The Art of Nature

My weekend…

2011-12-13T05:17:00.001-08:00

I didn’t get to see many birds over the weekend – apart from the hundreds in my brother’s garden, which I didn’t photograph, but I did get to see more of York and a little of Whitby. The weather was wonderful – crisp, clear and sunny, although really cold, but no wind. It was a nice change from the grey, cloudy, windy North West.

I loved these paintings, discovered underneath the paint in a little old church. I imagine it was a way to avoid Henry VIII’s wanton destruction of all things sacred, but amazingly, they’ve been preserved.

This is Whitby and the abbey used for target practice by the Germans, during World War II.

There are lots of lovely houses built into the cliffs and LOTS of steps to climb.

The waves were wonderful and huge.

There were little turnstones on the pier and I’d never seen them before, but they were incredibly difficult to photograph because they just don’t stay still and the bright sun made it all the more difficult.

I went to see the Festival of Angels – lots of ice sculptures on display in the street, but sadly, it started to rain and they were melting by the time I got to take any photos.

We ended up in The House of the Trembling Madness, for a welcome beer! There are some gruesome animal heads on the wall, though.

Finally, a late afternoon sky.

Treat

2011-11-28T02:39:00.001-08:00

Yesterday’s offerings.

Long time no see…

2011-10-30T04:19:00.001-07:00

Haven’t shared any photos for a while but that’s not cos I didn’t have any – just because I didn’t have the time.

Managed to get out for a couple of hours on Friday and saw some great sights at Pennington Flash. There was a huge flock of lapwings, providing a spectacular display for us, both on the ground and in the air.

Sadly, the sun was almost setting, so the light wasn’t good, despite the sunshine, because it was shining on the front of the birds, which masked the gorgeous colours. I would so love my camera lens to have the same clarity as my bins, but sadly, it doesn’t!

In one hide, we were treated to a really close view of a gorgeous kingfisher on his perch but only for a few seconds, unfortunately. John spotted him in a tree to the side and got some good photos but I was sitting at the wrong angle and couldn’t even see it – drat!

On the way to the Bunting Hide, I did find these and fell in love with them.

Forgot to mention that I did manage to snap a couple of ok shots of a long tailed tit, which I’m chuffed with because they’re rarely still long enough to get a reasonable photo.

I was also fascinated by these gorgeous leaves and desperately hoping a lovely bird would land on them because they would have made such a fab frame.

At the Bunting Hide, we saw all the usual suspects.

Bullfinches

and a lovely little greenfinch. We often used to have greenfinches in the garden, especially last thing, feeding off all the seeds dropped by the other birds. They were usually pretty friendly, too, but since the finch disease reduced their numbers so drastically, we rarely see any now. This was a real treat.

LOVE the fact that I can see his lovely beak and the half crushed sunflower seed. Amazing, given the failing light at this time.

I’d like to go again today but I suspect I’m going to be a bike widow again in a short while – still, time to stamp :-)

Before I go, I spotted this in the wind the other day, as I was hanging out some washing (bit too hopeful, I think – had to bring it in damp!). I thought it was a falling leaf because it was blowing all over the place but no, it was a gorgeous little flutterby – such a delight on a cold, late October day. I quickly ran in for my camera and this is what I managed to snap.

You can even see the damage on his wings, if you look closely.

Till next time – just hope it isn’t quite as long!

Wedding Birds

2011-06-30T01:51:00.001-07:00

It isn’t often you get to indulge your hobbies/interests during a wedding, but my son and daughter-in-law were good enough to arrange a Birds of Prey display at their wedding on 26 June and what a treat! Here are a few of the photos I took.

And of course I can’t NOT include one of the happy couple, so here they are! My baby and his wife.

And here’s one of the castle from the back – showing how the fire of the weekend before destroyed one whole wing!

From the front

Garden Life

2011-06-24T01:24:00.001-07:00

My favourite time of year and I’ve managed to get some great photos, despite being so busy. The birds in this tiny garden have been very compliant :-)

1st May

2011-05-13T09:42:00.001-07:00

Finally got some time out for a change and what a delight! Some lovely wildlife on offer and the first damsels and dragonflies of the year.

Last weekend

2010-11-06T14:05:00.001-07:00

Yep, I love blue tits, but I especially love this one below.

This is my favourite little bird, the coal tit. Isn’t it tiny?

And I finally got a photo of the woodpecker which wasn’t blurred, though as the light disappeared the rest were really grainy.

Quickie post

2010-10-10T12:00:00.001-07:00

Well, I took LOADS of photos this morning but most of them were blurred. Duh! Must try harder. I had some great shots of nuthatches, blue tits, coal tits, marsh tits, a jay and a great spotted woodpecker but they’re all total rubbish, so have been consigned to the Recycle bin.

Here are the few I salvaged.

I love these. Nature’s so clever. They were really frilly and I thought at first they were dead leaves because that’s just what they look like.

Peckforton and Birds of Prey

2010-08-31T06:21:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I went with my son and his future wife to visit the venue of their wedding, which will be in June next year.

This is it.

Pretty impressive, huh?

As part of the ceremony, they’ll be having a Birds of Prey display and some of the birds were out on their perches yesterday, so I took a few photos.

More photos

2010-08-22T13:16:00.001-07:00

More photos from Rixton today, but didn’t have a lot of success, unfortunately.

Love this little Common Blue

Small Tortoiseshell

More peacocks – lots of ‘em

Look at the hairs on this!

Another nymph – wish I knew which type of dragonfly it is. I was surprised to see a nymph so late in August. Not very sharp, though because it was a distance away.

Common Blue Damselfly

Blue tailed damselfly

Female damselfly but I can’t work out which one from the photos I’ve seen.

Another female damselfly.

I got a red eyed female, too but it’s not very sharp.

I think this is a female Common Darter.

These are male Common Darters

Saw loads of Ruddy darters but I decided I already have way too many photos of them!

Giant Shrooms!!

Hunting Fungi

2010-08-19T17:47:00.001-07:00

Today’s pics. Not much to show cos it started raining not too long after we arrived and we spent way too much time waiting for the kingfisher to come back to the hide – which didn’t happen!

So, I concentrated on fungi – one of my big loves. Not that I know much about them but I find them fascinating.

Pretty cool for something with such a ‘bad’ name as fungus??? Don’t you think? Isn’t nature amazing?

There be dragons in Cheshire…

2010-08-19T02:57:00.001-07:00

Went photographing again yesterday and got a few reasonable shots.

Darters are pretty easy to photograph because they land on the ground or steps in front of you and seem to love wooden railings – any wood, in fact. We did see a hawker, but it was far more elusive and there were quite a few really big dragonflies but we only saw them passing – frustrating!

LOVE the fact that you can see the hairs on these, even though you can’t see them with the naked eye.

Look at the ‘face’ on this one – it looks really SCARY! I thought it was a waps but looking at this, I’m now wondering if it’s another species of bee, like the one above. I actually found this one by accident, when trying to catch a small butterfly and couldn’t resist shooting it.

Isn’t this HORRIBLE?????? I have a thing about fungi, though, so I think I’m going to take lots of photos of ‘em when I find ‘em – as long as it looks interesting, lol.

Red Kites

2010-08-17T04:45:00.001-07:00

We went to Gigirin Farm, in Powys, yesterday – to see the Red Kites the farmer there feeds every day. They were incredibly difficult to photograph – they’re so graceful that they appear to be floating slowly but in actual fact, they move VERY fast, so just as you get a focus on them, they’ve gone!! So, in addition to learning how to use the new camera AND the manual focus, I didn’t get many reasonable shots at all, but here’s what I did get.

Can you see the meat in the birds’ claws? Poor crows and ravens didn’t really get a look in – they just had to stand and watch!

Just look at those incredible wings! Absolutely stunning.

I’d really recommend a visit if you like watching birds. The bits I like best are when they freefall and almost bang into each other – deliberately – but just miss by a hair’s breadth. Just as good as watching the Red Arrows, lol. They also pair for life, so you’ll see two of them soaring and dropping together quite often. It’s a lovely sight. You can just imagine lying on the grass, watching them playing on the thermals and time would just stand perfectly still because you’re transported elsewhere for a little while. Fantastic!

Here are a couple of the expert’s photos, lol.

Hope I get to be this good with a little more practice and a lot more patience.

My first photos with the Pentax

2010-08-15T12:10:00.001-07:00

I’m chuffed to bits today cos John’s let me loose with one of his cameras, which is ‘mine’ for when we go out photographing wildlife.

Here are my first attempts – not bad considering I really struggle to hold the heavy camera totally still, lol.

As always, click to enlarge if you need to.

This is a peacock butterfly

Not sure which kind of dragonfly this is but it looks like a chaser or a darter – probably immature

This looks like another species – been trying to find them online but it’s difficult to compare.

This is a Small Heath Butterfly

A common blue damselfly.

You may have to look closely here to see the little tiny froggie!!

And here’s a dragonfly nymph.

When we arrived home, we saw what I thought was a juvenile greenfinch in the tree, so I took a few photos.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a juvenile at all – it was a sick little greenfinch. We found it in the garden yesterday. Looks as if that horrible virus is doing the rounds again and this time I know it isn’t from my feeders because I’ve been cleaning them out and disinfecting them regularly. It’s heartbreaking, though. They’ve only just started to come back since they were virtually wiped out by this virus a few years ago. Just hope they don’t all go.

And finally, the great British summer? Or not – just shows that it’s more like Autumn!

BIRD RINGING

2010-08-04T02:41:00.001-07:00

This weekend, I was lucky enough to watch the experts ringing birds at Moore Reserve – it was fandabby doo!! They all look SO much smaller close to and they’re so beautiful. Nature really is God’s Masterpiece. Here are a few of those we saw.

Long tailed tit (Juvenile

Blue Tit

Robin (Juvenile

Wren – look at the glorious patterns on the wings! I’ve often seen them close up but had never seen these before.

Goldfinch (Juvenile

Reed Warbler

Sedge Warbler

Reed Warbler and Sedge Warbler together – to show the difference.

Chiff Chaff

Great Spotted Woodpecker. These are MUCH smaller than they look when flying or feeding.

Look at its barbed tongue

How cool was that?????

We did also see a gorgeous Coal Tit – one of my favourite birds of all from the garden because they’re so very tiny – but didn’t get a photo. Shame.

BEMPTON CLIFFS

2010-08-02T08:01:00.001-07:00

Just been sorting through my photos from Bempton – didn’t realise I’d taken so many – so thought I’d post a few here.

It really is an incredible place and is an awesome spectacle of nature at its best. Wish I could duplicate the noise (and the perfect weather we had that day – haven’t seen much sun since then and it’s 5 weeks or so ago now!) – the whole experience is so incredible.

It’s difficult to show you just how many birds there are and exactly how close together they are on the cliffs. Here are a few photos to try to show you the proximity of the birds and the sheer numbers – and this was after some of them had left. Must go earlier next year!

These were the birds I went to see, although a lot of them had already fledged and the numbers are down drastically from what they used to be.

Since then, I’ve been bird ringing, so have some great photos to share but this is enough for today…

Another owl…

2010-06-13T09:09:00.001-07:00

The long eared owl.

This one’s a baby – only around 8 weeks old here.

Birds of Prey

2010-06-12T08:05:00.001-07:00

Not been able to post for a while, so thought I’d just catch up quickly.

We went to a local Rural Crafts fair a couple of weeks ago, to see the Birds of prey. They do a display with them, which is always really interesting, although this time it was a bit of a disaster, cos the Harris hawk flew into the trees and didn’t want to come down. I really felt for the poor guys who were doing this for the first time. Anyway, this is what we saw.

The good thing is when my son gets married next year (2011), he’s booked a Hawk display as part of the wedding – along with a caricaturist, lol – so we’ll be able to enjoy them again in the gorgeous grounds of Peckforton Castle!

Insects and a few birds…

2010-05-23T12:50:00.001-07:00

Gorgeous weather here the last few days and today we were treated to three very cute baby squiggles and these special little creatures.

Common Blue Damsel Flies

We did also see a Blue tailed damselfly, but it was so slight and thin that the camera wouldn’t focus on it – need to get closer :D

Not sure if this is the Large or Small Damselfly

One of the first dragonflies of the year – the 4 spotted broad back chaser. I didn’t even know there were as many species are there are, but we were lucky enough to meet a guy who told us that broad back chasers are the first to appear – at the same time as Damselflies because they feed on them – then hawkers - the ones we’re used to seeing (and several other types, as I found out on visiting a Dragonfly website) appear in Summer.

While hunting through one of my photo folders, I also spotted these, which I had forgotten all about.

Not a fab photo because it was too bright but this was from the year before last. We used to get up to 13 or 14 goldfinches on our feeders at any one time and they’d be knocking each other off, fighting for a perch. Since the cold snap, we’ve only had the odd pair, which is very sad. They sing so beautifully and are such happy birds.

This one’s from Pennington Flash – I couldn’t believe just how many cormorants were perched here and had forgotten just how striking it was!

This is the main one – wow! Just try counting how many there are :D Just wish it was clearer but it was a LONG way from the hide.

Spadgers…

2010-05-21T08:40:00.001-07:00

I forget how lucky we are to have House Sparrows here, now that they’re declining in number so quickly, until someone points it out. A couple of days ago a friend was here and he mentioned it. He actually lives five minutes away from here, yet he says they just don’t see them in the garden at all – amazing, really. So, I took a photo – not brilliant because they were in the shadow while I was taking a photograph in the garden, but here are two of the curious little rascals. I was watching the first baby of the year, earlier today, as the parents were feeding him/her – lovely!

Weekend Adventures

2010-05-04T10:01:00.001-07:00

We were thrilled to see lots of different birds over the weekend, including a harrier, a pair of yellowhammers (photo to follow in next post) and a black cap.

Meanwhile, I took these – not as good as John’s but a couple of them aren’t bad considering my crappy little camera, lol.

Yes, it may look cute but I call them ‘demon squiggles’ and this is a prime example. It was unbelievable how he/she was managing to get up and down those feeders and one of them was trying to bite through barbed wire round one of the feeding tables! I spend half my day chasing them out of my garden with a big brush!!!

These are the reed bunting.

Great Spotted Woodpecker and a blackbird, pecking at the fat in the holes on this tree stump. Can’t help but admire the tenacity of both the blackbird and the robins, the way they launch themselves at this stump is incredible and they’re almost always rewarded.

Last but not least, one of my favourite birds – real characters. I’d swear this little one was posing for me! He was definitely looking straight at me. There’s nothing so quintessential as an English robin – they’re cheeky, clever and beautiful little birds.

Marsh Tit

2010-04-25T17:16:00.001-07:00

I thought this little sweetie was a Coal Tit when it landed on the table in front of us, until a real Coal Tit arrived and I realised how different they were! I thought at first it was a Willow Tit, but on researching it and looking at several photos, I’m plumping for Marsh Tit – not sure whether or not I’m right. Almost as difficult as deciding whether or not a bird is a Chiff Chaff or a Willow Warbler, lol.

We also see lots of Reed buntings while at these reserves, so I just snagged a photo (sorry to whoever’s it is) to show you what one looks like. I deleted mine – must ask John if he has any!

Woodpeckers and Willow Warblers

2010-04-25T11:47:00.001-07:00

Got absolutely drenched early this afternoon when out birdwatching and when we arrived home, it was dry :(

This is what we were watching…

Isn’t that a fab image of the Willow Warbler – hard to believe it’s so tiny? Photos by John.

Risley Moss

2010-04-22T03:00:00.001-07:00

Long time since I’ve posted here but that’s mainly because I haven’t been taking many photos. I’ve been enjoying my new Bins, bought by my lovely brother for my Christmas present and the camera just doesn’t come close. John’s got some crackers, though so I’ll be posting those as soon as I get them – especially the ones of the Great Spotted Woodpecker we saw last weekend.

Meantime, we’ve found a couple of new places to visit and have been enjoying the change in weather. Moore Park, just over the other side of Warrington and by the Manchester Ship Canal, is a great place – huge and spread out, with lots to see. Risley Moss is a bit smaller, but has a charm of its own and a cracking hide with lots of feeders, where all 3 species of woodpecker can be seen. We were entertained by the Great Spotted last weekend, who seemed to be playing a game of hide and seek with us and we saw a few tree creepers and other birds, so it was a good day and the weather was wonderful for this time of year. My camera died – yes, I forgot to take stand by batteries :(

Here’s the only decent shot I managed to get – a nice male bullfinch :)

Spring is here!

2010-03-29T08:51:00.001-07:00

I heard my first chiff chaff yesterday, so Spring is officially here! It doesn’t feel like it as I’m walking round wearing a fleece inside the house, but it will soon be warmer, I’m sure.

When my best friend died, a while ago now, a friend of mine had lost her husband round the same time and in memory of him, she gave me some Jonquil bulbs, which I planted over Odie’s grave and here they are in full bloom – just in time for my birthday :)

Here he is…

Long tailed tits

2010-02-20T08:53:00.001-08:00

Well, they’re far from perfect but have you ever tried to photograph flying tits, lol? It’s a nightmare. Of course John managed it and I’ll post some of his photos when I get them but his email’s down right now. Here are a few of my blurry attempts :)

Notice the bullfinch in the background? There were so many finches (chaffinches, bullfinches, greenfinches), tits (coal tits, long tailed, great tits, blue tits), LOTS of tree sparrows, the resident robin and many others. A real treat to be so close. We see most of these at home (not bullfinches) and more and they’re pretty close to the kitchen window but we only get to see through glass and sadly can’t take photos. Unfortunately, the woodpecker didn’t make an appearance that day.

The one above is worth enlarging – it’s a tree full of long tailed tits – beautiful :)

It’s at times like these that I wish I had a better camera but at least I have one :)

New duck – to me - Muscovy

2010-02-17T07:23:00.001-08:00

Just back from the park in the cold and found this, so just did an internet search to find out what it is. Apparently, it’s a Muscovy duck – a farm/domestic type duck which doesn’t like water much and even eats small rodents, such as guinea pigs, mice, rats, hamsters, etc – unusual?

Much to my surprise, the lake at the park is part frozen – I really didn’t think it was quite so cold!! Brr – I’m cold now, having been round the park. It’s still frosty and was foggy until lunchtime but the sun was out when we left…

What a treat!

2010-01-16T09:32:00.000-08:00

For the last couple of weeks we've been privileged to have flocks of seven or eight of these little birds in our tiny garden several times a day, feeding on fat balls and coconut feeders - aren't they gorgeous? Wish I'd taken the photo but sadly, they move so fast my camera wouldn't catch them and they are SO nervous that I'd never get near enough. They're one of our tiniest birds, though - if not the tiniest - not sure if Goldcrests are a tad smaller and Coal Tits aren't too far behind. They do look bigger because of their long tails but if you look closely, you can see they're nothing but a little ball of fluff on the end of a stick, lol :) Unfortunately, they have a really high mortality rate in Winter and especially when it's as cold as it has been. They have so little surface area that they lose heat fast, even though they sleep huddled together to keep themselves warm.

This one may give you an idea of just how tiny they are…

Still here…

2010-01-15T09:49:00.001-08:00

As you can see, the snow’s almost gone from most of the garden now, though it’s still thick in the road and on the pavements at the front – no sun there, whereas the back gets sun all day – when it’s out!

It’s been VERY wet today – miserable and cold even though the temperature’s up a few degrees – certainly doesn’t feel like it cos it’s damp.

Must post some family pics – will do that over the weekend :)

Winter sky – is it blossom or snow?

2010-01-07T05:50:00.001-08:00

Finally managed to get my little girlie. Not sure if you can see it here but her right foot is totally bent backwards under her leg. I think she’s the one Lynne and I rescued from a Sparrowhawk a couple of years ago. The following day when I opened the door, she flew down and sort of bounced at my feet by the door because she was scared and desperate for food but when we tried to pick her up, she managed to fly off. She’s pretty trusting, though :)

My poor birdies…

2010-01-05T09:37:00.001-08:00

This was early this morning, before more snow but you can see their footprints were already pretty deep.

I kept clearing a space for their sultanas and mealworms but the snow was falling so thick and fast today that they were being covered with snow not long after I’d put them out!

At least there’s a bit of shelter under the heavily snow laden trees – I’ve bashed it off here, so the birds can sit on the branches more easily.

This is my favourite local ‘Nature Reserve’ – Mere Sands Wood – and these are the branches set up for the Kingfishers, so that they can be seen more clearly from the hide we were in. As you can see, there were NO kingfishers that day and sadly, I’m wondering if we’ll see them again for a long time after this deep freeze. As you can see, despite the sunshine, the whole of the Mere is absolutely frozen solid!

Outside my back door…

2009-12-24T03:59:00.001-08:00

He’s within 18 inches of me.

She’s about 2ft away from me here.

This one’s directly across from the door, about 3ft.

This is what awaits me when I open the back door – all clucking away, saying they’re desperate for food! One day that garage window sill is going to drop off but you can’t tell some men, can you?

Christmas Eve Eve… and wasn’t it pretty?

2009-12-24T03:49:00.001-08:00

Sadly, it’s now thawing, so we won’t have a white Christmas after all.

Long time no see – Snow…

2009-12-22T13:50:00.001-08:00

Yes, we’ve had LOTS of snow in the last few days and although it’s raining now, it’s also very, VERY cold and due to go below –7 tonight, so the rain will freeze on top of the already frozen snow – brrr! Glad I don’t have to go far tomorrow.

My birds have been VERY active and VERY hungry while the ground is too hard to dig for worms and here are a few photos of them. As I walked down the garden, they were in the trees and on the fence, clucking at me, desperate for food – every time they saw me, lol.

This one couldn’t wait for me to move before pouncing on the sultanas. I’ve been scraping back the snow on and off all day, to make sure they weren’t totally hidden by it.

This one was waiting outside the door as I came out, as you can see.

Oops! Cut his head off… must remember to change my camera to a higher setting when not photographing artwork!

Siskins

2009-05-24T03:13:00.001-07:00

We’ve had a pair of Siskins in the garden for a couple of days – really exciting. The male is so colourful, whereas the female doesn’t have the yellow body or the black cap. I know they’re quite common, but they’ve never been here before, so I’m really pleased. This isn’t one of my photos – it’s one from the Internet.

My pride and joy

2009-05-17T13:59:00.001-07:00

I am so proud of this photo! I took it a couple of weeks ago, when John left me in charge of his super duper Pentax DSLR while he nipped out of the hide we were in and was privileged to see my first kingfisher. Since then, we’ve seen him a few times and he’s obviously feeding young.

We had hoped to go see if the babes were around this weekend, but unfortunately, John had to work. I doubt we’ll see them now, as the parents only feed them for three or four days once they fledge. Maybe we’ll get to see the next brood…

Wow!

2009-05-17T13:46:00.001-07:00

Isn’t this fab? One of John’s masterpieces, again… If you click to enlarge it, you can even see the craters, although not as clearly as I can, here. It printed really, really well, A4 size.

Beautiful Babe

2009-05-17T13:28:00.001-07:00

How gorgeous is this? I heard a strange bird call through the open window this afternoon and was intrigued. When I went out to feed the rest of them, I found this little beauty in the grass. He promptly moved to the fence and stayed there for ages and ages, screeching away at the top of his voice. Notice how he doesn’t have any tail feathers, yet. I think he must have flown - or fallen from - the nest too early, though he seemed able to fly well enough. Notice how Mum is watching me very closely, here - obviously worrying about her little one. As it turned out, she had good cause for worry. I went inside and sat at the table to look at the photos and heard a lot of babble, so I rushed up to the window, just in time to see a huge bird flying off. Not sure what it was. It looked way too dark to be a Sparrowhawk, although it had a huge wingspan. I suspected a crow or a jackdaw, though I didn’t see the head at all, it moved so quickly. I thought whatever it was had taken him and was devastated, feeling more than a little responsible. Ten minutes later, I heard him calling again but this time from the trees at the back of the house, so I breathed a sigh of relief.

Not for too long, though. Unfortunately, that constant calling gave away his location. I heard the adults chunnering and a flurry, then heard him no more.

Must admit, I’m heartbroken that something so beautiful, so tiny and so fragile could be here one minute, gone the next. However, I also feel really privileged. When we had blackbirds nesting by the door, they were very tame and we were allowed to get really close to them, without the parents getting upset, because they knew I was feeding them. But I don’t remember seeing them with no tail feathers, even though there were three of them and it was a really hot Spring, so they were often sitting on top of the nest, calling for food!

Bluebells

2009-05-06T03:29:00.000-07:00

I have vivid memories of bluebells, when I was a kid. There was a valley not too far from where I lived which was absolutely filled with them at this time of year - we called it the Bluebell Wood. Often, we would go there after school - probably weren't supposed to. It was lovely to just sit there and to enjoy them and I remember going alone several times! I also remember running home one day because I saw a bull, there and I was pretty scared, lol. These were taken at Mere Sands Wood, which is our favourite haunt of the moment.

Bullfinch

2009-05-06T03:28:00.001-07:00

This one was a fair distance away but great to see it, all the same!

Some of John's bird photos...

2009-05-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

Chaffinch

Long tailed tit

Grey Heron

Nature

2009-05-05T02:30:00.000-07:00

I have a silly number of bird photos and I don't think it's fair to upload them to my Inky Fingers Blog, where people expert stamped artwork. Hence the reason for this Blog, in which I can feel free to upload whatever I like. This was our favourite blackbird, who used to sit on the garage steps, sleeping or sunbathing whilst John was inside. One of his legs wouldn't bend and I made a point of looking after him, so eventually he became almost tame, coming when called and just sitting in the plantpot by the door. He'd even come to greet John's car as he arrived home!
Sadly, he disappeared around February 2009, after I'd seen him with a withered foot. I've really, REALLY missed him.