A mixed bag of weather!

We have certainly had a mixed bag of weather the last few weeks! The sub zero temperatures are hopefully over for now and within the next couple of days we will be basking in temperatures of 7c and above! 'We're having a heatwave, a tropical heatwave' well not quite.;-) This post is a catch up from the last few weeks of images I have taken, for the most part in my garden and on 'local' walks.

At the back end of January we had enough snow to cancel football and enough to build a snowman! The snow did give rise to a few scenic images that we do not get to see too often! The snow covered netting over the fish pond acted as a screen to hide the fish, fooled the Heron this time.;-) Cyclamen and Winter Pansies somehow survive the extreme temperatures, for such delicate looking plants they weather the weather well!

After heavy rains the lake at Brake Mill looked like a chocolate lake due to the run off from adjacent fields and paddocks. One of two Little Grebes looked to be ok as it dived in the murky looking water! An adult Swan and it's 4 immature swans were as usual on the look out for a bite to eat and eventually settled to preen by the lake. The Black-headed Gull image was taken by my eldest Grandson, he was pleased with the result and so was I! <

The Witch Hazel tree in a local Churchyard looked splendid and brightened a cold dull day! Snowdrops were also in evidence and are often seen as the first sign of spring and warmer weather, though this clump of snowdrops gave a false sense of security as the snow arrived a few days later.;-) Daffodils are budding up and Crocus are showing their colours so we are not far away from spring surely!

Blackbirds have been regularly seen in my garden though I expect the numbers will soon decrease as I reckon some are Continental visitors!

A decrease in bird life sometimes takes place in my garden. Maybe the bird in the above image is the reason for that.;-) Stunning birds though!

................................... Here come the Gulls, a mini invasion! ............................

Who's that coming over the hill is it a monster? No, just a few more Fallow Deer in the park at a local stately home. ............................................................................................................

A local canal walk was shall we say"bracing"! The towpath is fairly wide so social distancing was easy to observe making for a relaxed walk.

On arrival I spotted a lone Redwing turning over the leaf litter in search of invertebrate prey, not far away were a Blackbird, Robin and two Wrens also leaf turning! Can you spot both Wrens in the image?

There are also two Wrens in this image, can you spot them?

The water spray off an overflow pipe had formed an ice sculpture!

These icicles were a treat to see, they had formed below an ivy clad wall! A gentleman I spoke to at the time said how wonderful it was to see such a spectacle, worth going out for a walk on such a cold day as we will not see such a sight in the summer!

The farmyard geese had an unusual hanger on! It looks very much like a Greylag/Canada Goose hybrid.

On the return walk a Great Spotted Woodpecker was a delight to see along with a Songthrush, Long-tailed Tits and a Rabbit!

My finale is an image of the 1000 piece Jigsaw that is finally finished....a project undertaken when not outdoors taking exercise.

A timely decision!

It had been a timely decision to sit for an hour and watch my garden yesterday morning to count the bird species in my garden! Yes, the Big Garden Birdwatch weekend has arrived, 29th- 31st January! The weather forecast did not sound favourable for the weekend but today (Friday) it was looking good with sunny spells and more importantly dry! Today (Saturday) it is wet with rain, sleet and snow! What a difference a day makes! There is a song there somewhere.;-) I have submitted my bird counts and I have to say I think they are the best counts for a few years. ...................................................................................................................................... 9.45am-10.45am. 29/01/2021 My counts in order of appearance: Robin 2, Dunnock 3, Jackdaw 3, Blackbird 3, Carrion Crow 3, Blue Tit 2, Coal Tit 1, Magpie 2, Great Tit 2, Greenfinch 2, Blackcap (f) 1, Wren 1, Woodpigeon 2, Long-tailed Tit 3. A good excuse to sit for an hour and watch the garden. I shall look forward now to the results when the RSPB publish them.

Late to the party!

I had hoped to post a post before today, surprising how busy at times one can get even in a lockdown! My garden has been quite busy of late due to the weather and of course it being winter! My first 3 birds sightings of 2021 were in order of appearance Blackbird, Woodpigeon and a Blue Tit! Since the first 3 sightings I had I have added a few of what I call goodies, though all birds are goodies to me! The snow we had and which lay for a few days brought the birds in to my garden, not in big numbers (bar the Woodpigeons, 11 visited one day) but a nice variety. My list: Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Blue Tit, Blackcap (M & F ), Herring Gull (not a regular visitor), Carrion Crow, Wren, Jackdaw, Black-headed Gull, Dunnock, Robin, Starling, Redwing, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Long-tailed Tit, Nuthatch, Chaffinch and a Goldfinch! That is my garden list up until the 17th January 2021. I am pleased with the sightings, I know that I probably would not have seen this many species on a local walk, a walk much further from home would have been needed and more than one journey at that! I am missing the Bullfinches that have the past few years made use of the feeders in my garden, maybe they will appear now I have mentioned them. I have recently read that Spring 2020 was one of the warmest on records, not good news for our bird species. Dunnocks, Bullfinches and Blue Tits in particular had a poor breeding season, maybe this is the reason for their abscence.

Blackcaps were a delight to see. A female was the first on the scene followed by a male, then a couple of days later I had the pleasure of seeing 2 males and 2 females in the garden much tom the annoyance of ob=ne of the males who promptly saw off the new arrivals. A male and female have taken it almost in turn to feast on the apples of which I have now tied with green garden wire (plastic coated) and tied them to the branches of the apple tree. This has for the most part saved the apples for the birds and flummoxed the squirrels!!

A Nuthatch was a surprise sighting in one of the apple trees. A Robin did not take kindly to it's presence but the Nuthatch did manage to reach the feeders in safety! Robin's are so territorial! I was pleased with the photo of the NUthatch and Greenfinch on the feeder, not often I get to see the 2 species together! The Nuthatch returned the next day but so far has not been seen since.

As I have mentioned the Robin trying to chasing off the Nuthatch this seems a good time to add a photo of the feisty bird!!

A Wren (or maybe 2 Wrens possibly) have been regularly seen swiftly flying through the garden! Speedy birds for their size! I have had more sightings of this species during the last few weeks than I have had at anytime I reckon!

Blackbirds have been regular visitors with their numbers increasing as the days went by, 8 being the highest number to date.

I quite like the image of the Carrion Crow and Woodpigeon, usually the Woodpigeons take flight when the Crows arrive to perch on the trees!

Jackdaws are noisy but welcome in my garden. I have on average 3-5 birds almost daily when the ground food goes out on to the lawn! The Crows are not friendly towards them, likewise with the Magpies! The bird on the right has Leucism and is quite a striking bird in flight! It is my favourite Jackdaw!

I was really pleased when 4 Starlings dropped in for what seemed like seconds while one remained for a little longer to have it's photo taken! They have appeared on a hop and a catch these last 2-3 months. A few years ago I would have counted at least 20+ during cold spells!

Great, Blue and Coal Tits are seen daily and Long-tailed Tits occasionally.

Footprints in the snow!! A Heron had returned to the pond!!! The pond now has extra protection to thwart the Heron!

I have today added an extra species to my garden list! A Grey Wagtail appeared after lunch and stayed around the garden for a good 30 minutes or so! Late last year I was having visits from a Grey Wagtail, presumably the same one. I wondered what it could be eating as it pecked around on the lawns, surely not ants at this time of year. I checked out what they would normally eat, it is ants, midges and snails and tadpoles they find in shallow water. However when insects are scarce in Autumn and Winter they will come in to gardens to feed on seed and bread! An unusual but welcome bird to have feeding in the garden! ................ It will be good to eventually be able to travel further afield, though at present I am quite happy with my garden sightings.