And the body shape, he (she?) just looks built to fly long distances. 
I actually like the dunnock! I had never heard of them before. I like the mottled appearance, it reminds me of my kitties
And of course the turn.. black and white, beautiful!
The Shag looks like a sizeable bird, I haven't heard of those either. A water/coastal bird, I'm guessing from the look of it. And from the sound of it... Oh, yeah. Whoops! No innuendo, nearly forgot
All lovely pics, Skinny. Thanks so much!!
Great pictures.
Now I am going to go and reevaluate my birds and see which I have!
Real pictures are much better!
Yes, it's lovely here, I have just come in for a siesta, because I don't want too much sun, little guy dog was hiding in the shade, so he was thrilled we came in.
I have only ever seen them to the accompaniment of Sir David Attenborough in the background, while they gulp down some other bird's chicks whole
Amazing how? They look quite enormous... it's one of the reasons I like water birds, they are always bigger! We have both brown and white pelicans here, the latter with a 6' wing span. Big bird
I may have said I catch the whooping cranes every year? Feeling so very fortunate to live close enough to see them. Ok, forget feeling fortunate, I delight in it So I can relate! Brown pelicans tuck and dive as you describe as well, and I adore watching them!
This morning the dogs put up a good sized flock(might have their own collective noun) of grouse. It was pretty wonderful to see so many. They flew to the far side of the field we were in and landed again.
It's a good thing the dogs are short and had already been distracted by the smell of bunnies.
Pack, covey or brace, supposedly.
Though brace just makes me hungry, which seems wrong in this instance
They are yummy. But I like having them live here more.
Edit: also, the geese are flying already. It's that time of year where start saying" surely it's too early for this"
We have no wood chopped for winter.
