I was a bit surprised to find gentle drizzle falling while I was out
with the dog during the past half hour. It's a bit murky but I can't see
what the drizzle is falling from. The moon and a couple of planets are
clearly visible through the cirrus and also a few stars. There doesn't
appear to be any low cloud. Perhaps the drizzle is drifting in the wind
from precipitation further afield.

On a completely different (and non weather-related) topic I wonder if
any of the bird-watching enthusiasts who frequent this group can give an
explanation for some curious behaviour displayed by a male chaffinch in
our garden over the past few days. It has been constantly feeding around
the patio and rockery very close to the house with no apparent concern
for our presence within a few feet. It is certainly much less timid than
the average chaffinch. Its behaviour has been more like that of a robin
in mid winter. This afternoon it spent 4 hours standing on the outside
window ledge on our conservatory continuously pecking at the glass. I
can only assume that it was pecking at its own reflection. Eventually it
flew into the conservatory through the open door. It didn't seem to be
particularly frightened when I picked it up and took it back outside. It
appears to be perfectly fit and healthy.

Norman.
(delete "thisbit" twice to e-mail)
--
Norman Lynagh Weather Consultancy
Chalfont St Giles
England

In article , Norman Lynagh writes:

On a completely different (and non weather-related) topic I wonder if
any of the bird-watching enthusiasts who frequent this group can give an
explanation for some curious behaviour displayed by a male chaffinch in
our garden over the past few days...

... Eventually it
flew into the conservatory through the open door. It didn't seem to be
particularly frightened when I picked it up and took it back outside. It
appears to be perfectly fit and healthy.

I wonder if it once was a caged bird? (For instance, rescued and
hand-reared by some kind soul before setting it on its way?)


Cheers,

keith


---
Iraq: 5 thousand million pounds, 60 lives, and counting...
The Politicians will now seek to blame the Spooks.

"Keith Dancey" wrote in message
...
In article , Norman Lynagh
writes:

On a completely different (and non weather-related) topic I wonder if
any of the bird-watching enthusiasts who frequent this group can give
an
explanation for some curious behaviour displayed by a male chaffinch
in
our garden over the past few days...

.... replied via email: we've had a very similar experience.

Martin.

In message , Norman Lynagh
writes
I was a bit surprised to find gentle drizzle falling while I was out
with the dog during the past half hour. It's a bit murky but I can't
see what the drizzle is falling from. The moon and a couple of planets
are clearly visible through the cirrus and also a few stars. There
doesn't appear to be any low cloud. Perhaps the drizzle is drifting in
the wind from precipitation further afield.


Further to the above, there's quite a substantial covering of dust
visible on cars this morning. I suspect that what I felt last night was
dust particles dampened by dew. They looked exactly like drizzle
droplets in a torch beam so were larger than we usually get in dust
falls.

Norman.
(delete "thisbit" twice to e-mail)
--
Norman Lynagh Weather Consultancy
Chalfont St Giles
England

On a completely different (and non weather-related) topic I wonder if
any of the bird-watching enthusiasts who frequent this group can give an
explanation for some curious behaviour displayed by a male chaffinch in
our garden over the past few days. It has been constantly feeding around
the patio and rockery very close to the house with no apparent concern
for our presence within a few feet. It is certainly much less timid than
the average chaffinch. Its behaviour has been more like that of a robin
in mid winter. This afternoon it spent 4 hours standing on the outside
window ledge on our conservatory continuously pecking at the glass. I
can only assume that it was pecking at its own reflection. Eventually it
flew into the conservatory through the open door. It didn't seem to be
particularly frightened when I picked it up and took it back outside. It
appears to be perfectly fit and healthy

I have bird feeding stations outside the house - a couple are outside my office
window. These are in heavy use and it seems to matter not one jot to the birds
that there's a human the other side of the glass, only a matter of a couple of
feet away. Indeed, they don't care when the cats are on the window sill a
metter of inches away. It's as if they *know* the sheet of glass between bird
and human/cat means they are okay. One particularly strange great tit sits on
top of one of the feeders and I *think* it could be seeing its own reflection
as it flutters its wings in the same way a fledgling does when it wants an
adult to feed it - yet this is not a fledgling, it's an adult great tit. The
other thing that great tit and blue tits do is pick at any cobwebs around the
windowsills. I think they use them as nest-building material.

Cheers.



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