Birds in Black

To go with the dismal weather we are having here in Britain this July, Denzil’s Nature Photo Challenge #20 asks us to focus on black. Inevitably, most of my shots are of birds. Let’s go …

That cormorant spreading its wings at the end of the pier at Whitby is a shot I’ve shown before and will probably do so again. I’m quite fond of it, so I’ve made it my header shot.

These shags are from the Farne Islands, currently closed to the public during the devastating avian ‘flu outbreak.

… And this is also where we saw these guillemots.

Here’s a blackbird, silhouetted against the evening sky.

I can’t resist taking you to Studley Royal, where I spend so much time – as do the jackdaws who think they own the place. Maybe they’re as much clerical grey as black. Never mind. I wonder if this is the one that Sarah (Travel with Me) snapped in her own response to this challenge?

Let’s go into town for the next two shots: starlings gathering on the weather vane of my grandchildren’s school, and a tame raven in Knaresborough.

But I can’t let you go without a sweet treat. Here are some juicy blackberries.

Blackberries

And in fact, I still can’t let you go. Not till I’ve shared this crow presiding over a street in Berlin. Or he was when I was last there.

I have just counted. I have offered you ‘Five-and-twenty black birds’. But not baked in a pie. And not twenty four. (English nursery rhyme, non-UK readers!)

And I’m going to add the cormorant – or any other of my featured birds of your choice – to IJ Khanewala’s Bird of the Week challenge.

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Author: margaret21

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

62 thoughts on “Birds in Black”

  1. I love that weather vane festooned with starlings picked out against the sky. We have cormorants who fish the river which runs through town, although fewer of late which could well be bird flu. They look so gothic when they spread their wings to dry.

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    1. Don’t they just? Cormorants are among the birds that remind you straight away that they come in a direct line from dinosaurs. Those starlings are a constant winter evening sight from my son’s house in London. Love it!

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  2. Great stuff. It’s a long time since I’ve been to the Farne Islands, though for the last few decades I’ve been able to get my fix of seabirds much closer to home here in Pembrokeshire.

    By the way, your razorbills are actually guillemots, as they have spear-shaped bills rather than razor-shaped ones.

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    1. Oooh, thanks so much. I’ll correct it immediately, before Denzil sees it! With Pembrokeshire at your disposal, you hardly have to bother to go all the way to the Farne Islands!

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  6. Great collection of shots! They showcase black quite prevalent in nature, and looking good too!
    That cormorant pose is like an emblem or coat of arms, or a scene that could belong in Game of Thrones!

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  7. Very neatly bought together at the end there, Margaret! Great selection of shots. I especially like the weather vane starlings and the Farne Island shags.

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    1. Well, thank you! You too. Thanks also for re-blogging this. I’ve tried to find your blog, but so far have got no further than your gravatar …

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    1. Ah! Pick your day. There’s a woman who brings them, mainly at weekends and high days and holidays. A random Thursday in March may not do the trick..

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  12. Haha Margaret, I looked at your weather vane with the starlings and love it. I wanted to find one like it. Then, I read your description. Great shot.

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  13. Great selection of black birds Margaret – no wonder the cormorant in Whitby is one of your own favourites, it’s a super shot! I also love the shags (such a shame about the avian flu there), the evening blackbird and of course the jackdaw. Thank you for the reciprocal link – unnecessary but appreciated 🙂

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  16. Poor little shags! Does the flu spread through other birds or humans? I like the razorbill/guillemots too, not that I would know the difference. Please are there any blackberries left? I could just fancy a few 🤗🦅🖤

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    1. Don’t worry about the blackberries Jo. They won’t be in season for at least another month. I’ll save some for you – I’ve only just finished last year’s frozen ones. The avian flu is widespread in some bird populations, not all. So it’s transmissible in birds and there are fears that humans may not be immune. Awful.

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  17. Love love love the Cormorant shot. They are such photogenic birds when they spread their wings like that. I think I have a couple of photos, one from Sydney and one from Northumberland. I’m a bit worried about the crows around here as I have found three dead or dying ones in my garden over the past week. In all the time I have lived here (7 yrs) I have only twice found dead birds – a starling which was attacked in flight and a robin which had been got at by a cat. It’s a tad worrying…

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    1. Oh, thanks Jude! But oh dear. That sounds a bit like the dreaded avian ‘flu. I trust you’ve reported it to DEFRA via the Defra helpline (03459 33 55 77). They’ll troop along with hazmat suits if you can’t …

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      1. I believe that you only need to report it if you find five or more. At the moment I am simply disposing of them into the hedgerow. And certainly not touching them. I haven’t seen any reports of avian flu in corvids.

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  18. Round here, everything gets reported. I can’t see anything about only 5+ being reported. It is largely waterfowl that are infected, but corvids have not escaped. Corpses are definitely not disposed of in open ground. I’m probably being over -cautious, but it’s not going away …

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  20. Great collection of black birds! The starlings on the weather vane are fun and the cormorant appeals to my inner math geek (very geometrical, although not quite symmetrical). When it comes to the dismal weather – I actually prefer 22 degrees and a bit of rain to the 46+ degrees further south.

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    1. Yes, I have come to appreciate Dismal. In fact daughter-in-Spain and her daughter are coming over this week especially for that. I’m glad my bird collection appeals.

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  21. Wonderful images of these birds, Margaret! Cormorants are lovely. I used to see them in our park, I haven’t seen them for a while.

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  22. Love the photos and stories. I remember “Sign a song of sixpence…”

    Sing a song of sixpence,
    A pocket full of rye.
    Four and twenty blackbirds
    Baked in a pie.

    But I never knew all the stories that were behind this poem (just look them up YIKES). You always give me something to think about, Margaret!!! Thank you.

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  24. Birds in Black! They are all wonderful! I saw and photographed guillemots for the first time in coastal Southern California. Was thrilled to pieces even though the photos were very bad.

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    1. Yes. He and his pals are a Knaresborough institution. They ‘belong’ to a woman who comes with them often to the Castle area. They never fly away and seem to relish the attention they get.

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