Monday, November 14, 2016

Monday 14th November

Birds



Saturday when we walked over the fields, I spied what looked like a grey-white post in the distance on the path, getting closer and it turned into a heron basking in the sun, as we got nearer the bird took off that slow flapping of its great wings taking into the air.  Yesterday there was a bang at the window, pigeons often fly into them, so going to the french windows (why french?) a pair of golden eyes glared at me, it was a sparrow hawk, chasing the pigeon into the window.  The pigeon had taken shelter behind the flowerpots, and as it disappeared a couple of hours later survived presumably.  Now I am not over fond of these idiotic plump birds that slowly potter around the garden eating up all the food for all the birds, so not too heartbroken over their demise.  This morning they were all there as I went out to feed the chickens but the jackdaws have become much bolder so that there was a criss-crossing of grey and black birds visiting the bird house.
The chickens appear at the top, probably asking for food, I should take more photos of them they are very funny, sheltering by the front door under the porch should it rain, accompanying visitors to the back door trying to get in.  They fly up into the grave yard and potter around under the yews, I just rattle a bowl on the wall and they all dash over flying down for whatever goodies there are.  They dig great holes in dry corners and huddle together also having dust baths, I can pick them up quite easily they just seem to hunker down when your hands appear above them.
There are a lot of chickens in the village I can think of at least 6 people who keep them, and my interest in them today came from this appeal to stop one of those chicken factory farms from being built,  You would think in this day and age that battery hens were a thing of the past but no.

Super moon tonight though someone on Radio 4  said that it won't be terrible spectacular.

6 comments:

  1. Birds fly into our kitchen windows all the time. They make a terrible bang and yet we rarely find a dead one; they seem to take shelter in the nearby privet hedge until they recover. We have a more or less resident sparrow hawk who flies through at great speed once or twice a day - luckily there is a high holly hedge the little birds at the feeders can rush into. The hawk does occasionally catch a collared dove - we have at least fifteen.

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    1. Well our hawk must have killed the three pigeons the other day, he/she looks a mean fella. The birds often leave an imprint of their shape on the window which is strange, sadly a few weeks back a beautiful thrush killed itself on the selfsame window.

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  2. Not sure I have told you but I love your heading photo. To live somewhere where you can see this everyday must be a wonderful treat.
    Birds hit my windows often but rarely live. It is very sad.
    I love your chicken. They are very funny.

    cheers, parsnip

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  3. Hi and welcome, Lucy also lives off chicken as well but has never chased the chickens and is always there when there is a food handout. The little building at the top of the blog is the old coke house for the church, at the front there is a hatch off the ground about horse and waggon size for tipping the coke in. Not used now, the church has crummy electric heating which hardly works.

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  4. I miss our chickens, though at one time we had a LOT (about 60+) and 35 ducks, so they were quite a commitment. PROPER eggs though, ah, what a difference. I always buy free range eggs, but only the ones from folk on the car boot sale who keep their own F/R hens are anything like my eggs, with their orange yolks.

    When mum was alive, we put bird feeders right by her window so she could watch the birds, and a Sparrowhawk was always very active down there - one swoop through and one less bird . . .

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  5. I suspect you must have sold the eggs from all your chickens Jennie, our spares are used up from the people in the village, shame you don't have them anymore but I expect they could be trouble and what about foxes?

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