A Bit of Twitching

It's a birdy time of year, here.  The first baby magpie of our local tribe is out of the nest.  I am pleased that she managed to stay put there until she could actually fly a little, unlike last year's second child who fluttered around the ground for ages, which was very worrying for us all.

The newest member is currently fluttering from tree to tree and having the whole family at her beck and call.  She is actually very quiet when no adults are nearby, which is wise since calling might draw unwanted attention from predators. I wanted to get you some video of a parent  or other relative feeding her and the racket she makes, but when they did, they were right in the middle of the tree so nothing to see.  I did get a little footage of her sitting very quietly waiting, and I'll post it because I managed to capture the sound of a Twenty-eight parrot doing the true Twenty-Eight call in the background.

It is a stressful time of the family so they are doing a lot of territorial calling.  This singer, by the way, is last year's late baby, who is still a little grey rather than true black.  As you can see she is now taking her turn being a protector instead of the protected.  I took one step out of my back to door film this, and you can hear the dogs crunching bones at my feet.  :)

I did get this bit of video out of our window a few years back of a slightly older baby hassling the parent, so you can hear what it sounds like, except right now the noise is moving about the trees as she isn't really coming to the ground yet.

Magpie parents have the patience of saints.  :)

 When I hung washing out yesterday, the Silvereyes were singing their heads off and flitting about the tall trees.  You can't see them, as they are tiny and green, but their song is so beautiful and I managed to capture it quite well.  

I admire Silvereyes very much as they are truly tiny little mites, and yet they migrate vast distances, are very adaptable in their feeding habits, and seem to always stay cheerful with it!

I did this watercolour of one years ago for the logo for our OBOD Seedgroup, which we named for these birds. I guess for me they take the place of the Wren, who is so esteemed by Druids in Europe. 

Birds, I love 'em!