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We've got a dunnock nesting in a hedge which I want to cut. At the moment there are four eggs. How long is it likely to be before all eggs have been laid, hatched out, and the young flown away?
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Around 3 to 4 weeks at a guess. Interesting sex life the Dunnock:
www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/d/dunnock/breeding.aspx
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As soon as the young have left the nest you'll be able to cut the hedge. The young tend to hang around the garden for a while but they shouldn't go back to it.
>> www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/d/dunnock/breeding.aspx
I have seen this pecking of the female rear end in the garden through the kitchen window! I had no idea it was to remove a rival males sperm though. Bizarre. I thought it was a kind of rough foreplay - how naive am I? I wouldn't have said life was tough here though, they get plenty of food.
Dunnocks are one of my favourite birds. They may be 'wee brown jobbies' but close up they have a lovely streaked pattern on the feathers, and they have an amazing upbeat song. Compare them to collared doves - the most irritating monotonous dirge to have ever come out of a birds beak. Somehow the damn things have made their way here from Asia over the years - and ruined the peace of our tranquil gardens. Now, where's that friendly sparrow hawk?
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There are a pair of peregrine falcons nesting on the spire of Norwich cathedral at the moment. Saw one take a pigeon in mid air on Wednesday.
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>> There are a pair of peregrine falcons nesting on the spire of Norwich cathedral at
>> the moment. Saw one take a pigeon in mid air on Wednesday.
Easy prey to them I would imagine. I presume the sparrow hawks are so called because they hunt sparrows. There was one last year using the garden as a diner for collared doves. It makes sense because they have plenty of meat on them and very easy to take down - they have no flying skills. I was actually in the garden when it got one. It just grabbed it, slowly lowered to the ground and stood on the thing with it's wings still flapping. I froze and watched from under a tree about 15 feet away while the whole grizzly process was carried out. It had it's fill, then took another stare at me before flying over the fence with this half eaten carcass in it's claws. Ruthless.
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Anything that kills pigeons and collared doves gets my vote.
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"Easy prey to them I would imagine."
According to a recent TV program Peregrine's hit rate of pigeons is about 1 in 3. Once they go into a stoop they effectively have little control. The pigeon, whilst flying slower has the benefit of superb manoeverability and can easily out turn the falcon, provided it sees it in time.
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>> 3. Once they go into a stoop they effectively have little control. The pigeon, whilst
>> flying slower has the benefit of superb manoeverability
Must pigeons I see have the manoeverability of Ark Royal. Too big you see.
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I watched a peregrine falcon get done over by a crow the other day. Nature really is red and tooth and claw. Well it is round here anyway.
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>> I watched a peregrine falcon get done over by a crow the other day. Nature
>> really is red and tooth and claw. Well it is round here anyway.
Now carrion crow's I like. Most of the time they'll just drift along on those big wings, but I've seen them chase smaller and supposedly more agile birds, and they can turn into a completely different mode, really increasing speed and direction capability. If you get too near their young, as I did once without realising, they caw loudly at you from a few feet away, and they look much larger and more intimidating close up.
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Yeah it stalls, thats just timing. No good for getting out of the way of cars now is it.
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You mean a car is no good for getting our of the way of a pigeon.
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>>I presume the sparrow hawks are so called because they hunt sparrows.<<
Not quite! ;-) the term "Sparrow-Hawk" actually refers to thier small size as compared to other birds of prey.
They can and will take prey many times bigger than themselves, racing pigeons being a particular favorite as they are territorial around thier lofts, and that means that the SH always knows where to find a meal. They often return to a previously killed meal to finish it off, so many pigeon owners poison the carcass and exact revenge.
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They use surprise tactics. The doves in my garden really don't know what's hit them. I've seen them go around the corners of house walls as if they were attached to it by a cord :)
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Dunnock ~ length of time from eggs to flying away? - CGNorwich
