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

  • Small Coppers

    Had another go with these teeny butterflies on my afternoon off last week. The light was much better, if a little harsh, and the butterflies were loving the warm sunshine.   I really wanted some side on views with their wings closed, but in the sun they normally rested with wings open, only flicking them…

  • Sunshine

    A beautiful morning on the Fen, what a relief to have some calm sunny weather! The first bird of the day was a Spotted Flycatcher near the visitors centre – a lovely little bird. A pair of Treecreepers were also hanging around. Walking out onto the fen, I saw the Little Grebe in his regular…

  • Paddy

    Since my last post, I’ve been spending a lot of time down at the Fen which is teeming with wildlife at the moment. Hoards of Teal and Snipe can be found throughout the reserve, but I’ve been unsuccessful in photographing them. The Snipe are simply too well camouflaged, I’ve lost count of the number of…

  • Sedge Warbler

    Here’s a few Sedge Warbler photos from this morning on the Fen.         The adults were being kept busy by the newly fledged youngsters scattered throughout the reedbed, their wheezy cries coming from deep within the vegetation begging for yet more food.   (Click images to view larger…) If you like what…

  • North Norfolk

    Arrived at the North Norfolk coast just before sunrise yesterday, and although it started out cloudy, it turned into a beautiful day. I was pleased to find this very obliging Redshank, as they are normally very shy birds. This individual often came too close to focus on and was very busy feeding, which presented a…

  • Nearly Waxwings!!

    Finally managed to see these stunning birds in Great Yarmouth today. I’ve been trying to see them every winter for several years now and have always missed them. Last weekend was promising having caught a glimpse of a flock of around ten birds flying over the castle in Norwich, but we didn’t manage to catch…

2 Comments

Leave a Reply