16 March 2010

Hatch of the Day

We always hear of a few unusual nest sites every year, but this is my favourite so far! Most nest recorders spend their time looking in bushes and hedges, but not Dick Appleton, who took these photos.


He spent this Saturday peering into some rafters... But these weren't just any old rafters, but Old Trafford rafters! This Mistle Thrush was spotted feeding young high up in the roof of the stand on Saturday, so as Man United eased past Fulham 3-0, this particular family had a bird's eye view of the match. We hope to update you on their progress (the birds that is) over the next week or so...


Thanks to Bill Meek for letting us know about this bird, and to Dick for the photos. Oh, and BTO Principal Ecologist Rob Robinson is to blame for the corny headline...

7 comments:

  1. There is no accounting for taste!

    ReplyDelete
  2. United eased past Fulham on the Sunday.

    Pity they're not over the south-east quadrant.

    They could then s*** on the Scousers below for the Liverpool match.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Judging by the way Man U treated a couple of lifelong season ticket holders aged 91 & 93, who turned up at the start of last season with previous season tickets by mistake, I'm surprised they weren't chucked out or forced to pay full price

    ReplyDelete
  4. To Mr Emms.

    The Mistle Thrush family are paid up Corporate members.

    Apparently their grandfather tipped off the many Black-headed Gulls that congregate around the Stretford End car parks in winter to pass the message on to their Atlantic cousins that United would be prime takeover material.

    The Glazers' apparently got wind of this via some cackling Northern Cardinal, thought red was a good colour and realised a money making opportunity once presented.

    Consequently the Mistle Thrushes are most welcome, though they are very perturbed by the green and gold canary invasion threatening their future.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bill - green & gold sounds to me more like a hermaphrodite oriole. And on the assumption that the Glazers have heard of Baltimore but presumably not of Norwich, that is more likely to worry them. While the two barmy pensioners were also fully paid up season ticket holders - just brought the wrong tickets and didn't evern get a refund when they subsequently produced the right ones. They hope the Glazers can buy a decent central defender with the proceeds - or pay for 30 or 40 Man U supporters to come and watch real, gritty, exciting football at my own local club.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice one John.

    I think someone wearing green-gold shouting up the canaries, from BTO headquarters' way, must be the source of the mis-id.

    Wind-blown American vagrants have unusual habits.

    ReplyDelete
  7. BBC Springwatch Team7 April 2010 at 18:25

    To Dick Appleton and Bill Meek,

    We would love to get some footage of the mistle thrush on her nest. Please could you give us some more information about exactly where the nest is so we can send a cameraman down to film it?

    Thank you very much.

    BBC Springwatch Team

    ReplyDelete