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cricketumpire — Upon the garden rail...
#bird #fence #nature #sky #wagtail
Published: 2017-05-08 11:03:27 +0000 UTC; Views: 2906; Favourites: 483; Downloads: 27
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Description
Little trotty wagtail he went in the rain
And tittering tottering sideways he near got straight again
He stooped to get a worm and look’d up to catch a fly
And then he flew away e’re his feathers they were dry
Little trotty wagtail he waddled in the mud
And left his little foot marks trample where he would
He waddled in the water pudge and waggle went his tail
And chirrupt up his wings to dry upon the garden rail
Little trotty wagtail you nimble all about
And in the dimpling water pudge you waddle in and out
Your home is nigh at hand and in the warm pigsty
So little Master Wagtail I’ll bid you a ‘Good bye’ ~John Clare
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Comments: 91
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Cute little birds. Their characteristic bobbing movements and tail wags are classic
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I saw these creatures when i was in Spain, in Italian they are called "ballerine" because like a ballerina they seem to dance with tail, awwww so cute *_*
I love the rhymes of your poetry, i think it's quite fascinating you add poetry as a form to describe the animal. Unlike you i add boring scientific descriptions to my photos XD
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Aah, I often don't know the exact identity of my captures, especially with spiders, so the poems cover my embarrassment. Your scientific bits are just as good and inform so much better. That is a lovely name for the bird and describes it so well
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Over the garden wall.
These guys never land on things like that here.No trees or fences are good enough for them.Only land,land,land.
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Usually I'd agree with that observation. You're right, they tend to run across open ground a lot with that characteristic sudden halt and the tail wag
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I always see them near the beach,tooting carelessly
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I love the focus on the bird, makes the perspective stand out even more! Such a beautiful bird too!
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Maybe a touch more depth of field would have been ideal 
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I see it's a little blury though... But it's still an amazing photo. I wish to do such art later in life. You are inspiring
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The poem worked well except for rain bit - the sun was out in the photograph
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That is a beatiful picture and a really really cute bird 
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Wagtails are full up here in the local supermarket car-parks, as they eat the insects off the bumpers. 
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I know they are generally insectivorous but that is neat, opportunistic behaviour - smart birds
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True to their name, their tails always wag up and down.
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I guess your Cape Wagtail is very close to or Pied Wagtail in behaviour being a similar species
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I think all Wagtails are the same.
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He used to waggle round the edge of our pond, eating tadpoles, until the tadpoles got wise.
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I think I know the one you saw! - try Googling www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWmQ4j…
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So cute, and he took something off to the nest. Ours used to waggle round the edge of our garden pond, picking off tads who were ignorant of what lay waiting in the above-world. After a while of watching their comrades vanishing like that they used to feed lower down, out of reach.
This is our variety:
www.biodiversityexplorer.org/b…
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Very similar. Our Pied Wagtail is a darker sub group of the White Wagtail that is widespread across Europe and Asia. I'm sure their habits are very similar to your Cape Wagtail, it sounds that way
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That's very kind, thank you
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They are probably the cutest of UK birds if you judge it by their odd way of strutting along, pausing and rapidly wagging their tail for a second or
two, then trotting off erratically again. The poem almost does it justice but try Googling www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZijWn… to see it in action. A delightful couple of minutes of juvenile and mother 
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Oh that was such a sweet video thank you for sharing it
was very enjoyable.
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I remember seeing wagtails in my country, too, but strangely they were in winter (when I was at 8th grade) in the school yard. My dad told me that they normally eat insects and stay near water, so it was quite strange to see them. After that I saw quite rare these birds again, but in warmer times.
Very nice photo!
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I think they fly south in most winters to escape the harsh cold but they do change from insects to seeds if necessary in extreme conditions
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