The Feathered Ones
Sunday, 20. December 2009, 20:52:42
A small bird is searching for food in a lot of snow 
The north wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow,
And what will the robin do then, poor thing?
He'll sit in a barn,
And keep himself warm,
And hide his head under his wing, poor thing!
- anonymous
The robin of reality is not quite as meek and pitiful as its counterpart in poetry
They're very lively at the moment; we had three in the garden this morning, and that means war 
There is hardly a bird that is more tolerant of humans - one tried to land on the birdtable even as I was tying the trail cam to it 
- but they strongly resent their own kind (except, presumably, their mates) and their fights in the springtime can get quite violent.
But, for now, they are merely warning each other with calls and mock chases. And looking very pretty against the snow
Robins are strongly associated with Christmas imagery in England - cards are full of them. According to the BTO, this tradition dates back to the 1860s, when postmen wore red tunics and were nicknamed "redbreasts", a common name of the robin since the 15th century. But, also, they're one of the few birds that is vocal in the wintertime, and I guess it's easy to associate them with some seasonal cheer
The trail cam itself has had a busy day. I'm still struggling to judge the focusing distance for the still camera function; the device is really designed for photographing large mammals in forest clearings, and it's hard to set it correctly for small, quick-moving birds. But it did catch our most colourful corvid - the Eurasian jay
...as well as the big woodpigeons (here accompanied by a chaffinch)...
...and one of those things with long fluffy tails that tend to appear whenever bird food is displayed
Taking the focusing problems and small targets into consideration, I'm not displeased with the quality (for a trail cam). It should take better photos of larger, more distant animals, if the opportunity arises.
All the small birds have been busy finding food. This is a blue tit:
We've also had great tits and coal tits in the garden today, and long-tailed tits have been calling from the tall trees. We just need a marsh tit to make the local party for this family complete
There's still plenty of snow on the ground, but they've forecast cold sunshine the next day or so. After all those weeks of grey cloud and relentless rain, this is a very welcome change
The north wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow,
And what will the robin do then, poor thing?
He'll sit in a barn,
And keep himself warm,
And hide his head under his wing, poor thing!
- anonymous
The robin of reality is not quite as meek and pitiful as its counterpart in poetry
They're very lively at the moment; we had three in the garden this morning, and that means war There is hardly a bird that is more tolerant of humans - one tried to land on the birdtable even as I was tying the trail cam to it - but they strongly resent their own kind (except, presumably, their mates) and their fights in the springtime can get quite violent. But, for now, they are merely warning each other with calls and mock chases. And looking very pretty against the snow
Robins are strongly associated with Christmas imagery in England - cards are full of them. According to the BTO, this tradition dates back to the 1860s, when postmen wore red tunics and were nicknamed "redbreasts", a common name of the robin since the 15th century. But, also, they're one of the few birds that is vocal in the wintertime, and I guess it's easy to associate them with some seasonal cheer
The trail cam itself has had a busy day. I'm still struggling to judge the focusing distance for the still camera function; the device is really designed for photographing large mammals in forest clearings, and it's hard to set it correctly for small, quick-moving birds. But it did catch our most colourful corvid - the Eurasian jay
...as well as the big woodpigeons (here accompanied by a chaffinch)...
...and one of those things with long fluffy tails that tend to appear whenever bird food is displayed
Taking the focusing problems and small targets into consideration, I'm not displeased with the quality (for a trail cam). It should take better photos of larger, more distant animals, if the opportunity arises.
All the small birds have been busy finding food. This is a blue tit:
We've also had great tits and coal tits in the garden today, and long-tailed tits have been calling from the tall trees. We just need a marsh tit to make the local party for this family complete
There's still plenty of snow on the ground, but they've forecast cold sunshine the next day or so. After all those weeks of grey cloud and relentless rain, this is a very welcome change
)
...
She's a big, rather bulky fox, with her ears pointed so dramatically upright that one almost expects her to have furrows on her brow, and the narrowness of her muzzle is enhanced by the effect. Darter looks incredibly similar except for the lack of a chip in her ear.
I have no footage (naturally 
But there was no aggression between them; they barely even glanced at each other. For now, anyway.
WIDGETIZE