Birds not of a feather don’t flock together

I was quite amused a while back while at our local nature reserve, watching an egret and a heron occupying the same patch of shallow water. They were both fossicking about feeding in a desultory sort of way, and they simply didn’t seem to see one another. They passed so close to each other from time to time that a cursory glance might have seemed in order. Nothing. Here they are:

Here are a few more unrelated birds showing they really have no interest in each other at all.

  • Another heron, and a cormorant, at L’Albufera near Valencia
  • Same place, different view.
  • A herring gull and a mallard ignore each other at Studley Royal
  • More cormorants – this time with herring gulls

Bird Weekly Photo Challenge

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Author: margaret21

I'm retired and living in North Yorkshire, where I walk as often as I can, write, volunteer, and travel as often as I can.

42 thoughts on “Birds not of a feather don’t flock together”

  4. Well, I have a new word. ‘Fossicking’. I think I’m going to have to use that one. I looked it up and it says it is an Australian informal verb. So fun! You captured some really nice birds ignoring each other. LOL! Loved it! 🙂

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  5. It’s amusing watching the behaviour of birds and how completely they can ignore one another. I can watch the collared doves and the sparrows on my table for hours, seeing how they take it in turns to eat from the feeder, or squabble among themselves. Only when the Maggie swoops down do they all fly away!

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  8. I loved all these pictures – hadn’t really thought about the issue before! One of my particular favourites was the herring gull and the mallard – so funny. All illustrations well spotted and recorded.

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  18. Waders are much better at getting on than other birds, I think because they all have different feeding approaches so are not in the same competition as others

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