New member here.

[deesigner]

Hi High, welcome to Allaboute, we're a friendly bunch here

[highvoltage69]

Scylla 6538 posts thats a lot of posts must be the record on here .
Like your avatar did you take the picture ?.

[Scylla]

Not a record, our founder Chrissie has loads more, probably others too Been here since Day 1 so I had a head start on most other members.

My avatar is a kestrel fledgling that landed on my bedroom windowsill. I had to get my camera and pull back the curtain very gingerly and take some snaps, crop and enlarge - they're awful resolution, Chrissie sharpened it up for me. The family used to nest in the side of the house but no more To take pics of them at the nest I used to have to lie on the bathroom floor with my head in the cat litter tray... memories, memories

Well you did ask

scylla

[delboy]

Wow....kestrels nesting in south west london ? Are you near a park or fields Scylla ?

What a treat to have them nesting in the side of your house. I feel lucky and we've only got sparrows...lol

[Scylla]

Sparrows are almost an endangered species these days, Del, you're privileged

There are peregrines in central London keeping down the pigeons! My kestrels are small fry. Loved 'em though

scylla

[collie2011]

Wow that is really cool Scylla! My mum has loads of blue tits in her garden. All I have is a family of very very noisy wood pigeons and a squirrel lol.

[delboy]

Yeah we got sparrows on the verge of the roof on one side of the house. We get blue tits, coal tits, chaffinches, bullfinches, blackbirds, a robin that is a bit terrortorial over the seed feeders, and only one time i was in the garden and a couple of goldfinches turned up, wow what a striking plumage they have. I was stunned.
One day i was filling the kettle to make a cuppa for my long suffering wife. I looked out the window and a woodpecker (the big green one with a red cap) landed right in the centre of our lawn and stayed for about a minute. I keep binoculars on the window cill (purely for bird watching) and got a real good look at him...or her.
I love to see wildlife. It bothers me that i haven't seen our resident hedgehog for a while now.

[Scylla]

May 31, 2011 19:25:29 GMT delboy said:

I keep binoculars on the window cill (purely for bird watching)

Of course! So do I, actually, but me being 4 floors up I worry that the neighbours may think I'm snooping on them.

You have many more birds than I do I have wood pigeons, blackbirds, magpies, jays, green finches (I think) - and feral pigeons muscling in for the seed I chuck out. They've now taken to pooing on my windowsills.

I want some new binoculars, I got done over by an eBayer who sent me some with glue melting out of the joins You can get ones that are easy to use with specs on too It's quite complicated, buying binos, isn't it?

scylla

[delboy]

Yes it can be scyll, I had some high tech ones that my father-in-law gave me. But it was a bit of faffing about focusing them. And as you would know you have to focus quick or they're gone..lol
I got a pair for a £12.00 and they are so easy...small too. Which is handy if i'm leaving them out.
Yeah i forgot jays though he/she doesn't come often. And jackdaws (they eat the little birds eggs) grrrr. Magpies (see jackdaws). Mistle thrush (winter mainly then clears off till next winter). Red wings (passing through...we see them for about a week maybe two). We probably get more but i'm not allowed to sit in the conservo all day looking at birds....lol.

Our cat Toffee (tiggs's sister) has long hair and when my wife brushes her and its sprintime she puts the fur out in an empty seed feeder. They go berserk on it. But only in the nesting weeks. Then we take it down.

[Scylla]

Must be a lovely sight in your garden in springtime!

scylla

[mrlimbo]

May 31, 2011 2:07:43 GMT Scylla said:

Sparrows are almost an endangered species these days, Del, you're privileged

There are peregrines in central London keeping down the pigeons! My kestrels are small fry. Loved 'em though

scylla

Yep Citys are the best place to see Peregrines , never seen one here in the country , but you could see them all the time in Southampton city centre !!

As for sparrows , in Southampton we had tree sparrows and here we have house sparrows LOL

Buzzards seem to be one of our most common birds , last summer we had eight all soaring high in the sky at the back of our house

As to bino's never go stronger than 8 x magnification