And anent my blog last week on the Bamboo Clump birds, the Yellowhammers are back. They seem to come and go, I see only one at a time although I’m sure there’s a pair, and sometimes I don’t see them for weeks. But when one shows, it’s unmissable. The first time I saw one just after I moved here in early 1989, I thought someone had lost a canary. Then I looked more closely and realized that it had brown streaks. But it was that vivid canary-yellow, and it stood out like a neon sign amongst the other small birds. It, or possibly they, is/are a lot more casual about me than the other small birds too. I walk out to toss wheat for the hens, and the Yellowhammer is down eating it while I’m still walking away, although the other small birds wait until I’m inside to descend. And if I emerge, the Yellowhammer keeps eating so long as I don’t get too close, while the others have all rocketed up and perched well away until I back off again. In fact they should all be very grateful to him/her. I find that one of their number is so charming that if s/he is around I toss out a little extra wheat to make sure they get a share, and now and again if a yellowhammer appears late, I’ve gone back out with bread crusts. There’s times it pays to be bright!
Hammered
3 July 2013
And anent my blog last week on the Bamboo Clump birds, the Yellowhammers are back. They seem to come and go, I see only one at a time although I’m sure there’s a pair, and sometimes I don’t see them for weeks. But when one shows, it’s unmissable. The first time I saw one just after I moved here in early 1989, I thought someone had lost a canary. Then I looked more closely and realized that it had brown streaks. But it was that vivid canary-yellow, and it stood out like a neon sign amongst the other small birds. It, or possibly they, is/are a lot more casual about me than the other small birds too. I walk out to toss wheat for the hens, and the Yellowhammer is down eating it while I’m still walking away, although the other small birds wait until I’m inside to descend. And if I emerge, the Yellowhammer keeps eating so long as I don’t get too close, while the others have all rocketed up and perched well away until I back off again. In fact they should all be very grateful to him/her. I find that one of their number is so charming that if s/he is around I toss out a little extra wheat to make sure they get a share, and now and again if a yellowhammer appears late, I’ve gone back out with bread crusts. There’s times it pays to be bright!