The Little owl visits again and a visit to the Touvre River in the Charente.

Guess who has been visiting again - Little owl (Athene noctua)....

I managed to sneak a little closer this time.

Mute swans (Cygnus olor)...

as above...

The ugly duckling - only one youngster hope it survives.

Probably two Mallard females (Anas platyrhynchos).

I think this is a Pied wagtail (Motacilla alba)...

as above...

As above.

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Wild Bird Wednesday

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I'd Rather B Birdin.

Still very hot here, but the delight of spotting a Little Owl again (twice) this week made up for it.

01/07/2019 Seen on the neighbour's barn across the road, but I only managed one shot before it was gone. Little owl (Athene noctua).

02/07/2019 Seen on our barn which is opposite our house on the other side of the road and I was at the bottom of our garden where I was watering.  Again quite far, but it waited for me to go and get the camera 😉

I managed to get a little closer, but there was only one place where I could see it between the trees.

 As above where it turned to watch me more carefully!!

Common blackbird (Turdus merula) male, I actually missed it bathing, but caught it trying to spruce himself up for his Mrs.

Think he might have had something to say at the end of it all, but I have not learnt to speak blackbird!  He never did sort out the erratic hairstyle, perhaps it is the new fashion !

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Wild Bird Wednesday

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I'd Rather B Birdin.

Record breaking temperatures and not much going on.

I spotted this Little Owl (Athene noctua) on a roof two houses away from us.

House sparrows (Passer domesticus) trying to keep cool...

as above but I get the feeling that I am being shouted at!!!...

In the rose bush next to the bath waiting for space...

and inspecting the roses.

Also waiting for space in the bath...

As above.

Saw these geese when out for a drive - well they are birds!

As above...

As above.

Wild Bird Wednesday

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I'd Rather B Birdin.

Not a good week for birding for me, so a few more photos from Christelle and South Africa

Black_collard Barbet (Lybius torquatus).

Grey-headed bushshrike (Malaconotus blanchoti).

Kelp gull (Larus dominicanus), also known as the Dominican gull.

As above.

African oystercatcher or African black oystercatcher (Haematopus moquini).

African Three-banded Plover (Charadrius tricollaris). 

As above.

Thanks go again to Christelle for allowing me to use her photos.

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I'd Rather B Birdin.

A few photos from the garden here in France this week.

Common chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs),

European greenfinch (Chloris chloris)...

As above...

As above.

House sparrow (Passer domesticus) having fun...

As above.

Common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus)...

As above.

What I believe to be a blackbird's egg. Common blackbird (Turdus merula).

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Short on photos this week so Christelle is helping out again with photos from South Africa.

As always if my ID is incorrect I am very happy to be corrected.

Village weaver (Ploceus cucullatus), also known as the spotted-backed weaver or black-headed. Male.

As above.  Female.

White-fronted plover, or white-fronted sandplover (Charadrius marginatus).

White-breasted cormorant (Phalacrocorax lucidus).

Lilian's lovebird (Agapornis lilianae).

As above.  These last two photos were taken on the South Coast of South Africa and I suspect they have escaped from captivity and bred here.  They are normally found far further North in Zimbabwe, Malawi areas. 

Thanks Christelle for allowing me once again to use your Photos.

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Wild Bird Wednesday

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I'd Rather B Birdin.