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birdforums.net
or is it birdforum.net forget now...
They're based in england.

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Summer Camp '07, July 14th weekend, won't you join us?
summer camp thread 1, 2, 3,4

PaGarden, your black and white crow is probably a Hooded Crow a common bird of the U.K. and Europe. Your bird that sang at night is probably a Nightingale. Good call on both birds having not been to Europe. I've never been to Europe either but have dozens of birder friends in Europe, Scandinavia, and the U.K. and we swap pictures and other information daily. We do not have the Hooded Crow or Nightingale anywhere in the New World. But most birders here are familiar with them. We have 3 species that sing at night, mostly in the Spring and Summer in the U.S. These are Northern Mockingbird, American Robin, and Yellow-Breasted Chat. There may be some western species that sing at night also, but I am not sure.

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A bird in the hand......can sometimes be a mess.

YAY!!!!!!!!!! found this picture on the computer under surfbirds.com and it's a MAGPIE!!!!!!!!!!! how cool!

Erm.... pagarden...we have House Sparrows here, along with European Starlings and Rock Pigeons. all three species were imported from England in the late Nineteenth Century, to New York City's Central Park by an eccentric millionaire who loved Shakespeare and birds, so he imported from England and Europe EVERY bird that Shakespeare mentioned in his writings. Luckily (or unluckily as the case may be), only House Sparrows, Starlings and Pigeons survived and thrived much to the detriment of New World birds, plants, animals, and people. Why Starlings and House Sparrows alone drive MY seed and suet expense through the roof. I have thought about getting an air rifle scope to observe Starlings with, and if an air rifle happened to be firmly attached to it and loaded, and IF it happened to fire while I was observing a Starling eating my songbird suet.......Oh Well. (Not really. I gave up hunting 30 years ago when my guns were destroyed in a fire) However Starlings are NOT protected by ANY law in the U.S. and Canada, and may be dealt with by ANY means necessary, in ANY numbers, at ANY time of the year.

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A bird in the hand......can sometimes be a mess.

I have a flock of about 50 House Sparrows that live in my yard and house all year. They squeeze in through small openings in my walls and build their nests in my walls.

I would love to see and hear a Nightingale. I HAVE seen Magpies. They have large flocks in the Western U.S. and as a kid my family would drive out West each Summer where I have seen large numbers of Magpies.

Right now I am enjoying the large flocks of Waxwings in my yard.

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A bird in the hand......can sometimes be a mess.

That does look like a Barn Swallow! I'm not sure if they have those in Europe. There are many, MANY different kinds of Swallows throughout the world as well as inthe U.S. and Canada. Many of them are VERY similar in appearance. I have dozens of Barn Swallows arounf my house. One of them nearly hit me in the head as it flew past.

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A bird in the hand......can sometimes be a mess.