MagiStream

I live in an apartment in a major UK city, but I'm fortunate enough to have a balcony to put bird feeders on. Most of what I see is sparrows, but there's also a blue tit pair that I think are nesting nearby, a blackbird pair and a robin that I see now and then. And a pigeon that can't work out how to use the feeders and just picks up whatever the smaller birds drop. I know that sparrows are an invasive pest in the US, (much like the grey squirrel is over here) but they're in decline here in the UK. Lately I've also had a magpie turn up, it's too big for the feeders but it worked out that if it grabs the fat ball feeder and bangs it against the balcony railings then bits of the fat balls will fall out. I should probably chase it off when I see it, but I have a soft spot for corvids.

Our rooks are back! We've been noting them flying over, noisily, after dawn (amid comments of "Krebain!! ... from Dunland!") and getting earlier and earlier, but yesterday for the first time there were sleepy noises from our trees, before the main flock had arrived. So they are moving back to breeding quarters from winter quarters it would seem, and we'll have the next couple of months being pelted with sticks whilst they rebuild nests.

Rooks are great, I saw some at my parents' house when I was there to help my niece with the RSPB's 'Big Birdwatch'. First there was one, which sat on the fence and cawed, then another two appeared like the first one had been calling them. (knowing rooks, it probably was!) Then the first one managed to steal an entire fat ball feeder and fly off with it. And it had been hanging on a spiral hook which was supposed to stop this happening (because the jackdaws will also make off with feeders) but the rook managed to figure out how to pull the feeder along the spiral to unhook it. So really, it earned those fat balls through problem solving.

they really are very clever birds. Last year one of ours learned to mimic the dodgy neighbour's whistle - at least I think it was one of the rooks, could have been something else.

We are also hearing the woodpeckers now too, we've got both green and greater spotted in the area which is lovely. And, which I was particularly pleased about, I saw a wren in the garden the other day. We assumed we only had the one as they are so territorial, and the cat brought one in (dead of course) during that cold snap we had a little while ago. Hoping this one can find a mate!

I was walking in the park with my father, and we decided to go far off the beaten path, and follow a bunch of deer-trails. I saw something creamy-white in the distance, and I jogged toward it. "Hey, dad! come see this!" I shout to him. It was a bone. It seemed to be a femur of a deer (they were everywhere). Then I went further and found a bit more bone, as well as tufts of fur everywhere. A little further down and to the right, I say the lower jaw-bone. My father and I couldn't find anything else, and we knew we probably wouldn't ever, because coyotes are clever little buggers. We took pictures, but it was getting dark, so we needed to go home.
This would not be my first encounter with coyotes, but those are for a different time.

one day in a trip me and my mom are close to a bridge and we see a herd of capibaras resting in the river,some of them are full of parasites and all scratched for constantly passing in the fence,because the other side of the fence have a lot of big and green grass

Saw some neat things yesterday when I went on a wildflower walk with my mom and cousin *u*

Saw this Red-tailed hawk flying around, then a little later I spotted this Western fence lizard *u*

While we were on our way back to our car, we noticed some people looking at something in a tree, when we asked what they we were looking out, they pointed out this little guy! We then saw the mom in another tree *u*

Then today, we saw these White-faced ibises in our neighbors pasture, they flood it every year and it always attracts interesting birds, but this is the first time I've seen ibises *u* We also saw this Wilson's snipe on the fence =D

I heard my first cuckoo of the year this evening. I've never knowingly seen one, but it is nice to know they are still around.

The rookery has hatched several babies, and we also have jackdaws nesting, which I've not seen before. We also have a pair of ducks wandering around, fairly aimlessly - whether they are nesting or not I don't know, but since our 'lake' isn't permanent they are in for a big disappointment if they are. I did however see a mother duck (wild one, not domestic) waddling along the side of a road - the sort of rural road that people drive too fast on - with a bevy of young ducklings behind her, all brown except one yellow one I hope she got them safely to where she was going.

My family has a vacation house in Sandpoint,ID where I recently discovered has a wolf sanctuary. This place, called the Wolf People, have tours where people can come and see how the wolves of Idaho live and interact with people yet still stay wild. I went with my parents and was amazed at how the wolves can seem domesticated one minute but wild the next. I ended up adopting a wolf, merely more of as a formality to help with the cost like feeding and vet bills. If you want more information here is the website http://wolfpeople.com/wp/

The other day I found a young robin perched in an unusual spot. Because we have two Chihuahuas who have a history of getting out of the yard, my uncle had to put a plank of wood up to block the gap in the two gates. Well on one of those planks was a little bird and I thought that was very weird.

It turns out that the little bird was one of three and they were learning how to fly. Another one was still in the nest which looked like it was in a pretty good spot. We have a huge bush that is kind of like a fir tree, their nest was close to the trunk. There was a third one who was on the go. Hopping around and if I got too close then it would fly a little bit.

In the end, the one on the post began moving...and then I saw no more of the little family. I am hoping that they are okay and were able to find shelter during the night (even more because we do have outdoor cats who roam the neighborhood).

But you know...it is kind of funny. We have a ton of wildlife documentaries in the world, but a few of them really cover things close to home. I wanted to find a robin documentary to make sure I was correct, but there is nothing that could be found on Animal Planet or even Nat Geo Wild.