Contents
Page
Birds Index
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page
5
Other
Animals
All photographs on these
pages are the property of the photographer Brian Tuohey.
They may not be
re-published in any form without written permission, but may be downloaded
for personal use.
Requests for commercial or
charitable use
of these or any other photographs will be considered.
Please do not link directly
to pictures, but links to this page are welcome.
|
Sparrowhawk | Starling
| Stonechat
| Turnstone
| Woodpigeon
Sparrowhawk
![Click for larger image - opens in new window or tab](05/sphawk060304bs.jpg)
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The
first time I saw the sparrowhawk was the last weekend in February 2006. I
was in the kitchen and was aware that a large bird had suddenly flown into the
garden and landed on the top of the feeder. I saw it on Saturday and
Sunday. It didn't get any of the smaller birds, but it made more
appearances the following weekend when the two pictures here were taken, so it
had
probably also been there on other days as well. It is a magnificent bird
to see, but of course there are mixed feelings seeing it in the garden, as it is
after the birds that I am trying to encourage. After those two weekends, I
didn't see a sparrowhawk for several months until the summer.
From what I have read about them, this bird is a mature
male. Sparrowhawks have been increasing in numbers in recent years, and
are becoming increasingly common in suburban gardens. An RSPB article
suggested that their increasing numbers in gardens is a testament to the
success of garden feeders and the range of birds they attract.
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Starling
Starlings have recently become a regular visitors
to the garden feeders and they will eat whatever type of food is
available - seeds, nuts or fat. They have huge appetites and, in contrast to the larger collared doves that also visit
the feeders, they are often aggressive towards other bird species,
rarely letting them feed at the same time.
![Click for larger picture - opens in a new browser window](05/star03s.jpg)
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Stonechat
Pictured at South Stack, Anglesey in
August 2008.
![Stonechat - larger picture opens in new window](05/8608s1.jpg)
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Turnstone
Pictured on rocks at the edge of Cemaes Bay,
August 2008. As well as being accompanied by a black-headed gull, the
turnstone was with a flock of oystercatchers and flew with them to some adjacent
rocks. It is pictured with the oystercatchers elsewhere in these pages.
![Turnstone - larger picture opens in new window](05/8388s1.jpg)
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Woodpigeon
In the two older pictures below, this
woodpigeon became a regular visitor to this feeder, the only time I have
ever seen a woodpigeon take seed from a feeder like this.
![Woodpigeon, old image from 2002](05/wood02s.jpg)
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