Grow Your Own Magazine

I'm trying to print off photos to put in an album to help identify birds we have seen in our French garden.
However all sites I seem to have googled have copyrights and the photos are tiny when I come to print them- does anyone know of a site where I can print them from so they are about 1/2 an A4 page??

Eventually I'd like to take my own photos, but just for now...

Oh- just look at these......

Google Image Result for http://www.andrew-darrington.com/USERIMAGES/puffball.jpg

( puts my photographic skills to shame!..love the hares!!!)

We have a couple of pics that I expect KK wouldn't mind you using. Do you have anything specific in mind?

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A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot! (Thomas Edward Brown)

Nicos, I'm sure you've thought of this, but why not buy a bird ID book? I find drawings in the better books much easier to identify a bird by then photos?

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

KK says, look on Keith & Clare Channing at home in France - wildlife. He doesn't mind you using these pictures, he says they aren't any good but you might be able to use a couple.

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A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot! (Thomas Edward Brown)

That's kind of you!
Nope- just the birds in the garden- bluetits/great tits/robins etc but also of the more unusual ones such as buzzards/green woodpecker/greater spotted woodpecker/firecrest/goldfinch/bullfinch ( well I don't get those in my garden over here!)and tawny owl ( night vision goggles clearly would be necessary!!- ??reject army cast offs Piskie????)

I just thought if someone spotted a bird in the garden, they could look it up quickly if I had a file containing only the birds seen in our garden. It could be added to over the months.
Also wildlife footprints and photos are an idea too!
We have mice in the house and I think a Stone Martin in the roof!
( I've got a lovely picture of what I think is badger scat , but no footprints!)

...Anyone know anything about snakes either????

Tis a lovely wildlife adventure!.....

Yep - we have one..but by the time we think we've ID'd it, it's gone and we start to muddle up the features with those we've seen in the book of similar birds!!

Also some of the pictures- or drawings are not too fantastic .

We had thought of buying a French ID book- but they must have all the birds we do in the south of England???

Can you recommend a book SBP? - I suppose I could photo copy and enlarge the picture ( not that I would want to breach any copyright!!)

Pretty sure I saw a wren in the garden yesterday. Looked it up on google, and after WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental Limited) there was the RSPB site. It has a drawing of a wren, but I think a photo would make it easier for me to ascertain if it was or not - the illustration has no point of reference.

It also calls in the "commonest" (surely "most common" is better grammatically?) UK breeding bird, but I'm pretty sure it's the first time I've seen one in ages, maybe ever.

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

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As you will probably know by now, there are also a couple of snakes and lizards on the same site that you are welcome to use. Not sure where, but I think I heard that martins in the roof can be a serious problem if you don't already know.

I agree, I can spend hours just standing in the garden just watching and listening... actualy, it's a lovely Spring day here - what am I doing in here on the Vine

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A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot! (Thomas Edward Brown)

Scarey....that's just the sort of thing I want to do eventually!!!
The photos are lovely- what a cleaver chap is KK!

I love the one of the Swallow on the ??computer??
I wonder if ours have arrived in the barn yet?

I think I've left the full list of ID'd birds in France ( typical!) but can I get back to you about the photos please??

It feels like I'm doing a Brownie / junior school project esp for me and my friends!!!...really exciting!

Wild plants after birds and animals ( + snakes) I think!

Maybe I should have asked for my own camera for my birthday????!!!

I know what you mean, its like a dictionary, if you can't spell where do you start?! Maybe have both, with your photos of the common ones and a book that gives info about the bird and other birds it might be confused with?

Amazon.co.uk: RSPB Handbook of British Birds (Ornithology): Peter Holden,Tim Cleeves: Books

This is a good beginners book - its not intimidating in the way it presents its info, the pictures aren't bad either and it mentions birds that you might get confused with or can relate one to another.

Amazon.co.uk: Collins Bird Guide: The Most Complete Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe: Lars Svensson,Peter J. Grant,Killian Mullarney,Dan Zetterstrom,David Christie: Books

This tends to be the 'bible' of bird guides.

I find when trying to identify a bird we look at more than one of our bird guides, the drawings are slightly different, some give better indications of 'shape' (say you see a bird of prey - often its from below, just a shape), others give info on habitat and where the bird breeds and lives/migrates to and from, etc

Just had a search on Amazon, this looks an interesting little book - concentrates on garden birds

Amazon.co.uk: Garden Birds Handbook: Duncan Brewer,Alan Harris: Books

and another with photos

Amazon.co.uk: Garden Birds (Collins Wild Guide): Stephen Moss: Books

Edit - this one is photographic too

Amazon.co.uk: RSPB Birds of Britain and Europe (Rspb): Rob Hume: Books

I think most bird guides for this country will be okay, if it something not in the book, it probably wouldn't be ID'd by a 'casual' observer and if it was a birder they'd probably have their own guide!

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

Why d'ya think I married him I'm sure he wouldn't mind a few questions about how he did it.
Yes, 'twas the computer - the young just seem to fly in through open windows. we also had a family of black redstarts "fledge" by falling down the chimney into the unlit woodburner and waiting to be let out No need, just use the ones you want.
Ooh, ooh, I can give you some wildflower pictures too if you want

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A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot! (Thomas Edward Brown)

Thanks Scarey...you are a sweetie!

SBP- will look into those books! cheers!