A wander off the beaten track.....

....to a lovely rural spot just a few miles north of Ipswich.  I spent the day with my daughter at her riding school, where she was competing - as it was such a lovely day I took my camera with me.  I've historically seen a great variety of birdlife here, but today was certainly dominated by the friendly neighbourhood corvids.  They were being very obliging indeed:

This crow's rippling flight was a pleasure to watch and even nicer to capture!

I only realised afterwards that I had both the jackdaw and the rook in the same shot!

This gorgeous blue tit was definitely showing off.  Lovely.

A pair of spadgers trying to look as though it's summer.  They could get away with it, too, with those colourful tiles and that blue sky.

A rook satisfies its considerable appetite.

I love the sheen on these jackdaws' feathers.

Looking cheeky!

Enjoy.

Our herring gulls are red listed birds.  Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.

  • More lovely pics and more questions. What is the bird in the last pic? I hope those Spadgers weren't looking for a nesting site!

    Unicum arbustum haud alit duos erithacos

    (One bush does not shelter two Robins)

    Zenodotus (3rd Century B.C.)

     

  • Unknown said:
    What is the bird in the last pic?

    I thought it was a female house sparrow....is it something else?  Your guess is probably a good deal better than mine.

    The spadgers (and the swallows when they arrive) nest all over the riding school where these were taken.  It's great to see them all flying in and out of the barn and the stables!

    Our herring gulls are red listed birds.  Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.

  • I suppose it could be, but maybe it's the lighting that's got me confused. It looks rather grey. I thought it was a tiny parrot when I first looked at it. Did you take any other photos of it, maybe a slightly different perspective?

    Unicum arbustum haud alit duos erithacos

    (One bush does not shelter two Robins)

    Zenodotus (3rd Century B.C.)

     

  • Unknown said:
    Did you take any other photos of it, maybe a slightly different perspective?

    I took another two:

    Our herring gulls are red listed birds.  Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.

  • That's the one. The first one shows the Spadger markings. Still an odd looking colour. Lovely bird.

    Unicum arbustum haud alit duos erithacos

    (One bush does not shelter two Robins)

    Zenodotus (3rd Century B.C.)

     

  • It's nice to see that blue sky with such lovely corvids and spadgers, not forgetting upside down bluey  lol      The corvids are looking spectacular in their glossy plumage, the sun really brings out those beautiful feathers.    Such a treat to see the house sparrow photos, sounds so daft to say I don't see them very often  lol    

    _________________________________________________________________________

    Regards, Hazel 

  • Good pics again Clare, those flight shots of the rook and jackdaw are good comparison shots, rooks are so huge you don't realise it at once.

    Lovely to get a chance to take photos in the sunshine, it's pretty overcast here and rainy.

    Lot to learn