Birds of Another Feather

/ Peggy

Some bird photos from Scotland. I saw birds there I have never seen before.

This is a Jackdaw. I thought I was seeing a hoodie crow and was so excited. I love that name! But when looking it up online discovered it was a Jackdaw. Still in the crow family though.

Moorhen in her nest on the lake in Linlithgow
Moorhen, a chicken like water bird
This is a Robin, totally different than the US Robin! I snapped this at Loch Earn

This is a magpie. We have them in the western US but I’ve never seen one and they are prolific in Scotland. My favorite bird. They are gorgeous. have a wacky little run and are very hard to photograph! They were in and out of Katrina’s garden all day. You just can’t ‘sneak up’ on them. click here to see better images of them and here to read about them. In Scotland the magpie was once believed to carry a drop of the Devil’s blood under its tongue which perhaps stems from another belief that the magpie was the only bird not to wear full mourning at the Crucifixion.

Mom and babies
Loads of swans on the lake at the park in Linlithgow.
Swan Babies!
Notice dad swan is in front of mom and the babies and his wings spread to intimidate the dog. Very protective! Was fun watching him maneuver them behind him and spreading out his chest and feathers.
This pair was begging big time from us while we ate our lunch sitting by Loch Earn
They kept flying up at the window to remind us they were there!
Chaffinch
This fella was walking/flying on a leash at the Kelpies! His owner walks him there daily.

 Just a cool pic of a crow sitting on a rooftop. All the gadgets and points are to keep witches from sitting on the roof!

 This is a rook which turned his head as I took the pic, darn! We had two of them sitting on fence watching us eat our lunch in the car but they left before I got the pic. Just wasn’t in the cards to get a pic of a rook I guess. I was chuffed to see one though! click here for images and here for info on the bird. Make sure and watch the videos! They have a beak I sure wouldn’t want to peck me!

Pied Wagtail
A Blue Tit in Katrina’s garden!

Saw lots of pigeons and doves. Many different varieties of pigeons there I’ve never seen here. The castle ruins were good places to see them. Loads of pheasants in the fields too, but I couldn’t get a pic. Katrina said they are suicidal by nature, flinging themselves into your car as you drive by!

10 thoughts on “Birds of Another Feather”

  2. I always thought those jackdaws were hoodie crows! The blue tits abandoned their attempts to build a nest in our nest box because a wasp started to build a byke inside it too. I was so mad because they had checked out that nest box for weeks, and I was sure we were going to have a family of them there.

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  3. I first heard of jackdaws in one of the Oz books and always wondered what they looked like. When I was growing up, the magpies around our house would dive-bomb our cat for fun. She was not amused. I remember my dad saying his mother had nursed an injured magpie back to health and the bird learned to talk! And that robin sure is different from ours, so little and fluffy looking.

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  10. Love love the bird pics! I have seen in many children's books the UK robin but always thought the illustrator must not know their birds very well. lol I guess it is me that doesn't! I think they look very similar to a bluebird here. Well, I will get back to drooling over the rest of your Scotland trip photos.

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