Africa Wild

Then some serious body care:

Son blackbird also got a few shots:

I also found a young chick elsewhere, still being fed by its dad.


It certainly wasn’t happy about me and my camera!

Lovely pics Mel!! They look a bit like our thrushes.

Brilliant series of the Blackbird sunning behaviour Mel.

They do this for various reasons. Sometimes for body temperature regulation on cold mornings. They also have a preen gland which produces a waterproof coating for the feathers. Sunning converts this oil into vitamin D which keeps them in good health. This behaviour also aids in preening and keeping the feathers in good condition. It helps to dislodge parasites effectively.

Maybe also they just trip and fall down for a while?

Excellent, Mel!

wow Mel superb behaviours and pictures
and thank you to Dewi for the explanations

Kindly inform me by PM, when you post things like this that interest me ENORMOUSLY We were about to go to that part of the world when we were supposed to visit you last year, but all got cancelled because of the passing away of the 100 years birthday "child"

Have you ever been to Hallig Nordstrandischmoor or any of the other halligen? I have the intent to do the cancelled trip maybe next summer, going through Germany to Denmark and see a few places that I do not know very well. I have been to Fanö (il was still allowed to go along the beach by car by low tide) as a youngster and to Flensborg, but I always wanted to go to Lübeck and to the wattenmeer (wadden sea) of the North Sea.

Flutterby wrote:Lovely pics Mel!! They look a bit like our thrushes.

Thanks, Flutts!

We get different kind of thrushes as well here, but I didn't see any on the island though.