A Winter Visitor

Fieldfares are another one of my favourite birds. These gorgeous winter visitors come here from Scandinavia, presumably to escape the harsh winter weather. They flock together, feeding on windfall apples in the old orchard, conversing noisily with scolding chattering calls, unmistakeable with their beautiful slaty blue grey head, brown back, and cream speckled chest. This weekend I was lucky enough to watch these lovely thrushes as they fed, pecking pieces of frosty fruit, and squabbling amongst themselves. They were joined by a large flock of Starlings and a couple of Carrion Crows too, all feasting on the fallen apples. Suddenly they all took flight, a single alarm call preceded the whoosh of wings as they fled into the sky, a Sparrowhawk glided silently through the trees, broad wings and long tail, directly above my head.

Fieldfare170116DM9396

 

 

(Click images to view larger…)

If you like what you see, please consider sharing![social_share/]
UK & Eire Natural History Bloggers

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DawnMonroseNaturePhotography

Similar Posts

  • Finally

    Those who have followed my blog for sometime will remember that last year our garden was graced by the presence of a pair of Turtle doves. This year, as May approached, I waited with baited breath to see if they would return. They did, only to leave again for a while, perhaps just passing through….

  • Toady

    Moving some plants yesterday, and came across this little chap hiding in my coldframe. It’s the first time I’ve seen a Toad in our little garden, so was quite pleased! We have plenty of Frogs, which normally hide in the border, so no wonder my Hostas are slug free! He posed for a few photos…

  • Spring Bees

    Just a quick May update from me. You might remember last year, I was very happy to find wild Red Mason Bees using my solitary bee box, I was amazed that there were around 8 bees using it, I think I said ‘the most I’ve ever seen…’ Well, scratch that! This year I’ve counted over…

  • Red Mason Bees

    I’ve been trying to photograph the Red mason bees again, these wild bees have been using my solitary bee boxes over the last few weeks and they are fascinating to watch. I’ve had the odd bee using the bee boxes in the past, but this year they seem to be doing really well, and on…

  • The Sahara Sun and a Sandpiper

    Covenham Reservoir, Lincolnshire. The wind, not cold, but constant and fiercely blustery swept across the reservoir, pushing the ducks and geese to seek shelter at one end of the rectangluar stretch of water. The light washed the landscape with a weird sickly orange as Storm Ophelia whipped up Saharan dust and wildfire smoke turning the…

  • In the evening

    With the lovely long days at this time of year, I can spend a few hours out on the fen after work. The atmosphere in the evening is very different to sunrise, which is when I’m normally there. The reeds buzz and flicker with insects, damselflies and dragonflies, birds cruise through the warm sky and…

2 Comments

Leave a Reply