Nice to eat you! Hungry cormorant who was in just the right spot for lunch

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

This hungry bird does its own bit of fishing by waiting patiently before swooping in to catch a large rainbow trout in its yellow bill

This bird looks hungry for a fish supper as he eyeballs a large rainbow trout - before greedily swallowing it whole.
The cormorant had bided its time, waiting for the fish to jump out of the water, before pouncing.
The two animals - pictured near Long Beach, California - even appeared to look each other straight in the eye as the trout considered its fate.

The cormorant bird bides it time, waiting for the fish to jump out of the water, before instinctively pouncing on the trout

After that brief moment the cormorant didn't waste any time, swallowing the trout in one sitting.
Photographer Andrew Lee from Irvine, California, travelled to the El Dorado Regional Park in his home state to capture the fascinating moment.

And the bird doesn't waste any time eating the trout - swallowing it whole in one sitting

He said: 'I was following a group of cormorants who were hunting for the fish in the lake.
'As soon as I spotted a cormorant come up with fish, I was able to take one frame of this rare moment when the fish is looking directly at his nemesis.'
Dr Lee, a Pricing & Portfolio Manger, had to lie on the ground to take the photographs.

Andrew Lee from Irvine, California, travelled to the El Dorado Regional Park in his home state to capture the fascinating moment

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Causing quite a Twitter! The gull who perched on top of chimney above Sistine Chapel as cardinals voted for new Pope

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Star attraction: A seagull stands on the chimney on top of the Sistine Chapel, during the second day of voting for the election of a new pope

While the world waited for the arrival of a new pope, a seagull stole the show at the papal conclave.
Smoke watching became bird watching in St. Peter's Square after a gull spent several minutes perched atop the chimney that belches out smoke from the Sistine Chapel to signal whether or not a pope has been elected.
From the chapel's tiled roof, the gull had a commanding bird's eye view of the sea of pilgrims eagerly waiting in the rain for papal tidings.

Prime spot: The seagull sits on the chimney on the roof as another flies past

The bird offered welcome comic relief. Dublin tourist Harry Sheeran said it was 'nearer to heaven than we are.'
Minutes after being spotted, the bird inspired a multitude of Twitter postings before it quickly became a media sensation.

Popular: The seagull became an internet hit as it was watched by people from around the world

The hastag #PapalSeagull in fact started to trend as people began to tweet not only abut the bird, but pretending to be the seagull, according to Today.com
However, once the white smoke started to pour from the chimney, the world turned its attention away from the seagull and on to the papal window.

Away he goes: The seagull flies off from the chimney

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A birdwatcher's dream: Amazing montage photograph captures array of birds visiting a feeder over 20-minutes

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Feeding time: A range of birds, including the blue tit, coal tit and chaffinch pictured visiting a feeder at Stover Park near Newton Abbot in Devon

It is a sight that will have birdwatchers licking their lips with glee.
But if enthusiasts find themselves thinking this scene of frenzied feeding is too good to be true, well, that's because it is.
The busy photograph is in fact a montage, compiling numerous visits by different birds to a feeder over a 20 minute period.

The photograph was released by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds as part of their Big Garden Birdwatch, now in its 34th year.

The impressive collection of birds was photographed at Stover Park near Newton Abbot in Devon.
The compilation reveals the animals in their various guises, with some perched on the multi-entrance feeder and others spreading their wings in flight as they go to-and-fro.
Included in the picture are the blue tit, coal tit, great tit, chaffinch, nuthatch and bullfinch.
The photograph was released by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds as part of their Big Garden Birdwatch, now in its 34th year.

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You're not eating me yet: Snake coils itself around heron's beak as it tries to avoid becoming bird's lunch

By JAMES BLACK

Mortal coil: The snake put up a fight when a hungry heron struck

This is the moment a snake fought back against its predator, coiling itself around the beak of an attacking heron.
The Blue Heron had been looking for food around a quiet marsh when he suddenly bit off more than he could chew with the feisty snake.
As the heron spotted the snake crawling through the grass it quickly bundled over looking for an easy meal and was expecting to gobble it down as usual.

The battle between bird and reptile lasted for 15 minutes but the heron was unable to shake the snake free

But the snake had other ideas - and rather than being fast food it tightly wrapped it's long body around the heron's beak before it had the chance to bite.
The amazing moment was captured by keen photographer Peter Brannon, 35, who couldn't believe his eyes as the amusing moment unfolded during a trip to Delray Beach in Florida, US.
Peter, from Nova Scotia, Canada, said: 'This area called The Green Cay Wetlands is a protected area where wildlife thrives and regularly puts on a show for photographers.

The snakes tries to wriggle free from the baffled heron

'Hawks, alligator, bittern, and waterfowl of all shapes and sizes call this area home for much of the year.
'But even though there is an abundance of wildlife I certainly wasn't expecting to see something quite this funny.
'The herons here become a little monotonous when you see them every day so you often overlook these magnificent birds in search of something a little more elusive.
'However about 20 yards away I heard a disturbance in the tall grass. Sure enough there was a Great Blue moving his head about in a more aggressive manner than usual.

It's stalemate between the two animals while the heron attempts to get free of the coil

'Usually they sit as still and quietly as possible as to draw their prey in close. As I looked closer his beak appeared a bit larger than usual.
'But closer inspection revealed a coiled snake writhing and moving around the 12 inch beak. The Heron hopped and jumped and took a small flight closer to me where he could deal with his breakfast conundrum with more effectiveness.
'The stalemate lasted about 15 minutes with the stubborn snake refusing to let go.

After an aggressive final tussle the heron swallowed the snake up like a string of pasta

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Now it's Putin the bird man: Latest animal stunt sees Russian president take to skies in micro glider as 'chief crane'

By WILL STEWART

Fly away home: Russian President Vladimir Putin flies in a motorized deltaplane to lead young Siberian cranes on their migration path

No mission is too much for former KGB spy turned strongman leader Vladimir Putin as he sets off on his latest bid to put right the wrongs of nature by teaching birds to fly.
Hang-gliding over Arctic Siberia this week, the all-Russian action man guided white cranes which seem to have lost the instinct to migrate south to a warmer climate for the winter.
The aim was to set the endangered birds on course for Asia and as with his previous action-man ventures - which included sedating a tiger, tagging a white whale, and offering tender loving care and a tracking collar to a polar bear - the Kremlin announced total success.

Nice suit, Mr President: Putin kitted up for the flight in a baggy white outfit, gloves and goggles - but sadly no beak

As opposition groups and bloggers mercilessly mocked his flying lesson for birds, Putin's PR machine made clear that after a false start all five juvenile cranes had followed the lead bird - the Russian president dressed in flapping white overalls - and flown for the required distance.
It is hoped the cranes will now fly from Kushavet ornithological research station to Tyumen, further south in Siberia, before taking off for middle Asia and a warm winter.
'For cranes, the parent is a man in a white robe,' explained Yuri Markin, the director of the game reserve. 'They don't remember a particular person. They remember the white robe and hood, or on the ultralight, a white helmet - and a special beak that is worn on the head.'

Watch the birdie: Putin keeps a careful eye on one of the cranes while waiting in a motorized hang-glider

Pictures do not show Putin wearing the beak, probably to avoid yet more vilification from his foes, on the three motorised hang gliding flights he made on the remote on the Yamal Peninsula in the Arctic.
'It is amazing how the birds get used to it,' Putin told state television still dressed in his pilot's outfit of helmet and goggles.
'They do not fear the hang-glider and they overtook it. They are amazing. It's a very good feeling.'
He has been preparing for 18 months, he said, and ahead of the crane-flight he clocked up 17 hours flying the hang glider.

Instant fame: The three-month-old Siberian cranes got their moment of TV glory

Preparing for take-off: Putin (front) sits in the motorized glider at the Kushevat ornithological station, near the city of Salekhard

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Get off... I saw it first! Pair of hummingbirds battle it out over a banana flower

By KERRY MCDERMOTT

Sticky beak: The green buff-tailed coronet spots its rival approaching, left, and hovers with its beak facing up in the air to try and keep the purple hummingbird away, right

These spectacular images show a hummingbird literally bending over backwards to try and fend off a colourful rival that is eyeing the exotic flower it is feeding from.
The two hummingbirds were photographed getting into a flap over the desirable banana flower, which only had perching room for one.
The series of images show the green buff-tailed hummingbird hovering upside down to try and ward off the approaching competitor - a velvet-purple coronet. But despite its best efforts to protect its prize, the buff-tailed hummingbird eventually admits defeat and flits away, leaving the victorious velvet-purple to take its place on the petals of the flower.

Back off: The green buff-tailed hummingbird hovers upside down in a valiant attempt to deter its persistent rival

The contest between the vibrantly coloured hummingbirds was captured by photographer Nate Chappell in Mindo, Ecuador - a paradise for tropical birdwatchers.
'The species here are the velvet-purple coronet and the buff-tailed hummingbird, two of the 150 or so species of hummingbirds that occur in Ecuador,' Mr Chappell said.
'When it [the buff-tailed] notices [the approaching velvet-purple] it turns towards him, and then rotates upside-down to defend the flower.'

All in a flap: The vibrantly coloured birds battle it out over the banana flower

Victory: The buff-tailed coronet eventually admits defeat and prepares to flit away as its purple rival replaces it on the banana flower

But the green bird's defensive manouevres were not sufficient to see off its rival.
'The buff-tailed has moved back to the top of the flower and in the final image he is about to fly away as the velvet-purple has landed on the flower,' said the photographer, who set up the scene to entice hummingbirds to be captured on camera.
'In this instance I placed a banana flower on a clamp and inserted sugar water, the kind used in hummingbird feeders, into it,' he explained.

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The boy who taught a stricken bird to keep its pecker up after chick fell out of its nest

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Birds of a feather: 11-year-old Arthur Heywood with his very own Woody the woodpecker which he found in his garden after it fell out of its nest as a chick

It must be something in the name.
For 11-year-old Arthur Heywood, of Woodborough, has tamed his very own Woody the woodpecker.
Arthur and his mother found the bird in their garden after he fell out of the nest as a chick, and they nursed him back to health.
He’s so tame that if Arthur calls his name, he’ll come swooping down from the trees – and happily perches on his head for food.

Off his nut: Woody is so tame that if Arthur calls his name, he'll come swooping down from the trees and happily perches on his head for food

‘It was quite amazing when it first happened,’ Arthur said. ‘Sometimes he will peck at your head if you don’t feed him straight away. It hurts a bit and you just have to brush him off.’
Arthur and his mother Sophie, 48, found the lesser spotted woodpecker in June, over the Diamond Jubilee weekend.

Tame: At first, they kept Woody in a straw-filled cardboard box at their home in Wiltshire and fed him tiny chunks of hard boiled egg on a matchstick

On the mend: After nurturing him for three weeks, Woody was big enough for a proper cage and a diet of mealworm

At first they kept him in a straw-filled cardboard box at their home in Wiltshire, and fed him tiny chunks of hard boiled egg on a matchstick.
After three weeks he was big enough for a proper cage and a diet of mealworm, and four weeks later they released him.
But he didn’t go far. Woody set up home in the woods at the bottom of their garden, and visits once a day.

Helpless: Woody a week after he was rescued after falling out of his nest


Plump: Woody shows the fruits of his lavish diet shortly before heading off into the wild

'It was very young when we found him and he had hardly any feathers at all,' said Mrs Heywood.
'We really didn’t know how he would respond to humans trying to feed him and we weren’t that confident if it was going to work.
'But he happily took bits of hard boiled egg yolk from off a matchstick and he lived in the box in our kitchen for the first three weeks.
'We were quite nervous when we let him free and it was a big relief when he returned to feed.'

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Not so free as a bird: Provocative pictures show species tangled up in ornithologists' mist nets

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Mixed emotions: This picture of a mourning warbler is one of dozens taken of birds caught in ornithologists' mist nets by U.S. photographer Todd Forsgren

Snarled up in nets, their freedom snatched away, these stunning birds cut a sorry sight.
But their plight becomes rather less distressing when you learn these traps have actually been set by ornithologists doing their best to help them.
They were pictured by Washington D.C.-based photographer Todd Forsgren, who has travelled the world to shoot countless species in this little-seen environment.

Rufous-winged Woodpecker: The Washington D.C.-based photographer has travelled the world to find his images

He aims to provoke a mixed response by showing the birds in an unsettling situation, but also highlight incredible detail you wouldn't see in their natural habitat.
'I feel there is a unique mystery to the birds in this fragile and embarrassing moment, to take a creature that is the epitome of freedom and bind it,' Mr Forsgren told 20×200.
'In some way, the birds are still "unknown" during this moment, as it is before they are taken out of the nets, measured and weighed. I wanted to take photographs about the process of getting to know a bird deeply.

Montezuma Oropendola: Mr Forsgren aims to provoke a mixed response by showing the birds in an unsettling situation, but also highlighting incredible detail you wouldn't see in their natural habitat

Gray Catbird: Mr Forsgren says there is a 'unique mystery' to the birds in this 'fragile and embarrassing moment'

Streak-headed Woodcreeper: Mr Forsgren likes to examine themes of ecology, environmentalism and perceptions of landscape while striving to strike a balance between art history and natural history

'Initially, most people think the images are tragic if they’re not familiar with the mist-netting and bird-banding. But I hope that, as they consider this moment more carefully, they'll come to understand and appreciate the valuable information that biologists can collect using these techniques.'
Mist nets, which are typically made of nylon mesh suspended between two poles, are use by bird and bat experts to identify, band and examine species for research.
When used properly, they present a low risk of injury and once they have been studied, they are released back into the wild.

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Shouldn't it be called a swallow? Cormorant nearly bites off more than it can chew as it devours a cod whole

By ANNA EDWARDS

Down in one: The bird arches its neck while the fish can only stare down its throat

This greedy cormorant must have forgotten how to have a light bite.
The bird snapped up this huge fish and gobbled the unlucky supper up in one gulp as it hunted for food in Skagen, Denmark's most northern city.
These spectacular photos were captured by Peter Dam, which shows the bird guzzling the fish in one go, while its feathered friends looked on enviously.

Don't forget to chew: The cormorant swallows a cod whole at the the port of Skagen, the northernmost town in Denmark

Catch of the day: The Cormorant is diving for treats and swallowed the large cod in seconds

The fish appears too large to fit down the slender throat of the bird, who perseveres with its catch of the day.
Its highly elastic throat allowed the cormorant to gobble the big fish down whole within seconds.
There are thought to be around 24,000 wintering cormorants in the UK.

The picturesque town of Skagen, Denmark, where the big bird landed its fish supper

Underwater birds, found along the English Coast, dine on eels, water snakes and whatever fish they can catch.
Cormorants can swallow creatures up to two-and-a-half feet long.
Records have shown that one bird was once found to have an 11-and-a-half-inch kitten in its stomach.

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I pecked this for you, dear: Romantic lovebird gives necklace of flowers to the gannet of his affection

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Love birds: Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but a simple necklace of wildflowers is enough to woo your sweetheart when you live on the ledges at RSPB Bempton Cliffs

When they mate, they mate for life. But it seems jewellery still doesn’t go amiss when it comes to winning over the opposite sex in the first place.
This gannet was captured apparently giving a necklace of red campion to a potential partner at the Bempton Cliffs RSPB reserve in East Yorkshire.
Site manager Ian Kendall said: 'We watched one of these birds bring in the red campion and pass it on to its would-be mate, which looks for all the world to be wearing it as a jewel-like necklace.
‘If the pair return next year, we’ll find out whether it’s paid off.'

Spectacle: The gannet covered Bempton Cliffs are a fantastic site of natural wildlife

These two lovebirds found each other among the 8,000 or so pairs of gannets that return every year to the RSPB reserve.
The beautiful creatures often decorate their homes with grass, flowers and and even bits of rope and rubbish.

In flight: A gannet often decorates its nest, as well as the occasional partner, with shrubbery

This pair were caught on film in a tender embrace with one sporting a necklace of red campion.
The gannet colony between Bridlington and Filey is at its peak between now and September, and with birds galore on the jaw-dropping cliffs that plunge 400ft straight into the sea, it is one of Britain's best wildlife spectacles.
Yorkshire's gannets are the only ones to breed anywhere in England. In 2009 - the last time there was a full count of the colony - there were 23,000 at Bempton Cliffs and along the coast to Flamborough Head.

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In a flap: The astonishing moment THREE birds of prey were pictured in garden box

By PHIL VINTER

Masjestic: An adult barn keeps a look out from the top box of a pole in a garden in Ashurst, West Sussex. The bird shares the pole with stock doves and kestrels

Not surprisingly these unusual neighbours get a little flighty with each every so often.
Being three different species of birds they are very territorial, but incredibly they have set up home within a metre of each other.
A trio of boxes, fitted to a pole in Ashurst, West Sussex have been occupied by barn owls, kestrels, tawny owls and now Stock doves.

Lively neighbour: The young Kestrel gets in a bit of a flap outside its nest box which is situated behind the Barn Owls

Bottom floor: A pair of adult stock doves occupy the bottom box beneath the barn owls and the kestrels

At one point the boxes housed the three predatory birds - the barn owls, the kestrels and the tawny owls - but a pair of stock doves have now replaced the tawny owls which fledged from the basement nest of the pole.
The wonderful images were taken by part-time wildlife photographer Dennis Bright in his friend’s garden.
The kestrels were the first to take up residence on the pole, but they were soon followed - to the astonishment of interested locals - by a pair of tawny owls and later some barn owls.

High living: The top box houses a barn owl, with a kestrel setting up home behind and slightly below and in the basement are the pair of stock doves which replaced the tawny owls that once resided there

Mr Bright, 64, from Winchester, Hampshire, said: 'It’s just amazing to watch it all happening in front of you and it has been a great pleasure to photograph them.
'But you wouldn’t believe the shenanigans that occur. For instance a kestrel will sometimes stick his head into the barn owls’ box.
'And invariably, there are a flurry of wings as the inquisitive kestrel will get a face full of barn owl talons.
'I’ve seen the barn owls do the same thing too, only for them to get a taste of their own medicine.'

House proud: The young Kestrel pokes his head out from of its nest box. The wonderful images were taken by part-time wildlife photographer Dennis Bright in his friend’s garden

Focused: The adult barn owl surveys the neighbourhood. The pole, with attached bird nests, was one of a number that were installed in the 1990s thanks to funding support from the Environment Agency

Mr Bright added: 'Normally these birds would avoid each other like the plague, so I think it’s pretty much unprecedented to have them in one nesting box.
'They all hate each other and I’m worried what will happen if they all come back again next year.
'But it just points to the lack of natural nesting sites there is for birds at the moment, like trees and hollows.'
Mr Bright took the snaps in his friend Archie Simpson’s garden which is not far from the River Test - a favourite location for kestrels.
The pole, with attached bird nests, was one of a number that were installed in the 1990s thanks to funding support from the Environment Agency.

Curious: The pair of stock doves have now replaced the tawny owls which fledged from the basement nest of the pole

Predatory: The owl keeps an eye on the scenery from its high perch. The unusual proximity of the birds has been put down to a lack of natural nesting sites in the UK

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