This page shows what's going on in my birdroom throughout the year. Click on the months below to see what's been happening or click here to take you to 2008.

January 25th

Today the first Java Sparrow of 2006 hatched out. It's the first from a clutch of 8 fertile eggs.

I have 2 pairs down at the moment, the other pair are on 7 eggs, 2 of which are not fertile.

I also have 2 pairs of Bengalese on 6 eggs and 3 eggs respectively.

And a pair Heck's Grassfinch's are on 2 eggs (I've checked them today and they are both fertile).

The photo on the right shows the first Java of the year.

January 26th

Today I have purchased my web space and  domain name (www.sjdjavas.co.uk).

I have also purchased www.javasparrow.co.uk I couldn't believe it was available,
I assumed someone in the UK would have got it years ago.

January 27th

I was expecting this nest to start hatching tomorrow (28th) but as I checked the nest at 6:30am before I went to work, 4 chicks have hatched out.

 

January 30th

A sad day today!!!

The nest that had 8 fertile eggs has only hatched out 3 chicks. Sadly, the other 5 are "Dead In Shell".

This is one of the sad things about breeding birds, everything seemed to be going well.

It's hard to give an accurate answer as to why this happens but I think that the hen may have come off the eggs for a bit too long causing the developing chicks to stop growing and subsequently dieing.

This photo shows the 5 eggs alongside the 2 clear eggs from the clutch of 7 Javas in another nest.

You can see the difference in colour of these 2 sets of eggs.

On the right, the fertile eggs appear darker then the infertile eggs on the left.

February 7th

The 3 chicks from the first clutch are doing fine.

Here they are at 13 days old......coming on nice!!!

I checked the Heck's nest this evening as they were due to hatch yesterday/today, sadly the eggs were smashed to pieces.

I didn't do regular inspections to this nest as I was told that Heck's aren't very tolerant to inspections and can abandon their eggs.

The hen had been sitting tight throughout the 16 day incubation period.

The damage to the eggs may well have been early on in the incubation.

I have decided today that I'm going to sell my Heck's and Bengalese.

Not because of what has happened to the eggs, but I've decided to stick with one species only, and I need more room in my small birdroom.

I have 3 pairs of Bengalese down at the moment, when all of their young have fledged I will be selling ALL my breeding pairs and young.

I'll keep you posted on my sales page for anyone who may be interested in them.

Oh!! by the way!!!!!

The other clutch, with 5 in the nest are doing fine too!!!

These are 11/12 days old and I completed the ringing yesterday morning by fitting the closed ring to the smallest chick.

February 12th

Just got back from Newark and I'm disappointed that I couldn't get any Gouldian boxes.

I have put another pair of normals down this afternoon....an un-proven pair....fingers crossed!!!
 

Both nests of Normal's that I currently have are coming along nice.

Here's the nest with the 3 chicks who are 18 days old.














And the nest with 5 chicks who are 16/17 days old.

February 27th

Nothing has happened with the pair of Normal's I put down on February 12th so I have split them up today.

The cock bird made a great job building the nest but he couldn't impress the hen this time.

I will try this pair again in a few weeks.

The photo on the right shows the nest.
 

March 1st

I have put another pair of un-proven Normal's down today, these are a pair of 05 birds that I purchased from Tony Gladwin in September last year.

March 6th

All of the 8 young Java's fledged over a week ago.

I'll be taking them from their parents this Saturday (11th March).

The pair that have got the 3 young have already laid another 8 eggs and the hen is sitting tight.

 

March 11th

I visited Java Sparrow Society member Phil Thompson this morning. He lives up in Yorkshire and has a magnificent set-up.

I went with the intention to purchase 2 pairs of silvers......but came away with 8 silvers and a fawn hen.....nice birds!!

March 14th

The second round of 7 eggs should hatch tomorrow (this is the second round from the pair that have just raised 3 young.

The other pair only have one egg which is infertile, I have taken this egg away as it may encourage the hen to lay again.

I'll keep this pair together for a while and see what happens!!!

Also...Rob Salem has very kindly put a link on his website to mine. I've already noticed an increase in hits to my site.... so if you're here via javafinch.com......Welcome and thanks for dropping by!!!

March 15th

I got home from work tonight expecting to split the pair of unproven Normals I put down on the 1st March (exactly 2 weeks ago).

I looked in the nest box and "bingo"...an egg!!

Fingers crossed!!!

March 16th

I have discovered today that I have, what appears to be, a small infestation of Red Mite.

I first saw them on Saturday in one of the nest boxes (the one with the infertile egg) so I purchased Johnson's Anti-Mite Spray sprayed every bird in my birdroom (38 total at the moment). The nest box was emptied and soaked in a dilute mix of Duramitex and replaced with a clean nest box.
I thought this solved the problem but this morning I saw a mite run over an egg in another nest.
So today I thought I would try to "nip it in the bud" before I get a full infestation.

I called Tony Gladwin for advice on Ivermectim and went to see my vet to get some. Tony was "spot on"...the vet told me exactly what Tony did.
I purchased a 50ml pre-mixed bottle (1part Ivermectim (Panomec) to 10parts Proplyene Glycol) for £26.

Tonight I have treated all 38 birds in the birdroom by applying 1 drop to the fleshy area underneath the wing. I will do this twice again in six week periods.

From now on I will treat all my birds as a precautionary measure every 4 months (3 times a year).

Also, on Tony Gladwin's advice, I will treat all young birds that are bred by me from now on...and of course....any birds I purchase and bring in.

A good lesson learned today!!!!.....I'll keep you posted on how things are going.
 

March 18th

The nest of 7 eggs that should have hatched out on the 14th...haven't!!

I think this may be down to  the mite....by that I mean that as the hen was incubating, the mite may have been irritating her...hence, she wasn't sitting tight on the eggs. It's a shame because all the eggs were fertile.

I have discarded the eggs and the nest this morning.........cleaned out the birdroom as normal, and treated all the cages with another dose of diluted Duramitex.

I think I may have eliminated the small infestation I had as I have seen no sign of them since all the birds were treated with Ivermectim.

The two nest boxes that had the mite are no longer in the birdroom and all the "nooks and cranny's" have been soaked in Duramitex.......fingers crossed.....that's it!
 

Today I have replaced the nest box that had the 7 dead eggs with a Gouldian type nest box. This is the first time I have ever used this type.....several Java men I know swear by them so I thought I'd give them a try.

I currently use Budgie boxes but I think they are too big. There is a lot of wasted space inside them that just gets filled with nesting material.....I think the Gouldian box will be a good choice.



















 

The only modification to this nest box (not shown in these photos) is that I have added a perch underneath the entrance hole to allow the birds comfortable access to the nest box.

March 19th

I checked in the above nest box today and there is an egg in there!!!

I don't know if it's any good as I only changed it over yesterday....I'll have to wait and see.

Also today I have moved 6 of the unsexed Silvers (that I got last week from Phil Thompson) into a double breeder until I've sexed them....they've settled in well though....see below.

(This egg has been laid within 24 hours of throwing the 7 dead eggs away....I'll see if this is a "one off" or if this is the first of a full clutch).




 

March 22nd

The nest shown above (with one egg in) now has 4 eggs, so, fingers crossed, hopefully this will be a successful clutch.

Also, the unproven pair (put down March 1st) seems to have finished laying. There is a total of 6 eggs in their nest!!! I hope things go well with this pair as they are stunning pair (purchased from Tony Gladwin)

.

 

March 25th

Today I have sold the last 2 pairs of Bengalese (and 3 young from one of the pairs).

I have sold them as I have chosen to keep only Java Sparrows so the extra cages will be used as single breeders (but I need to fit lights in them first.

So, now these cages are empty I've taken off the cage fronts to give them a good clean.

I decided to treat all the cages in the birdroom with Duramitex again. I haven't see a single mite since treating the birds with Ivermectim but I will continue to spray the cages every two week until I'm sure the mites have gone.

March 27th



I checked out my website statistics this morning and I'm pleasantly surprised to see that there are a large percentage of hits from the U.S.A.

The power of the Internet is a wonderful thing!!
It still amazes me that someone on the other side of the world takes a look at what is going on in my little shed in the garden.

If you are an American visitor, I'd love to hear from you...let me know where you are in the States.....maybe you'd like to send some photo's of your birds and birdrooms.....if you submit a small a article about your bird keeping regime then I'd be happy to do a feature on it!!

Click here and let me know where you are!!!


April 2nd

I have today paired up another pair of Normals.

I did intend to pair up the very first pair of birds that I got from Steve Nesbitt but the hen is showing very early signs that she is about to moult.

So, pictured right are the pair I have put down today.

As you can see, they are in good breeding condition.

I'll keep you updated as to their progress
 

April 4th

Good news !!!!

The unproven Normals that were paired up on March 1st have hatched their first chick today.

I was expecting for hatching to start tomorrow (that would have been 18 days from the 4th egg) but they do tend to hatch out a day or two either side of the predicted date.

See the photo on the right for today's chick.

April 5th

I have fitted lights in the three single breeders (see photo below).

This really has made a great difference as I have never been successful with Java's in these cages....I have always put it down to poor light.

The only thing I need to do now is to enclose the wiring (see picture on the right)....Java Sparrows are inquisitive little buggers and will soon nibble away to see what the cables are all about!!
 

Also today...I have finally purchased a decent torch to candle eggs.

I have been getting by with a pocket torch that is given out by the company I work for...you know the type of thing....at trade shows you get to pick up pens, pencils, notepads......torches!!!

Anyway the torch I have been using has not been very practical....so I've paid £9 for this "Engineers Torch" below.



It's very good as you can candle the underside of the eggs which illuminates the content making it easier to identify fertility.

See picture on the right...candling from underneath the egg.

April 6th

Two days after the first chick (from the unproven Normals) hatched, the second baby Java has hatched out (see right).

You can see in this photo what a difference two days makes in the development of the chick......see the new hatchling underneath it's brother....or sister???

Also, one of the pairs of Normals, that suffered the mite infestation have had a chick hatch out today.

Sadly it was the only fertile egg in a clutch of five.

I will leave the clear eggs in with them for a while as there may be a need for them to foster (hopefully there won't be, but you never know)......Replacing a clear egg with a hatchling can "trick" the adults into thinking it is one of their chicks and will raise it as if it were their own.

See photo on right.


Also to report today...the other unproven pair that were put down to nest on April 2nd have more or less finished building their nest. I MAY start seeing some eggs in the next few days.

See below for a photo of the nest.

Not the best of pictures but it does show a good example of how different cock birds preference to nesting material...The cock that built this nest obviously prefers Meadow Grass.....He has also had access to Shredded Paper and Coconut Fibres.

 

April 7th

A day earlier than expected...the first of a clutch of five fertile eggs has hatched out (see right).

This clutch is from one of the pairs that suffered the mite infestation.....fingers crossed....the remaining four eggs should hatch over the weekend.

April 7th (sad news)

Also, some sad news today.

I checked the nest that has two chicks in yesterday and found a third, by pure chance, buried underneath coconut fibres near the entrance to the nest box. I took it out and it was cold to touch (see picture right...apologies for the poor quality).

As you can see this photo is blurred so I thought I'd take another photo of this "dead" chick. As I was focusing it moved and opened it's mouth. I immediately put the camera down and tried to warm the chick in my hands, hoping the warmth of my hands....and breath would help revive it. After a few minutes it stopped moving.

Although this is a bad photo you can see that the bird has an empty crop. I can't help but think that had I have been there an hour earlier I could have saved it.

Sadly things like this happen from time to time.....that's one of the sad things about bird keeping.

My guess as to how this has happened is that I think the hen got startled for what ever reason and left the nest quickly. As she got off the chicks and eggs I think she may have accidentally dragged this chick to the nest entrance, and as it "wriggled" in the soft nest material it managed to bury itself.

xxxx

What do you think????

I have a silver cock (???) bird in a stock cage with a 6 other cock birds.

The thing is, it's not behaving like a cock bird!! And the other cock birds
are constantly in pursuit of it....as if it were a hen!!

Like I have mentioned on my sexing page, I tend to find that birds that bicker and fight are, in my experience, usually the same sex.

I have not seen one cock bird have a go at the silver. In fact, if the silver is in the middle of 2 cock birds, they tend to have a go at each other by reaching over the silver to get at each other.....and the silver doesn't do anything!!!

Have a look at these pictures and see what you think.



It's quite a large bird.... the eye ring is fairly thick....and the beak is shaped like a cock bird's.

Take a look underneath the beak.

Click here and tell me what you think!!
(Yes I know I have dirty fingernails..I have just finished a day at work!!)

Also today (March 25th), I have discarded the newspaper that I used in the flight/stock cage.

It was getting very messy in there because as the birds (11 in total) would fly up and down the cage, the paper would lift and go everywhere.

So I have used cardboard that is approximately 8mm thick.

This should help keep things neat in the cage.

RE: Sexing the Silver!!!

Thank you to all those who emailed me on the subject of sexing the silver.

Most of you seem to think it is a cock bird....well, I can tell you, you're right!

I was changing the water this evening and he gave a little blast of his song!!!

So....cock bird it is!!!!......Thanks again!

The unproven pair of Normals that I paired up today (April 2nd)

(April 4th ....1st chick from an unproven pair of Normals).

.

This picture doesn't do justice to what I've just mentioned....but take my word for it....these eggs are fertile!!!

.On the subject of fertile eggs....you can see in the photo on the left the difference in the egg colours.

The 3 eggs in the middle (which are infertile) are a different shade to the 5 fertile eggs surrounding them.

April 9th

Things are going well with more young Java's hatching out today.
(see photos on the right and below)



  

(This photo shows how quickly Java chicks develop. The chick on underneath, lying sideways, is only 2 days older than the other two.....it's head is almost twice the size of its siblings).

Also today, I attended the Java Sparrow Society UK Annual General Meeting.

It lasted a good 2 1/2 hours and there were plenty of topics covered.....I don't think my website is the place to discuss what was covered at the A.G.M so if you want to find out what's happening in the society.......then join....just click on the JSSUK logo below to take you to the application page....it only costs £6:00 to become an Internet member (where once you become a member, you receive a password via email which allows you to download the newsletter directly from the JSSUK website) or £7:50 for a postal membership (newsletters delivered via post). Membership is also open to people overseas...so why not join??......I get many of our friends in America visit my website who keep Java Sparrows....so come on guys...why not join??? (£6:00 is approximately $10:00....what's that....a bag of seed????)

One thing I can tell you from the meeting is that I am now a committee member......I applied for one of the vacant positions and was accepted....thanks to Dave Pover for seconding my proposal.

I also purchased a couple of normal cock birds today from Phil Thompson....these will hopefully complete my stud of normals and give me more options when pairing up.

x
 

April 10th

This evening I have removed all of the clear eggs from the three nests I have at the moment.

There is a total of 9 that turned out to be infertile.

I've also lost a chick today!

The "first time parents" had mutilated one of their young, I hope this is a "one off" incident and can be put down to the inexperienced parents.

I haven't bred enough Java's to know if this is something that they will repeat with the rest of the clutch.

I know from my experience with Bengalese that a mutilated chick ended in the full clutch being lost (unless fostered out).

I have checked the nest tonight and the remaining two chicks appear to be doing fine.

(I did take a photo of the mutilated chick but I thought it best not to publish it).

11

April 11th

Just a quick update on what's going on in my birdroom today.

After a three days since the 4th of a clutch of 5 eggs hatched out, the 5th and chick has finally put in an appearance.

See photo on the right of the clutch of 5 Normal Java chicks.
 

You can see today's hatchling (the smallest) lying on top.

(These are from one of the pairs that suffered the mite problem, their second round were all dead in shell so I let them lay a third clutch....of which they laid 8....3 being clear).

Also today, I checked the nest of the unproven pair that I paired up, on April 2nd, and discovered the first egg.

Fingers crossed that this is the first of a full clutch and not just a single spontaneous egg. I don't think it will be though as this pair have behaved like a true "bonded" pair of adult birds within a couple of days of being put together.

I hope everything goes well with this pair as I got them from Steve Nesbitt...they are a stunning pair and I'm hoping that their young (if they have any) will be as equally striking as their parents.
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Progress on the other nests!!

Pictured below are from the two other nests I have with young in at the moment.

Below left is from the nest that had a total of 6 eggs....2 of which were clear, 4 hatched out and 2 chicks died (1 of which was mutilated).

Below right is from the other pair of Normals that suffered the mite problem. They laid a total of 8 fertile eggs all of which were dead in shell. When I removed the 8 eggs she laid the next day a clutch of 5 with only 1 being fertile.

I know I should probably foster this chick out but I'm going to let the parents rear it....I have to wait for the next birds to finish their moult before I need the cage again so why not let nature take it's coarse??

April 12th

I need some confirmation!!!!

I have a small handful of birds that are unsexed in my flight cage.

I'm 95% sure that the silver Java, pictured right, is a cock bird.

I've caught the bird up tonight to take a couple of photos.

My intention is to sex them and move them into sexed stock cages to make more room in the flight cage for young Java's.

Like I say, I'm 95% sure this is a cock bird....the bulbous top of the upper mandible and the swollen eye ring.

I want to know what you think as I have tried on several occasions to put this bird in with all my other cock birds and, when I do, they all go crazy and hound this bird as if it were a hen.

The other cock birds fight amongst themselves and are continually displaying to this bird.

(Yes, I know, dirty finger nails again!!!)

Looking at this photo you can see how the sides of the beak are wide and swollen.....like a cock birds.

As I am not an experienced Java keeper, I am constantly observing the birds behaviour and anatomy to gain as much knowledge as I can about these birds.

So, perhaps the behaviour of my other cock birds towards this bird is common????......you tell me!!!

Click here and drop me a line to let me know your thoughts on the sex of this bird and if your Java's behave in the way I have mentioned.

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I have a few days off work now for the Easter period.....I go back on Tuesday next week so, hopefully I'll get a few jobs done in the birdroom....first job will be to enclose the cabling in the single breeders so that I can start using them for breeding.
%

April 13th

The nest I talked about on April 11th that had one egg in...now has 3.

As I mentioned on Tuesday (11th), the pair of Normals that have produced these eggs are a stunning pair......I just hope that I do get fertile eggs from these birds as they are visually some of the best birds I own so it would be great to see what their offspring will be like!!

I'm not going to count my chickens yet though!!!!

Here's a photo of the nest.

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Also today!!!....some non-birdroom stuff!!!!!

I was doing some searches on the internet this morning for Java Sparrow information and came across a poem called "The Caged Java Sparrow" by Francis Duggan.

It's a poem about how he/she sees the Java Sparrow as a non-domesticated bird that longs to be free.

It's quite a nice poem, although I have to question the point he makes about "The Java Sparrow restless when human standing near".

Here is the poem!

"The Caged Java Sparrow"

By Francis Duggan

His ancestral home is Java out by the Java sea
And though born in cage his instincts tell him that he should live free
And unlike budgerigar and canary who tame quite easily
The shy sparrow of Java pine in captivity.

Lovebirds and zebra finches adapt to life in cage
And most birds bred in aviaries can live to ripe old age
But the bright blue java sparrow though born in cage will pine
As he's got an inborn love for freedom for rice fields and sun shine.

In this well known Melbourne pet shop all kinds of pets for sale
Young puppies, hamsters, rabbits, finches, parrots and quail
But of all of the caged in creatures one show true signs of fear
The Java sparrow restless when human standing near.

I'd really like to buy him and take him home with me
And open up his cage door and set the poor bird free
And give him what he yearn for what he would most enjoy
The wide and open spaces the freedom of the sky.

But then his greatest battle would be to stay alive
For in the open spaces I doubt that he'd survive
The native birds would kill him so in pet shop he can stay
As he's better off living in cage than dying in such a way.
 

Like I say, it's quite a nice poem but look at the photos on the right and try to think of the line in the poem that say's "The Java Sparrow restless when human standing near"......doesn't quite ring true does it????

Click Here to see the poem at the "Web Poetry Corner" on the Dream Machine Site.

These photos are of Ron Simpson and his Java Sparrows.
Ron is from the U.S.A and you can read an article on hand taming Java Sparrows on Steve Nesbitt's website (www.snaviaries.co.uk).

Click here to read Ron's article or email Ron here.
 

April 16th

Ron Simpson has sent me some more photos of his hand tame Java Sparrows (see right).

Ron has informed me that he has found an easier method to hand tame a Java. He says he will submit a newer article to Steve Nesbitt in the near future...so keep checking Steve's site for Ron's new technique......coming soon!!!

    
Click on these thumbnails to see a bigger picture.

OK....back to my birdroom!!!

Nothing to mention over the last couple of days....everything is going well.

I have fitted a few closed rings on some chicks today and video recorded my technique.....I'm hoping to put the video on my website to  help anyone who has never fitted a ring before.....Trust me, the first time you fit a ring is quite nerve racking as you are in constant fear of hurting the bird.

I was supposed to be doing some jobs in my birdroom over the weekend but my wife has found me other jobs to do around the house.....typical!!!

Mind you....she hasn't made any plans for tomorrow..(yet) so I will hopefully get some jobs done then.

The only other thing to mention today (not birdroom related) is that I went to Villa Park today to see them play local rivals Birmingham City.

With Aston Villa's poor form over the last few games I was convinced we were going to lose....but we Won.....3-1.

It wasn't the best game but the result  was all that mattered. The picture below was taken today from my seat.

Attendance 40,158

This is the first and last time I will write anything about football in my Java Diary, I have a few Java pals who are Birmingham City fans so I thought I'd mention the game in case they didn't see it......by the way guys (you know who are) we won 3-1

April 18th

Yesterday, I managed to get the lights in the single breeders fully working and protected.

The problem I had was with exposed cables on the lights. These would obviously been potential death traps to my birds had they decided to chew on them.

In the picture on the right you can see how I have covered the cables with UPVC trimming.

April 20th

Tonight I have treated all the young chicks in the nest with Ivermectim as a precautionary against mite.

I have applied one drop to the bare skin which will be repeated in four weeks.
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Today I have paired up my first pair of Silvers for this year....they are in one of my single breeders that now has the lights fully up and running ...(see photo).

This pair have never bred together but are both proven with other birds.

04 Cock-03 Hen

A better view of one of my single breeders "with lights".

April 21st

This evening I have checked the nest of the Normal's that I put down on April 2nd and found, to my delight, that all 7 eggs are fertile.
As I have previously mentioned, this pair are a cracking pair of 05 birds that I got from my pal Steve Nesbitt last year.

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Also...for those of you who haven't noticed, I have added another page to my website that shows how to fit closed rings to young Java's.

I always remember the very first time I fitted a closed ring to a Greenfinch a few years ago.....my hands were shaking as I had little experience in handling the birds and I was convinced I was going to get the ring stuck and put the chick through agony....to my surprise it was really easy.
Like I have said on my "Ringing" page, once you have fitted half a dozen, it's a "piece of cake!!!!".

Click here to take a look at the new page.

April 23rd

I have cleaned out the birdroom today and treated the cages with Duramitex.

I also caught up every bird (around 42) and gave them another dose of Ivermectim.

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I have also paired up another 2 pairs of Silvers today in the remaining single breeders.



A Steve Nesbitt hen and a Phil Thompson cock.

These are a pair that I got from Phil Thompson back in March.

 

April 24th

I've taken photos of the three nests that currently have young in at the moment.

All the chicks are between 16 and 17 days old.

Click on each photo to enlarge it.

Also today I have added another page to my web site, that illustrates how to make the type of nest box that I use.

Click here to take a look at the my new page.

April 25th

Nothing really to mention about what's going on in my birdroom today but as I went out to the shed tonight to feed and water the birds, I heard a bird singing that had an amazing song.

As I had my camera handy I took a photo of it.

My initial thoughts were that the bird is a Dunnock, but I am quite familiar with their song and it didn't sound anything like the song I am familiar with.

Take a look at the photo and let me know what you think... it has the characteristics of a small softbill but, believe it or not, it was quite hazy and I never really got a good look at it....the photo details more than what I saw with my naked eye.

I know it's not a great shot but it was taken with a full zoom from about 20ft away......what do you think??...Dunnock??? Click here and let me know.

April 26th

What a difference 48 hours makes, take a look at the photo on the right and see how much the feathers have developed since the pictures taken on April 24th.

Also tonight I have checked all of the Silver's nests and there only seems to be activity in one cage. The cock has more or lest completed his nest but the other two pairs have not done anything.

You can see the preferred nest material of the Silver cock is meadow grass.

April 28th

This evening I have "done the rounds" in my birdroom and, upon nest inspection, I've discovered that the pair who have one chick in the nest have started laying again.

The chick is 22 days old and there are 3 eggs in the nest, which means the chick was 19 days old when the hen started laying again.

Anyone else experienced this????

I will not let this pair rear a third round as I want to rest them....raising young is a very exhausting job.....you have to put the bird's health first.

I would imagine that these eggs are fertile so, all being well, I may stick one or two under the Silver's...if they lay any!!!

The photo shows 2 eggs in the nest with the chick but, trust me, the 3rd is hidden by the chick.

Click here and let me know if you have experienced this.

April 30th

The first chick has hatched today from the pair of Normals that were put down on April 2nd.

As previously mentioned, these were a pair that I got from Steve Nesbitt.

They are "first time parents" so fingers crossed all goes well with their clutch.
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Also today, I took my kids to Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire. We had a great day and they have a great collection of birds too.

I took a photo of a Flamingo....I never thought much about these birds in the past but seeing them close up made me see them in a different light.

They are unusually beautiful!!!!

Please Note:

Due to the amount of photos on my "Java Diary" page, adding more news to this page will only result in lengthy download time of the page.

Therefore, the next two months (May & June) will be on a separate page.

You will still be able to access all months by clicking on the relevant month tabs.

Visually, nothing will change.

Click here to go to the month of May.