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Original poster

anyone know about garden birds?

52 replies

nailpolish · 16/06/2005 17:06

hi!

every evening at dusk time 2 tiny little dark coloured birds dart around and around and around my back garden, like they are chasing each other. ive never seen birds fly so fast!

could anyone help me identify them please? thanks

OP posts:
Original poster
nailpolish · 16/06/2005 17:37

bill oddie, come to my house!

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morningpaper · 16/06/2005 17:39

hehe my DH and my mother can't hear them but I've got very good hearing.

It sounds like bats to me - I'm assuming they don't land at all? Birds would land occasionally.

Original poster
nailpolish · 16/06/2005 17:40

no, no landing

will update later everyone, thanks, must rescue tea

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bossykate · 16/06/2005 17:43

swifts probably wouldn't land. you could have bats under the eaves, it's possible.

bossykate · 16/06/2005 23:00

hi nailpolish, what is the bat/swift news?

Original poster
nailpolish · 17/06/2005 13:34

still not sure. do bats fly like birds, darting and swooping, no hovering, chasing each other in pairs (or so it seems)?

wings dont look bat-like, but im not sure i can see properly cos if the light/speed of the birds/whatever.

perhaps ill never know

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WigWamBam · 17/06/2005 13:40

Bats do fly like birds, howering and swooping, and they do come out at dusk. If you're not hearing any noise either, then it might well be bats that you're seeing.

WigWamBam · 17/06/2005 13:40

I mean darting and swooping; forgive my addled brain

Original poster
nailpolish · 17/06/2005 13:41

should i let someone know? i mean, arent they protected?

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Nbg · 17/06/2005 13:42

Could they be Pied Wagtails.

We get them in our garden. They're a similar shape and size to a swift and their blacka nd white but when they are flying just look black.

Original poster
nailpolish · 17/06/2005 13:44

off to check out some birdie websites

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misdee · 17/06/2005 13:49

i'm getting attacked by what seems like swifts each week. the outline is very distinctive, and at first i thought i was swallows, but doesnt seem that way. they dart about a cul-de-sac i walk through to dd1 school, they never land, fly right upto the houses, skim the windows and fly away. they even skim past my head.

madmarchhare · 17/06/2005 13:49

We get bats doing the exact same thing. We werent sure at first but FIL said to put something light coloured (a tea towel or sommat) on the ground and if they were bats they would swoop towards it as they are attracted to the 'light'.

debs26 · 17/06/2005 13:51

bats flitter about all over the place, a bit like butterflies only really fast. they wouldnt necessarily have a light coloured chin, it depends on the species. all species in this country are relatively small and dont do any harm to your house or anything. pipistrelles are the most common (depending on where you live) and their bodies are only a couple of inches long, wing span somewhere round 20cm.

we had some at our old house who seemed to chase around each other, they do often live in colonies but you wouldnt necessarily see them together. am v i used to love watching ours.

they wont get caught in your hair btw, some of them can catch a spider off a web and their echolocation is so precise they can tell which side of the web the spider is on, so they will definately know you are there and avoid hitting you!

Original poster
nailpolish · 17/06/2005 13:58

dont think its the wagtail, ive never seen them around here during the day. and i dont think its swifts, cos they usually are noisy when in flight (according to rspb website!) so im going to be 99% sure its bats.

feeling very privileged now! they really are tiny little things. seem so fragile. wonder where they are nesting and if they have babies?!

does anyone know of i should let anyone know? ie bat people

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debs26 · 17/06/2005 14:08

dont need to tell anyone unless you find one on the ground cos there is no real way of knowing where they are roosting anyway, some can travel a huge distance to get to feeding grounds. they will be having babies soon if not already (assuming yours are girls!)

this might be interesting, unfortunately i cant see it cos i havent got the right plug in, let me know if its any good!

mogwai · 17/06/2005 17:47

Bats are distinctively faster than birds. This is what always tells me it's a bat and not a bird, that and the range of swooping. Ours always come out at dusk as well

Original poster
nailpolish · 17/06/2005 20:23

thanks for all your replies! its still far too light, but me and dh have decided its such a lovely day today, nice balmy evening, we are going to sit out later and watch them! cant wait!

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madmarchhare · 17/06/2005 21:01

bat people

Furball · 17/06/2005 21:01

Sound like Housemartins to me.

madmarchhare · 17/06/2005 21:02

who has the bat picture? who has the bat picture? Ive been drinking again...

madmarchhare · 18/06/2005 13:54

C'mon, help me out here!!!!!!!! I know there's one somewhere.

Furball · 18/06/2005 15:40

Here?

madmarchhare · 18/06/2005 17:45

YAY! [GRIN], THANK YOU!

madmarchhare · 18/06/2005 17:47

OK, so it doesnt work with capitals

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