Sunday 12 August 2012

Can't See The Woods

For the Tree Lilies.
Yes, there's more of them:


These Tree Lilies are the ones growing in pots. Must be about 7 or 8 foot high. Well, they're a lot bigger than me, but then, most things are. The Leycesteria growing in front of them is about 6 foot high. And that's bigger than me too. I'm starting to get a complex here.

Moving swiftly on, the squirrel has been up to his antics again. Now that he's eaten all the cheap food, he's found the good stuff.

Lid off in no time.

And he starts tucking in.

But then he gets a bit erm.....stuck.

Manages to free himself, but loses his balance.

And decides to call it a day.

And finally, saw an unusual sight in the garden today; a family of goldfinches came to visit. That's not the unusual bit. Hang on. Anyway, the parents came to the feeder, but the youngsters were a bit reluctant to come down. Suddenly, they all flew up into the air, and flew off. That's when a sparrowhawk arrived, but he wasn't interested in the goldfinches. Oh no.

Here's the unusual bit; the sparrowhawk was being chased by about half a dozen crows. They put on some amazing aerial displays as they were dive bombing the sparrowhawk. The hawk kept resting in the trees, but everytime he tried to fly away, the crows attacked it again. Eventually, they all flew out of sight, so I don't know what the outcome was. Very strange to see a predator under attack.

16 comments:

  1. Czuj się jakbyś była w dżungli przechodząc obok wysokich kwiatów. Wiewiórka zawsze sobie radę da, jest sprytna. Atak wron jest faktycznie dziwny. Pozdrawiam.
    Feel as if you were in the jungle, passing by the high flowers. The squirrel will always get along, it is smart. Attack of the crows is really strange. Yours.

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    1. Yes, it is a bit like a jungle this year. Everything has grown taller than normal thanks to all the rain.

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  2. It'a a behavior called 'mobbing'. Smaller birds will join together to chase away or attack a larger bird. I've seen chickadees chase larger birds away from a feeder. Beautiful lilies!

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    1. I've seen a couple of crows attacking a couple of magpies quite often, but six crows against one sparrowhawk just didn't seem fair. 'Mobbing' sounds a very appropriate term for it.

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  3. Your lilies are just gorgeous. They do get tall in the right location.

    Squirrels can be so very entertaining. That's an amazing story about the crows and sounds entertaining too.

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    1. We've been promised strong winds in a couple of days. Hope the lily flowers survive.

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  4. Hawks get beat on by smaller birds in our area. It has been hot with little breeze this summer. I'm looking forward to watching the hawks fly in the wind currents overhead.

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    1. I've often seen the hawk attacked by blackbirds protecting their young. Wonder if the crows were doing the same thing.

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  5. It's clear what you lack in height (like moi), you make up for in your beautiful garden. My mother-in-law has taken to dousing everything in chilli powder in a desperate attempt to keep the squirrels off the birds food. The squirrel has since developed a penchant for chilli....it's hilarious. Despite her age, hip replacement & aching bones, she can fly out her comfy chair quicker than a launched missile to bang on the window to scare these dastardly critters away!

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    1. I'll not bother trying the chilli remedy then.

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  6. Love the colour of the pink lilies I have decided not to bother with them next year as mine all got eaten by slugs. That third picture of the squirrel looks like he has a spike coming out of his body! When I first read the last bit I thought is said the 'cows' were chasing the buzzard, but realised it couldn't be when you mentioned the aerial display - ha ha made myself chuckle.

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    1. I see what you mean about the third picture. The green spike is part of the hook that the feeder is hanging on. The squirrel got stuck under the hook and between the feeder's two arms.

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  7. I thoroughly enjoyed the antics of the squirrel. You narrated an interesting anecdote of the hawk being attacked by crows. They can be very vicious. A few months back, my neighbour's chihuahua was almost attacked by two crows, one in front and the other at the back. They were closing in on the hapless mutt when my neighbour managed to save it just in time.

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    1. Wow, that must have been scary for the little dog. I'll have to keep an eye on my dog if there's any crows around when he's in the garden.

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  8. Replies
    1. Yes, they've grown really tall this year. Must be all the rain, because I haven't fed them, yet.

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