Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme from
@robcrank68.bsky.social is #BirdButt
If the Wren is hunting for water shrimps down at the #WeedyPond then there's going to be a fair % of butt-time on display...
@alan678.bsky.social #ECK
What a lovely & soothing start to my day😊 I so enjoy the goings on at the #WeedyPond A wee peek into a little world all to its own💚 Thank you for this
Down at the #WeedyPond - The Robin, Wren & the Chiffchaff - all currently nesting here in the garden.
#Birds #Nature
It's a busy time here - Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs & Willow Warblers down at the #weedypond & a Common Redstart just arrived.
Here's a comparison of the Willow Warbler & the Chiffchaff,
1st the WW with it's flatter head & lighter legs, 2nd the Chiff - rounder head & dark legs & short primaries.
#birds
Thanks! - there's always something going on at the #weedypond
The warbler season is well underway at the #weedypond
Many birds are dropping in to wash & refuel after their long migration journeys.
Can't wait to see the first Blackcap on camera.
Old favourites are still present of course.
#Chiffchaffs #Wrens #DailyNature 🦉
1/3 The Secret Life of a Dorset Mangrove Swamp.
Down at the #WeedyPond the Marsh Marigolds are in full bloom & provide plenty of cover from over-flying Kestrels & Sparrowhawks.
Bank Voles & other small mammals take advantage of this, as do all the usual avian suspects.
The rare Water Shrew also...
The Thrush cousins at the #WeedyPond
The Song Thrush; Redwing & Fieldfare.
The very last of the winter thrushes are now leaving Dorset.
No more 'seeeh' or 'chak-chak-ak' calls in the Ash trees here.
I suspect that the Blackbirds & Song Thrushes are rather relieved - flocks aren't really their thing.
This Wren has a real skill at fishing @jenratcliffe.bsky.social
Water shrimps are a big part of his diet. #weedypond
The dish is very popular here with many species - here a family of Greenfinches.
But checkout the #weedypond ...
Caution Wet Wren at Work!
A slomo view, (x10 times⬇️), of troglodytes - straight out of the bath & back to work.
'If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it'
#DailyNature #weedypond
@wellmanneredxs.bsky.social
2/2 Note the courtship wing shivering as one bird approaches the nest & near the end of the clip the male brings in an ant and feeds the female - more behaviour to strengthen the pair bond, which will be tested by the rigours of brood rearing.
The birds are also making use of a very cold #weedypond
4/4 They aren't great ones for bathing & I only occasionally see them bathing at the #WeedyPond
Oh, #weedypond, I'm so happy to see you're back 😊
A male Chaffinch in the evening sunshine, sat in the branches of a Willow tree.
A male Chaffinch down by the #weedypond just now - the sun has reappeared following a grim, dreich afternoon.
#Birds #UKWildlife
Today's #BirdOfTheDay Alt theme is #Green, any bird with Green in its plumage.
Here we have Greens on Green at the #WeedyPond - a party political broadcast by the Carduelis chloris party.
So many finches coming in to drink at the moment...
@alan678.bsky.social
The Wind in the Willows...
Goat Willow is such a fabulous tree - costs nothing, grows vigorously and in spring there's bees, moths, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps...
It now encircles the #weedypond
#Willows #Rewild
If there's one bird species I don't like to see at the #Weedypond it's the Mallard.
Every March a pair will arrive in the evening, stay all night & consume every tadpole & small snail they can find - which is usually most of them..
In a pond with greater depth it wouldn't be such an issue....
#Ponds
Hard Day's Night...
After a long day nest-building, the Robin takes an evening crepuscular bath in the #Weedypond
#Robins #Ponds #Nature
A few peaceful moments from an early March morning by the #Weedypond
Cast: Wren, Blackbirds, House Sparrow, Chiffchaff, Song Thrush, Bank Vole, Greenfinch.
I'm not quite sure what the Wren was consuming there...
#Birds #UKWildlife #Nature #Dorset #Ponds
@bto-gbw.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social
Meanwhile, down by the #weedypond the Robin is also gathering moss - what a wonderful building material this is.
Here we see that whilst a rolling stone can gather no moss,
a Robin gathering moss cannot take a drink...
#Robins #Nature #UKWildlife
@alan678.bsky.social @brigitstrawbridge.bsky.social
First Chiffchaff of the year back at the #weedypond.
Just flown over from overwintering in the Stour Valley or the Mediterranean region? - we cannot say but what a beautiful-looking bird.
Also in great condition, the Wren, the Goldfinch & the Greenfinch.
Tokens of stability, in insane times.
#birds
Greenfinch Gruff at the #WeedyPond
#Birds #Nature #Greenfinches
A quick postcard from the #Weedypond
It's been much quieter than usual at the pondside in recent weeks - the fields have been so flooded, there's been an oversupply of bathing facilities.
Let's hope the water levels continue to fall.
What a cracking Dunnock...
Grand Designs - You are on a self-build & the sole architect, builder, labourer, decorator & estate agent & it's late winter with dodgy weather.
You would want your local watering hole to serve up plenty of nutritious food (Freshwater Shrimps), to keep you in the best tiptop form.
#Wrens #WeedyPond
The Redwing, one of the strongest of bathers at the #weedypond
#Redwings #Birds #Nature
Support your #WeedyPond
2/2 The Fieldfares separate out from the Starlings as the afternoon wears on - here are some of the thrushes in the garden, as they gather to roost by the #weedypond as the light fails. Some birds are already closing their eyes...
#Starlings #Fieldfares #Birds #Nature
Fieldfares gather in the growing gloom down by the #weedypond. I make it 34 at the moment and they are still arriving.
I wonder how many would be accepted in the @bto-gbw.bsky.social at the weekend, before it was deemed an unreliable record?
@debalmer.bsky.social
