Corona Wildlife Diary: Day Sixty-nine

LewesWildlife
, 25 May 2020
Corona Wildlife Diary: Day Sixty-nine

Day Sixty-nine

Tomorrow will be ten weeks since I picked up this laptop and a few bits and pieces from my office and came home. 

I haven't really had many days off in all that time and none of us have really had a day off from the ten weeks of uncertainty that this viral pandemic has caused. 

But the weather looks nice today. And it's a Bank Holiday so I'm having the day off and relaxing.

So I'm going to tell you a quick story about relaxing. One that's set in the office I haven't seen in ten weeks.

My office window looks out onto the Wildlife Trust staff garden where there are some benches. And one day last year I looked out and noticed a Great Tit was sunbathing on the bench.

Sunbathers 4

'Sunbathing' is a common behaviour seen in birds and the warm sunshine helps them keep their feathers in tip-top condition. You can read more here.

While I was watching, a Song Thrush flew over and starting sunbathing under the bench.

Sunbathers 3

Then a Blackbird flew in and spread himself out on the bench too next to the Great Tit. 

P1160510

All three of them were lounging around sunbathing. And then a Wren flew in to see what was going on. 

P1160493

And then the Wren started sunbathing too.

P1160525

So there they all were, socially distanced, lounging around on the bench. (The Song Thrush was getting too hot so hopped into the shade). 

GT ST

P1160492

But then for some reason, and I still can't work out why, the Wren hopped down next to the Blackbird.

P1160500

And got closer...

P1160498

And closer...

P1160502

And then the Wren just sort of snuggled up and they sunbathed together.

P1160503

After a while, the Wren flew off, leaving the Blackbird looking as confused as I did about the whole thing. 

P1160516

I still can't figure this behaviour out. Birds usually don't tolerate such intimacy from other species. Were the Blackbird's black feathers radiating more warmth? If you have any explanations leave them in the comments below. 

Meanwhile here are The Kinks (here) with a sunbathing song for you. Have a relaxing Bank Holiday.

Leave a comment

Comments

  • GinnyVic:

    I LOVE the Kinks! Well I have a few ideas about the birds. Maybe the bird community is integrating more, moving with the times? Or perhaps the Blackbird babysat the wren while it’s parents were doing something once? Or maybe that’s how birds play tag and the blackbird actually is annoyed because now the blackbird is ‘it?’ Or maybe the blue tit and the thrush dared the wren to do it? Or perhaps the blackbird stole a worm from the wren and is sitting on it and the wren was trying to steal it back? Or perhaps they summered together somewhere (not sure where blackbirds and wrens summer?) and were excited to bump into each other together? Or perhaps they all know you by reputation and collaborated to behave outrageously thinking this could be their big break to reach fame and fortune? Happy Bank Holiday!!!

    25 May 2020 09:41:00

  • Dave:

    I have no answers for you Michael (this will probably come as no surprise) – but what a fabulous sight and story.

    25 May 2020 18:32:00

  • Michael Joseph:

    Our chickens sunbathe, spreading out their wings. As soon as one does it they all join in and all ontop of each other. Funnily enough I was in my metal workshop today, “latheing on a sunny afternoon.”

    25 May 2020 20:49:00

  • Louise:

    How opportune. I took a photo of a blackbird doing just this on our garden seat last week. Was obviously quite relaxed. Thank you for your posts, love reading them.

    26 May 2020 09:56:00

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783190239.61250 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783190239.64860.036Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783190239.64880.0002Server address: 216.73.217.177
1783190239.64880.0001Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783190239.64880Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/corona-wildlife-diary-day-sixty-nine
    [s] => corona-wildlife-diary-day-sixty-nine
    [1] => corona-wildlife-diary-day-sixty-nine
)
1783190239.64920.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783190239.65010.0009 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783190239.65180.0017 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1783190239.65220.0004INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1783190239.65420.002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22623281
1783190239.65470.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22623281
1783190239.65520.0005 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-04 18:37:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-04 18:37:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783190239.65620.001 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='corona-wildlife-diary-day-sixty-nine')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 18:37:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783190239.65850.0022 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783190239.6590.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=2187 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 18:37:00'
1783190239.65960.0007 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783190239.66020.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783190239.66080.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=33 LIMIT 1
1783190239.66130.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783190239.66150.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783190239.66230.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 18:37:00' AND postSlug='corona-wildlife-diary-day-sixty-nine'
1783190239.68220.0199Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783190239.68280.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783190239.68430.0015Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783190239.68450.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783190239.68530.0008 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783190239.68660.0013 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783190239.68970.0031 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783190239.69020.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783190239.69230.0021Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783190239.69240 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783190239.69320.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783190239.69360.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783190239.69640.0028 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783190239.69740.001 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783190239.69810.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783190239.70020.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783190239.7010.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783190239.70360.0026 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783190239.7040.0004Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783190239.70420.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='3' LIMIT 1
1783190239.70480.0006Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783190239.7050.0003 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='corona-wildlife-diary-day-sixty-nine')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 18:37:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783190239.70740.0024 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783190239.70790.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783190239.71040.0025Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783190239.71140.001 [4] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=2187 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783190239.77770.0662 [4] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783190239.77940.0017Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783190239.77960.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='3' LIMIT 1
1783190239.78030.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783190239.78090.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783190239.78140.0005 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783190239.7840.0026 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783190239.78440.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783190239.78680.0023 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783190239.78750.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783190239.7880.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783190239.78830.0004 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783190239.79110.0028 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783190239.79160.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783190239.79410.0025 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783190239.79720.0031 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783190239.79790.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783190239.79840.0004 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783190239.8010.0026 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783190239.80150.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783190239.80380.0023 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783190239.80520.0014 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783190239.80580.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783190239.80620.0005 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783190239.80830.002 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783190239.80870.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783190239.81090.0021 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783190239.81220.0014Request time: 0.2025
1783190239.81230Process time: 0.2023
1783190239.81230Memory: 1.6246