Woohoo! Finally got out…

The weather’s not been too bad today, so we risked going out in the warm sunshine (almost afraid to say it, he, he) and yes, it did rain after a little while but we got to see some wildlife first.  Seems like ages since I used the camera and I took a lot of blurred photos but I salvaged these.

The first damselflies I’ve seen this year!

You know, they really are strange creatures when you see them close up …

Then we got to see some birds.

All my jay photos were blurred but here’s one anyway.

 

It’s no secret that I love birds and dearest to my heart are robins and blackbirds because of their tameness.  But my all time favourite, which I rarely get chance to see close up, despite having a pair or two in the garden, is the Coal tit.  I managed a few photos here, right in front of the hide but one of them looks absolutely battered.  They were coming and going a lot, so they must be feeding young, poor loves.  The light isn’t brilliant, so they’re a bit grainy, unfortunately.

Then I got a real surprise when one of the birds I can never manage to photograph appeared for a minute or so. Not brilliant because they’re never still but at least I got one!

Couldn’t resist these.

Or these, even though I despise them when they steal all my bird food.

To end our time beautifully, we were looking out over the marshes and I noticed this in my bins.

Sadly, all you can see here is a blurred blob of yellow, he, he, but it was a Yellowhammer – my first of the year, so a fitting way to end the day, even if it was raining by then.

Spring is on its way

(I wrote this late last night and noticed straight away this morning that I’d put an apostrophe in its!!!  Aaaggh!  One of my pet hates and I did it!  Think I must have been a bit more tired than I realised.)

I’ve been waking to the dawn chorus all this week, which has been such a treat – so many birds singing and it really makes my heart smile.  Isn’t it great when the days lengthen and we finally get to see and hear a little bit more of nature? That must be the best part of having to get up really early.

Last weekend we toddled off to Marsh Side, not too far from Southport, for a well deserved treat in the cold sunshine.  We didn’t see a great deal, although there was a curlew really close to one of the hides all the time we were there and I’ve never seen one so close before.  Saw lots of pied wagtails though and a great display of flying geese – unfortunately, they were just leaving as we arrived, so we didn’t get any photos.  It was SO Cold!

Lots of photogenic swans, as well as the teal and pintail above. I didn’t get any good pintail shots, other than bottoms in the air, they’re so fast.

I’m really pleased with this next photo – if you click it you’ll get a full size image and see just how sharp it is – one of my best, I think. The second one is cropped from the first.  The light was kind to me!

This was the view in the corner of our street when we arrived home. I’m tempted to crop off the tops of the trees, though, cos they look so unnatural with their straight tops. Our neighbours are always chopping at their trees.

My weekend…

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

Yesterday’s offerings.