Hillonearth Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 16 minutes ago, tamthebam said: I was listening to a palae... paley... paelie... wan o thae dinosaur fellas on the radio last night (The Life Scientific on Radio 4- it's interesting if you're a geek) and he made the point that feathers, beaks, wishbones, and wings had evolved in dinosaurs before birds came along and at some point they had all combined in some small dinosaur to make the ancestor of the first bird. He also said that if you've ever seen a seagull attack you for your chips you can imagine how they've evolved from dinosaurs..! Yeah, it's odd to think that dinosaurs never really died out as such, although obviously Chicxulub got rid of all the megafaunal stuff. The therapods were well on the way to evolving into birds anyway by that point - a while back it seemed like Archaeopteryx was a bit of an evolutionary leap, but some of the intermediate things they've found especially in China fill in a lot of the gaps. There's very little difference between the likes of Anchiornis, which was a late period dinobird that they now even know what colour its feathers were and a primitive basal true bird like the hoatzin which is a weird prehistoric survival in the Amazon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamthebam Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Nothing to get excited about but nice pics none the less 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clockwork Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Early Osprey at Loch of the Lowes.LM12 back (arriving at 12.00 Noon on the 13th), for an 11th consecutive season! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philpy Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 I see you.. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peasy23 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 My bird feeder has been strangely quiet for a few weeks, taking a lot longer than usual to be emptied.Think I might have discovered the reason yesterday. Got home from the football and there was a sparrowhawk sitting on top of the fence in next door's driveway. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philpy Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 Very successful afternoon. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackislekillie Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 My bird feeder has been strangely quiet for a few weeks, taking a lot longer than usual to be emptied.Think I might have discovered the reason yesterday. Got home from the football and there was a sparrowhawk sitting on top of the fence in next door's driveway. Saw one in my garden last year take out a wood pigeon with extreme prejudice. Absolute killing machines. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peasy23 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 Saw one in my garden last year take out a wood pigeon with extreme prejudice. Absolute killing machines.It was a double take when I got out the car tbh. It buggered off before I could get a pic. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamthebam Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 Goldcrest. Britain's smallest bird. @philpy- you might have better luck. Butterdean Woods by Gladsmuir. You see them up conifers Coaltit Coaltit fecking aff Treecreeper Treecreeper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotfree Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 Put my phone up by my front window and used Microsoft phone link to take the photos remote controlled. Managed to catch this wee honeyeater having a bath. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broon-loon Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 Amongst the usual Blackbirds and Sparrows et al, we have a one legged Starling 'visiting' us. There's also a few Thrushes. The one legged Starling toerag seems to be coping pretty well, so good on him/her. Not sure how many Thrushes or pairs there are? When I was a young loon they were pretty much birds you saw every day. I'm gonna try to get a few photos but I'm pish poor with the camera/phone. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broon-loon Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 One of the Thrushes we have visiting. The photo isn't great as it's taken behind glass, so apologies if it's a wee bit blurry. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afca32 Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 Saw a kingfisher for the first time on the Water of Leith a few weeks ago. I felt particularly vindicated as I decided last minute to take a slightly longer route home via the river on the off chance I might see something interesting. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiG Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 29 minutes ago, afca32 said: Saw a kingfisher for the first time on the Water of Leith a few weeks ago. I felt particularly vindicated as I decided last minute to take a slightly longer route home via the river on the off chance I might see something interesting. Whereabouts was this? I've still not seen one so I'm looking to find a good spot to go looking for one at some point. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clockwork Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 One of the Thrushes we have visiting. The photo isn't great as it's taken behind glass, so apologies if it's a wee bit blurry. Song Thrush or Mistle Thrush?? And if it’s clear to some posters, what’s the best way to tell between the two? Cheers 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afca32 Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 38 minutes ago, RiG said: Whereabouts was this? I've still not seen one so I'm looking to find a good spot to go looking for one at some point. From Gorgie Road, near the bridge that enters Saughton Park. Across the road from Luckies pub pretty much. Saw an otter in the same spot on Monday night too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caledonian1 Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 On 22/03/2022 at 07:32, Clockwork said: LM12 back (arriving at 12.00 Noon on the 13th), for an 11th consecutive season! Isnt that really early? I have been looking out for one of the pair I will typically see every day over the summer but nothing yet....saying that its been freezing and wouldnt be surprised if they fancied another couple of weeks in Africa. Really hope they appear so as often the sight of them fishing on the river during one of my lunchtime walks is a highlight of the day. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wile E Coyote Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 10 hours ago, Clockwork said: Song Thrush or Mistle Thrush?? And if it’s clear to some posters, what’s the best way to tell between the two? Cheers This is a Song Thrush. Differences are Mistle Thrush is larger and more greyer rather than brown in colour and has defined spots on its breast rather than the streaks of a song thrush. If you see both regularly you will notice the differences and they are easy to tell apart 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philpy Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamamafegan Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Brilliant Philpy where are you seeing this shortie pal of yours? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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