Theropod-Thursday 46: garden variety beasts

Dieser Beitrag auf Deutsch.

Lately, I’ve been trying to do a photographic inventory of all sorts of garden-variety bird. Our garden, that is. And suddenly sheer dumb luck handed me prime photo opportunities.

A Siskinvasion!

Ever since a squirrel tilted the entire reservoir of our birdfeeder to the ground we have been besieged with songbirds. Huge flocks of up to 40 Eurasian Siskins(Carduelis spinus), a handful of House Sparrows, a few Common Chaffins – they all have taken up constant residence in our garden. Today I spotted, but was unable to photograph, a Hawfinch, too. The tits – Blue, Great Zombie, Long-tailed – are also still around, but it seems they find enough food elsewhere by now, where there is less of a racket. Common blackbirds are all over, but not interested in the bird seed. They can get earthworms galore right now, especially where a mole has taken it upon himself to ruin our garden, especially the raised flowerbed. Other regulars include Eurasian Wrens, Eurasian Nuthatches and Eurasian Magpies, as well as

Common Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus) – this pair nests in a big fir tree in front of our house.

Male European Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)

Male Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs).

Male Eurasian Siskin – usually in much smaller numbers than this winter.

Rarer guests include:

Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla). Left a female, right a male in breeding-plumage, which includes a black instead of yellow beak. A rare winter visitor here, although there are some breeding pairs that stay in Germany. I have never before seen one.

What with the general commotion and the huge number of birds there is quite a bit of interaction to watch:

Sneak attack by one female Eurasian Siskin on another! It’s kinda funny how the attackers shadows (quite literally!) the unsuspecting victim.

Overall, I was quite surprised over the last few days how many different birds showed up. Now I am looking forward to see what spring and summer will bring.