Two nest hole snatchers

Some birds make nests from scratch, building them from twigs, branches, spider's webs, lichens or mud. Others need a hole to nest on, and they will use natural holes or those drilled by other birds. This post is about two such 'nest snatchers' I've watched recently. In the last few days, I've noticed starlings moving a lot of back and forth between an Ash and the grass lawns in my local park. Yesterday, they were actually using last year's Great Spotted Woodpecker's nest. Woodpeckers have a reputation for feeding on the chicks of hole nesting birds, but they also might be providing them with the nest hole in the first place.

A photo from last year (24th June), with a chick almost ready to fledge calling to its parent (on the right branch) 

Yesterday, a Starling getting in the hole

 The other nest snatching event happened just in front of my house. There's been an owl box in the Lime tree in front of the house for over 15 years. It was well used, the hooting and gurgling noises of the Tawny Owls from the nest very obvious in the night. A few years ago the bottom of the nest fell off, and the sky was visible from the ground. On Valentine's day the next year the owls called from the nest, probably inspecting it, but it was deemed useless and we stayed owl-less for a few years. This year, Stock Doves showed a lot of interest in the owl house (top shot taken 9th April). They stuffed the box with branches, and miraculously, the branches stayed, the box had been repaired!

The repaired nest, branches sticking out at the bottom.

 The booming call of the Stock Doves greeted me in the mornings as I left for work. Until one night we heard a Tawny Own hooting. The owl was actually sitting atop the nest, calling, then flew off low over the roofs. The owls have been calling regularly since, and I guess they have taken possession of the owl box and evicted the Stock Doves.
 

 Tawny Owl watching us from the nest box (20th April).

Keeping an eye on the crow

I was watching a crow feeding on the ground, picking morsels of food from a large chunk it was pinning to the ground with its foot when this Herring Gull flying over saw the scene, found it as interesting and quickly tipped its wing and landed low on a shed roof overlooking the crow. I had just the time to take this shot, as the gull decided maybe it wasn't worth trying to steal the crows food with me as witness, and took off.

The Crow and the Squirrel

At this time of the year, Grey Squirrels are very busy burying seeds for the long winter. Crows also cache food, and there is an interesting dynamics between both species. Crows are known for eavesdropping on each other, and they avoid caching food if they see other crows around that might steal their food if they know where is stored. But Carrion Crows are good at stealing squirrel food as well. They walk nonchalantly nearby, while the squirrel buries some food, and later they retrieve it and either they eat it or store it somewhere else. Well, the squirrel seems to realise it is just not working for her, and I have often watched how the squirrel goes nuts and starts chasing the crows all over the place (top shot).

Carrion Crow storing food

Crow having a good look at where the squirrel is hiding its food.

These photos are today's, but I managed to get a video of a squirrel chasing the crows last winter.