General Chat

Thanks for the photos Huia, they are lovely.

Lizxx

Liz, I was going to say to Buggs, do they sleep well? How do you know his wellies were dry? Phil had some 'self-baling' ones. They werent dry if he walked in a wet place.

I have tried a couple of times to put the photos onto gmail but it is playing up. It worked fine the first time I put a pic on for my children. Now I cant even send a new message so I think I will revert to my old addy.

Huia.

Yes please Huia, that would be nice.

Buggs, as you say, if they feel safe they will nest in all sorts of places, robins like to feel enclosed hence old kettles shoved into bushes are a favourite place.
Smelly wellies? hmm, not my choice but at least they were dry lol

Lizx

I will have to send you a photo I took of the birds last year, and their nest. We have quite a few Aussie 'illegal immigrants'.

Huia.

Hi Huia,

I wondered what a Welcome Swallow was so looked it up and this is what I found....


It is a species native to Australia and nearby islands, but not until recently to New Zealand, which has been colonised in the last half century. It is very similar to the Pacific Swallow with which it is often considered conspecific.

This species breeds in southern and eastern Australia in a variety of habitats, but not desert or dense forest. Eastern populations are largely migratory, wintering in northern Australia. Western birds and those in New Zealand are mainly sedentary.

The Welcome Swallow was first described by John Gould in The birds of Australia as a member of the genus Hirundo, but the first publication is often incorrectly given as in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London
The Welcome Swallow is metallic blue-black above, light grey below on the breast and belly, and rusty on the forehead, throat and upper breast. It has a long forked tail, with a row of white spots on the individual feathers. These birds are about 15 cm long, including the outer tail feathers which are slightly shorter in the female. The call is a mixture of twittering and soft warbling notes, and a sharp whistle in alarm.

Young Welcome Swallows are buffy white, instead of rufous, on the forehead and throat, and have shorter tail streamers.

The winter range in northern Australia overlaps with that of wintering Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), but the latter is readily separable by its blue breast band. Welcome Swallows readily breed close to human habitation. The nest is an open cup of mud and grass, made by both sexes, and is attached to a suitable structure, such as a vertical rock wall or building. It is lined with feathers and fur, and three to five eggs are laid. Two broods are often raised in a season.

The female alone incubates the eggs, which hatch after two to three weeks. The young are fed by both parents, and leave the nest after a further two to three weeks.

These birds are extremely agile fliers, which feed on insects while in flight. They often fly fast and low to the ground on open fields in large circles or figure 8 patterns. They will often swoop around animals or people in the open.

I am sure they will be back to stay Huia, they sound lovely.


Lizx

I am glad the birds had the sense to ditch the butts. I wonder if birds get lung cancer too? Last year I had a couple of Welcome Swallows make a nest just by our back door. They would swoop at me every time I went out the door. I am wondering if they will be back this year.

Huia.

From our local eveningnews in Norwich;

Blue tit nests in Norwich ash tray
KIM BRISCOE

Last updated: 07/05/2010 10:08:00


Blue tits nesting in an ashtray at Beechcroft, Hooper Lane, Norwich.
This blue tit bird has chosen a smelly location for its nest - in a wall-mounted ashtray.

Workers at the Norfolk Carers' Helpline office in the Sprowston Road area are now thinking about christening their new feathered friend “Benson”.

Signs have been put up asking people not to use the ashtray and the smokers in the office have now had to resort to using an old coffee canister.

Maria Plumb, the helpline co-ordinator, said: “A couple of months ago there were all these cigarette butts on the ground around the ashtray and I thought it was down to the students who live nearby in a hall of residence.

“Then two weeks ago we noticed that that were some feathers and mess.

“This week I saw the blue tit there and I think there might be some eggs. It certainly seems very comfortable in there