Birds Around Me

There are 3 woodpeckers that breed in the UK, Great-spotted, Lesser-spotted and Green Woodpecker. Green Woodpecker is the largest among them and unique in a way that most of the time you will find them picking worms or insects on the ground, they love ants. I see them all the time while riding bike or on walks, in the parks or golf-courses but hardly managed to take pictures. So far, not able to click any photograph that I can say is better than the "record" image.  Green woodpecker (Picus viridis), Stocker's Lake, Rickmansworth, UK Amongst locals, it is sometimes called the rainbird, as they appear to call a lot more when rain seems imminent. Unlike the great spotted woodpecker, I have never seen or heard them drumming, they rarely drum. Another, interesting fact about the Green Woodpecker is their call, it appears someone laughing that too mockingly, that gave them another name "Yaffle".  -- Ashutosh Jhureley @BirdsAroundMe Unfinished List (अपूर्ण सूची)  https

Arachnophobia - it's all in your mind, spiders are amazing and their lives are as exciting & important as any other living being. That doesn't change that I am scared of spiders & snakes.  Anyway, today we spotted a common Garden spider (Araneus diadematus) and witnessed the way it traps its prey. One of the UK's largest spider is the Garden spider, approximately 13 mm, and can be identified by a white cross. Garden spider is a master craftsman and prepares an elaborate web. Flying insects gets trapped in the web, while it waits at the center. When an insect is caught, vibrations of the web attracts its attention. It then paralyzed by biting and then wraps the prey in the silk for future consumption. We saw ants getting trapped in such a manner, but butterflies, bees, wasps, flies anything that gets trapped is eaten.

The Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) is one of six Buntings that breed in the UK. It is a common resident and can be seen in varying habitats reed beds, marshlands and lakeside shrubs, farmland, and often gardens (winter/spring).  Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)  Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus), a sparrow-sized but slim and with a long, deeply notched tail, the male has a blackhead, white-collar, and a drooping moustache. Females and winter males have a streaked head. In-flight the tail looks black with broad, white edges.  Although the male is unmistakeable in the breeding season, males in winter plumage and females are harder to identify.  A shutosh Jhureley  @BirdsAroundMe My unfinished List of Birds (पक्षियों की अपूर्ण  सूची):  https://birds.rekabira.in/p/this-is-list-of-birds-i-clicked-since.html Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)  Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)  Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)  Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)  Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoe

The most common bird of the British Isles, Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), in winters there is hardly any garden in Britain where these pretty little birds don't visit. BTO survey suggests 96-98% of British garden report Blue Tit in winter.  Interestingly, being so common across the UK, they are missing from northern Scottish isles of Orkney & Shetland.  Blue Tit is a small bird, weighing only 10-11g and is unmistakenly identified by blue plumage. Only Tit on the British Isles with blue plumage, both sexes look similar. Often seen in the garden, around bird feeders in the group as large as 20-25 with other tits, Robin and Dunnock below the feeder. Blue Tits are my favorite birds on the feeder. -- Ashutosh Jhureley @BirdsAroundMe Unfinished List (अपूर्ण सूची)  https://birds.rekabira.in/p/this-is-list-of-birds-i-clicked-since.html Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) Stocker's Lake, Rickmansworth UK 19-July-2020  Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)  Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)  Blue

The first time ever, I lost patience with the birds. Yes, you heard me right, patience is the what defines bird watching and especially photographing birds in the wild. Eurasian Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) gave me a headache yesterday evening at Stocker's Lake, Rickmansworth, UK. I could hear 3-4 birds chirping in the reeds around me, for almost 45 minutes I couldn't see, I could see reeds moving but not the bird. Then I suddenly saw one deep in the reed, but didn't have the right camera setting and clicked in a burst and it was gone in a second. The results were nothing, but black images and I was back to square one.  Frustrated, impatient, I gave up, sworn at my stupidity, and started heading back home. Still could hear them, and then as out of magic, a couple of them decided to show up, I was at wrong position to capture them, the focus of my lens was a problem but got sufficient time to click few pictures. Lesson learned - g ive them time, they will give you