I have been absent from the Blog for the last 2 months due to an operation which I am glad to say I have mostly recovered from now and I am able to get out and about again.
I have spent the last few days trying to get close enough to Fieldfare to get a good photograph. For some reason, they seem to be very, very wary. Even when I thought I was really well concealed under a hastily built hide made from scrim, they still seemed to be aware that something wasn't quite right. Compared with kingfishers for example who will perch just inches from you when you are in a hide, the fieldfare's skittish behaviour is difficult to explain. However with some real patience and perseverance, eventually you may get some success. Today just one bird was in front of me, in itself quite unusual as they tend to move around and feed in small flocks.
From Wikipedia."TheFieldfare (Turdus pilaris) is a member of the thrush family Turdida. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. It is a very rare breeder in the British Isles but winters in large numbers in the United Kingdom, Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It is omnivorous, eating a wide range of molluscs, insects and earthworms in the summer, and berries, grain and seeds in the winter.
Fieldfares often nest in small colonies, possibly for protection from predators. The nest is built in a tree where five or six eggs are laid. The chicks are fed by both parents and leave the nest after a fortnight. There may be two broods in southern parts of the range but only one further north. Migrating birds and wintering birds often form large flocks, often in the company of Redwings.The sexes are similar in appearance but the females are slightly more brown. The male has a simple chattering song and the birds have various guttural flight and alarm calls.
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