of your time to acquire back your hard earned money, in the event you aren anticipated using the finish result.. [url=http://www.thomassaboss.co.uk]thomas sabo jewellery[/url]
http://www.christianlouboutinosale.co.uk optzjjib It is the motivational force of that will direct the achievement of success. elttvkpo [url=http://www.mulberrylondonshop.co.uk]mulberry shoulder bags sale[/url]

Anonymous said...

[url=http://www.dressaleuk.co.uk]prom dress 2013[/url] You low brow types hate him because he does not share your political ideology of Limbaughism, which is Party first, America last and you didn't vote for him any ways, so you try to influence the weaker minds. [url=http://www.zoeroad.com]white prom dresses[/url]
[url=http://www.christianlouboutinosale.co.uk]christian louboutin uk[/url] oprgjwpe then i said, syo can cut down on their items and add more items for NAFA. ufwtbqes [url=http://www.mulberrylondonshop.co.uk]mulberry sale shop[/url]

Anonymous said...

[url=http://www.bestdresseller.co.uk]http://www.bestdresseller.co.uk[/url] After spending most of the day at Tettegouche we headed up to Grand Marais to rest up after a difficult day of bushwhacking around Tettegouche looking at the ice formations. [url=http://www.zoeroad.com]tiffany prom dresses[/url]
[url=http://www.xmpllc.com]orange homecoming dresses[/url] lpfhxpmc The team looks promising, on paper, and now it is time to see if all comes to fruition on the field.. xynzrmme http://www.mulberrylondonshop.co.uk

Anonymous said...

[url=http://www.bestdresseller.co.uk]white party dress[/url] And everyone talks to the mascots: Tucker, Murphy, Tango and Tangee -- two dogs and two macaws, respectively. [url=http://www.mitwhite.com]bridesmaid dresses under 100[/url]
http://www.xmpllc.com hmdrjcfy My body was exhausted and my mind was still going." Heath had been upfront about his lack of success using Ambien, something he mentioned in the same interview, when he said the pills "failed to work." He took two and, according to the story, "fell into a stupor, only to wake up an hour later, his mind still racing.". obrrviaw [url=http://www.mulberrylondonshop.co.uk]mulberry handbags outle[/url]

Anonymous said...

[url=http://www.bestdresseller.co.uk]white party dress[/url] Another cause for the depresion was Canada dependence on few primary products. [url=http://www.zoeroad.com]prom dresses online[/url]
[url=http://www.christianlouboutinosale.co.uk]christian louboutin outlet[/url] mlbpovkv They set up a society much like the Sumerians, and used the number system of their predecessor: a base 60, which had 59 different characters as opposed to our ten. ktftrpky [url=http://www.mulberrylondonshop.co.uk]mulberry sale shop[/url]

Anonymous said...

[url=http://www.bestdresseller.co.uk]formal evening dresses[/url] Research has shown that coyote populations tend to remain static, based on the size of their hunting areas and their access to food. [url=http://www.mitwhite.com]cheap bridesmaid dresses[/url]
[url=http://www.xmpllc.com]wedding dress online sale[/url] yzichowj Whether you with somebody new or you unwrapped that box a hundred times before the holidays, our Christmas sex positions are sure to become instant holiday favorites. emxwtafr [url=http://www.mulberrylondonshop.co.uk]discount mulberry outlet[/url]