August 2011 part 4

Day 4 A smart looking frog sits under my chair as I sit down for breakfast. A Buzzard does a low level fly past with such effortless power. The Pied Wagtail gives us a lesson in catching flies as he walks and runs around the garden.

Pied Wagtail ( Motacilla alba) Found in a variety of locations, often near water. Breeds in open countryside, farmland and towns. Their main food are insects, especially flies and midges but also caterpillars. Most food is taken on the ground but can be caught in the air.

The female (here is looking at a fly) is greyer in colour. Nesting begins in April and most are built in clefts or holes or in ledges in banks or buildings. Both sexes build the nest lined with hair, wool and feathers. Incubation of 5-6 eggs is by both adults and lasts for 13 days. young are fed for 14 days before they fledge and are feed for a further 4-7 days. They may have 2 broods.

Here 2 fledglings are being fed.
"Little Trotty Wagtail he went in the rain,
And tittering, tottering sideways he ne'er got straight again."       John Clare