.
.
.
.
.
NO!
Not THAT kind of strippers!!!
Honestly, do you MIND?!
THIS kind of strippers.
They've already stripped my red 'greenhouse' pyracantha - and my orange 'fence' pyracantha - and have started on my red 'back gate' pyracantha.
Now it is the turn of the one nearest to the house - the 'patio door' pyracantha; though I have to say that the higher berries are looking very shrivelled after all of that snow and ice!
Peck, gulp!... peck, gulp!... peck, gulp!...
It doesn't take them long.
Ah. I think I might have been spotted.
Yep! Definitely!
RETREAT!
You gave me a good chuckle, H! Thank you :)
ReplyDeleteIs that a starling? It's clear he feels it's his right to tuck in so greedily - after all, why else did you plant those yummy berry bushes? And, my goodness, they certainly produced an abundance of berries!
Super pictures...AGAIN! It's getting boring...I'm running out of unique compliments.
Hi Desiree - hey're actually blackbirds. There were about 4 kept coming to and fro, feasting. These are all male. The females are brown, rather then black, and slightly speckled. They are more commonly ground feeders, but they do like these berries.
ReplyDeleteLol - they do love the berries! I'd forgotten that the juvenile male blackbirds still have black beaks in their first year. Great photos:)
ReplyDeleteLoved the photos and your commentary. That last shot? I get looks like that all the time. Some are even from birds.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had the foresight to provide such an abundance of food for them.
ReplyDeletelol. how very dare they?!
ReplyDeleteThanks for enlightening me, H. We don't get blackbirds in SA - the ones that look similar to your blackbirds are our starlings, but I think they are possibly larger than your blackbirds. They're also very bossy, greedy birds and regarded as pests, because they build in rafters and bring lice - I love their singing, though and so cannot feel the disdain everyone else has for them!
ReplyDeleteDo you also get starlings in the UK?
Hi Desiree,
ReplyDeleteYes, we do have starlings in the UK. They are slightly smaller than blackbirds, but I think they have a longer beak. They are also a little more grey (particularly obvious when you see them side by side). I think I'm right in saying that they migrate from us to you when the cold weather hits, whereas blackbirds stay with us all year round.