Amazing sight last night!

[phil d]

The wife and I had driven to Southport last night, it had been one of those days and we just needed a bit of quiet time, we called at a supermarket on the way and bought some food for a picnic on the beach.

It was rather windy so we decided to stay in the car and eat, one of the things I'd bought were called "pulled pork sausage rolls" they were vile! Anyway we noticed a few small seagulls wandering about so I threw some bits out of the window for them, then this larger gull arrived, it was bigger than the rest, but not massive, I've seen bigger.

Well not wanting to get bits of pastry all over the car, I lobbed this half eaten sausage roll thing out of the window, they'll break it up I thought, only they didn't, this larger one leapt on it and swallowed it whole!

I kid you not, this thing must have been 4 inches long and a good inch in diameter, this bird grabbed it and swallowed it whole, I wish I'd taken a picture.

The birds beak was only about an inch long, its head wasn't massive, yet when it opened it's mouth it was huge! I reckon I've seen dogs with smaller mouths.

I tell you, if I hadn't seen it myself I would never have believed it, I broke the other sausage roll in half and chucked that out of the window, the greedy beggar grabbed a lump of that too, and swallowed it whole, I wonder just how much one of these things can eat?

 

[Evans Electric]

They're greedy sods Phil...... but they swallow a fish whole so must be used to it .  

 

[ruston]

Two nights ago I was in the wood at the back of the house around about dusk , but still clear enough too see. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something moving on the ground. It was a Wren with a beak full of food , I stood very still and watched it gather as much up a sit could. when it's mouth was full it flew into the yoke of a split Fir tree, out of the yoke appeared two fledglings , one larger than the other. The Mother Wren gave the contents of her beak to the larger one , I stood quietly and watched her do this three times. I was thinking that this was the law of nature and that this would be the one that would survive and that the smaller one would eventually die off, but no , on her next visit she ignored the larger one and fed the smaller one , working like a trojan she did this three times also.

 I was mesmerised by this and watched her for more than twenty minutes. I felt so privlidged and came away in complete awe of her dedication and hard work.

 

[ProDave]

When you own a boat, you very quickly learn NOT to feed a seagul when you are in the cockpit. You would not believe how many appear and start mobbing you.

 

[phil d]

A place I worked at once had a large nest box on one of the walls, it was one of those with a platform outside it, made for bigger birds, well we had a pair of kestrels nest in it. When the eggs hatched the parents were very busy hunting food, but seemed to be struggling a bit, at the time I had a barn owl and it was fed on chicks, so naturally I had a good supply of them in a freezer. I took some into work one night and when the parent birds were sat outside the nest box, I threw one onto the grass, they had it straight away. I  took chicks in several times for the birds, to give them a helping hand sort of thing. It was nice sitting in my office and watching the young learn to fly, nervously going a few feet at first, then finally one day they took off and were flying really high, it's a wonderful thing nature.