A few hours late this afternoon at the Vale Hide was quiet.
The Greater Pecker came to drink a few times as did a Goldfinch. A female Blackbird and Dunnock also came to bathe.
But at 18.58 precisely something caught my eye as it crept in towards the pool. I thought it was a small mammal, then a glimpse made me think it was a Phyllosc.
I slowly swivelled the camera to the right and to my disbelief saw this large red bill and facial stripes, I knew instantly what it was. A female Zebra Finch!!
It very tiredly crawled through the grass and up onto the logs at the drinking pool. There it closed its eyes and slept for a few minutes. Then watching a Dunnock drinking, it flew to the other side where it drank briefly.
Head under wing, it again rested.
Tired and exhausted after its long journey from Australia it then joined the Chaffinches and House Sparrows and was enjoying the seed.
It gradually gained strength and became very aggressive towards other birds chasing off anything in it`s path!
After a further 15 minutes the Magpie dropped in , chased after it , caught it, and that was that!
Of course I will submit a detailed description to the relevant authorities.
5 comments:
Glamorgan's best bird since the stunning Cackling Goose at Llanishen Res, which by the way is well on its way to being rubber stamped by BBRC - a great addition to my Cardiff list.
Best antipodean record since the Australian Shelduck. Good on you mate.
Hey! I've had Indian Minah,Cockatiel,A big Green Parrot and several Budgies in Glamorgan but none of them are on the list!
I have Bateleur on my garden list!
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