For several weeks, I have been noticing a straggly branch at the very top of our first apple tree. There are apples up there, hanging on for dear life - over thirty feet above the ground. On Monday afternoon, a gale was blowing and yet the apples clung on - even though the straggly branch was being whipped around.
I reflected upon how amazing nature can be - pushing water and nutrients up from the old apple tree's roots - even during Yorkshire's driest summer on record. All along to the very tip of the topmost branch. Pretty incredible.
On Tuesday I was about to venture out for a walk on the moors when I decided to first try to get a few photos of the treetop. The light conditions were not really in my favour and I had to use a significant amount of zoom.
Then I noticed we had a familiar visitor - a wood pigeon. Penelope was up at the top of the tree, chilling out and surveying her domain. You can see her in the top picture
The topmost apples from below
Now I don't mind wood pigeons. They need to eat like other birds and they can't help their bulk. This is something I have often said to Shirley when she grumbles about their apparent greed and dominance - pushing out the smaller birds. In the avian world birds of every species do their best to survive.
Another domineering bird we see in our garden most days is the Eurasian magpie - widely thought to be one of the most intelligent creatures in the animal kingdom. They are opportunistic, athletic and nosy. This very morning I was woken by a couple of pecking magpies on our bedroom window ledge. They were probably seeking small insects.
Later, those same birds were gripping to our fatball feeders, eating their breakfasts.
Anyway, a blogpost that was meant to be about apples has now morphed into a blogpost about garden birds. I had better stop at this point before it morphs into something else.
Penelope Pigeon
Apple tree needs pruning. Problem with Autumn pruning is that it puts out lots more high growth.
ReplyDeleteOur apple trees are now a hundred years old and they have never been pruned.
DeleteFunny that we're both writing about pigeons on the same day! I don't mind them either, and we always have some wandering around the garden, but Mrs. Russia hated them. They'd sit on her balcony railing and mess up her terrace! (I secretly cheered them on.)
ReplyDeleteMaybe we should train a flock of pigeons to annoy Putin at his various residences.
DeleteBe sure to check out Steve's post today about pigeons.
ReplyDeleteI was already there Uncle Bruce.
DeleteNature sure is amazing. My niece is an avid birder and knows just about every kind of bird and their call. Sometimes the best posts are the ones that morph into a different subject!
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's nice just to go with the flow.
DeleteI agree with your sentiments, YP - everybody's got to eat. Mind you, sometimes I don't want to see it happening (eg., owl catching a mouse) but it's a fact of life. I kind of like pigeons and doves despite their funny shape and pushy ways. You got some good shots here despite the distance, especially the last one.
ReplyDeleteIf all humans were birds, I wonder which one you would be Jenny?
DeleteThe pigeon is really pushing that branch down; time for Pigeon Ozempic?
ReplyDeleteThe pigeon is just a pig with -eon on the end.
DeleteOkay I finally found the photo of the nuisance pigeon. Lots of magpies here...none of them good.
ReplyDeleteThe magpies probably think the same about you Red!
DeleteI like Penelope! She deserves a nice meal as much as the next bird.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, my Marco is 18 years old today. Talk about a nuisance bird!
Eighteen? Wow! Is he going to college?
DeleteI don't mind pigeons as long as they stay in the city where they get fed by whoever is eating anything, the pigeons clean up the crumbs. Some even come all the way here to my front lawn and join the mourning doves in eating the oats and crumbs thrown down by upstairs neigbour. Fine with me. But those mourning doves drive me batty with their constant coo-coo for an hour each morning and similar during the day with a slightly different tone as a male chases a female all over the grass.
ReplyDeleteAs the males chase the females, I guess there's less cooing and more, "Tarry a little while my darling...I love you!"
DeleteAs you say, all species do their best to survive, and pigeons aren‘t better or worse than other birds. I have a small birdbath on my kitchen windowsill, and pigeons frequently come to drink there. Other birds come, too, and occasionally I see a red squirrel. They all need water and I am happy to provide it.
ReplyDeleteDo you climb the tree to harvest the apples, or do you let them fall and collect them from the ground?
At first I would carefully pick the apples using a ladder but now we just make do with the fallen apples. Some land on hard surfaces but the falls of plenty of others are cushioned by plants and grass.
DeleteHow about a quiz on British birds?
ReplyDeleteYou mean - like Samanatha Fox and Princess Kate?
DeleteWe get quite a few wood pigeons too; they like to peck the new green shoots from the tops of our veggies. There is also a family of magpies living in the trees around our garden. They do well in the Spring when they raid the smaller birds' nests and take the eggs and chicks. Bless 'em.
ReplyDeleteWatch out for flying apples! You have reminded me that the doves have eaten all of the seed in our bird feeder and I need to put some more out to at least give the other birds a chance.
ReplyDelete