Feathering Your Nest

Have been rather neglecting this diary of late what with the weather being so cold etc we have not been out our bird watching very much so I though I would tell you of something I saw the other day that I thought was very clever.  The picture above is a large patch of short grassland at Birnie Loch, I have mentioned this place before as we do visit it and walk round it quit often.  We were passing late on Monday afternoon after one of our many visits to St Andrews. This piece of grass is a roosting ground for the Mallard and the gulls and it is also where people 'Feed the Ducks. ' I think you can just about see all the feathers lying about, now there is a Rookery just behind where this photograph was taken. As we sat in the car watching what was going on we noticed that a pair of Rooks were gathering up all the feathers, great beak fulls for their nests, it was not long before other pairs joined in this activity but they were not so adept at this and the feathers kept escaping from their beaks. They say Corvid are very clever birds they seem to be learning from one another all the time.  You have maybe noticed on the motorways that they feed right up to the white line on the hard shoulder but don't venture onto the road and the young learn this from their parents and so the learning goes on very clever not the prettiest of birds but when the sun shines on their lovely black/blue feathers they are something else.  Hoping to get some nice notes next week when we are away.

                                                    Joan.