Big Sis, Lil Bro

It's been an interesting couple of days.  Yesterday I had my birding friends come visit for the day.  We went to the coast to try and find a reported Ring Ouzel at the Waxham pipe dump.  When we left the car park at Horsey Gap it was breezy and not all that warm.  We all wore jackets and fleeces when we started our trek.  Naturally within five mins the sun came out and by the end of our walk it was 24 degrees and we were all about to collapse from heat exhaustion!

Looks more like The Sahara than Norfolk!

We never did find the Ring Ouzel but we had a great walk despite the overheating.  The highlight was the most amazing Yellow Wagtail any of us had ever seen.  It was right in the middle of the Waxham camp site just sitting there positively glowing in the sun.  None of us can remember ever having seen such a bright yellow one.  Absolutely the bird of the day.  But a Ring Ouzel would have been nice....

The other highlight of yesterday is that Pinky's weaning is coming along nicely.  I finally found some seed she likes.  It was trial and error but I had given her some of the wild bird seed I use and noticed that she was picking out one particular tiny seed and actually eating it as opposed to playing with it and spitting it out.  So I whizzed down to the pet shop to find a match.  I came home with Budgie seed!  My baby dove eats Budgie seed!  Since then she has been munching for England and has not been wanting half so much food from me.  She even turned down lunch today!  The other good thing is that her poops are not so watery and so easier to clean up.  She still produces copious amounts but thicker is better!

Today I had a garden treat.  I was out in the garden hanging out my smalls when I spied a Marsh Harrier cruising over the garden at tree top height.  He was well and truly in our air space, not just a 'seen from the garden' actually over the garden.  I called to The Hairy One to look and he asked if it was the one I had been looking for.  I wondered what the hell he was on about till I realised he thought it was the WT Sea Eagle!  It's easy to forget sometimes that non birders will not clock the difference between a bird with a 3 foot wing span and one of 8 foot!  Especially as he has seen both several times.  Oh I do wish I had seen that Eagle over my garden at tree top height.  Mind you I would probably still be talking gibberish now if I had!

Perky came home for a visit today.  He is still sick, though looking a little better than when I saw him last on Tuesday.  He was much better when having medicine but when the course finished he took a downturn so he is back on it for another go.  Anyway, the people at The Haven have asked me to have him for a couple of nights so I jumped at the chance to bring him home to see his big sis.  She was really shocked to see him and was jumping about in her cage shouting her head off to come out and see him better.  I think he was a bit overwhelmed by it all and eventually I put him back in his cage with his stuffed pony, he is used to a quiet life. Pinky is now sitting on his cage, I am not sure if that's because she wants to be close to him or if it's because I have put his cage where my printer usually goes and she likes to sit on the printer!  She is sitting over his head, I do hope she doesn't splat on him!!

Big Sis and Li' Bro (Pinky with red ring and Perky with green)

In order to bring Perky home I had to take a crash course in tube feeding birds.  Very nerve wracking I can tell you but my first attempt seemed to go OK so hopefully I will be just fine feeding him later tonight.  It's a very strange feeling poking a metal tube down a bird's throat and into it's crop.  Seeing them side by side it really is noticeable how small he is bless him.  Pinky is huge in comparison and has much more feathers.  I'd say he is a good two weeks behind her feather wise.  I do hope that one day he can come home to stay.