Nuthatch Home Dispute

On the 9th of April last year I photographed a pair of Nuthatch which were located adjacent to the entrance of the nest they were using. This nest hole was located about 40 feet up in a large tree.

You can observe from the first two images below (taken at that time) how small the nest hole is and just the correct size for the birds. It is believed that they had reduced the size of hole by using dried mud.

This week I noticed that the hole had been made much larger, probably by a Green or Great-Spotted Woodpecker. The images below show what I believe to be one of the same Nuthatch pair removing small wood particles from the inside of the hole and no doubt will repair the damage made.

You can observe from the below images how much work the woodpecker has completed to increase the size of the hole. 

It will be interesting to see the final result of this activity. It is very likely that the Nuthatch pair will prevail in any likely dispute over the nesting hole. They are feisty little devils and will not give ground to anything.

It can be viewed from the image below the extent of the work carried out by the likely woodpecker.

'Reports of a Green Woodpecker observed in the vicinity with a Chainsaw could not be verified by the Author.'

Beardies in Backlit Profile

During another visit to Radipole Lake Reserve Weymouth this week, I was fortunate (for the second time in ten days) to observe some of the resident Bearded Tits.

With the location of the birds and the Sun in the background this gave me the opportunity to shoot some backlit images.

At this time of year the 'Beardies' are too busy foraging for food and don't mind being viewed fairly closely by birdwatchers and the like. 

At the few locations around the UK where they exist this species can be observed all the year around.

That said, the Autumn and Winter are the best times.

 

Grey Wagtail, Wren and Chiffchaff by the Water

Another visit to a bridge on my local walk revealed that there are still a lot of Chiffchaff action. 

This along with a visit by a Grey Wagtail, plus a Wren that is always there, gave me something to shoot for the day.

The 'Chiffies' are taking advantage of the increase in water fly activity due to more regular sunshine and slightly more mild climate conditions. They swoop from various perches and snatch flies just above the water surface and back to another perch.

The Wagtail and Wren are more subtle and move along the waters edge taking insects from the low

 vegetation.