Hobbies and Crafts

Sounds wonderful Jane.

Top 5 here would be ......

Seagulls
Magpies
Starlings
Collared doves
Wood pigeon

Lol Gwyn

Jane we have a lot but they don't queue, maybe because we have six different feeders in the apple tree.
:-)

I am very surprised that Collared Doves didn't make the top ten. Is it only in the South East that they seem to be prolific?

We had an unusual, for us, visitor to the garden this morning - a Brimstone butterfly.

We don't seem to get the Collared Doves.Just every now and then.We are East Midlands.
I have just seen a Sparrow on the window feeder.Normally they are ground feeders here .
Robins
Chaffinch
Blue Tits
Blackbird
Gt Tit
Long Tailed Tits
and the Woodpecker are the most visitors on the window feeder.

Just had to rescue the cat from the bay roof above the feeder.I think he must have climbed the tree and then jumped across.I had to get him in through my son's bedroom window

:-S

The collared dove is one of the few birds that does seem to like our garden. There is often a pair of them around and they love the bird bath. They drink from it but often get right in for a splash around. It gets really mucky at times. I've cleaned it out again this afternoon - not my favourite job.

Vera ,our Bird Bath is pretty disgusting at the moment :-S :-S..It needs a good scrubbing.Not my favourite job either.If the birds didn't poop in it ,it wouldn't be so bad .
They need a bit of toilet training lol

Cleaning the bird baths was a job that I did today. I agree, that it is not my
favourite job, but I am always happy when they are clean and so are the birds.

:It was lovely today and we went to Abbotsbury gardens where the Rhododendrons, Camelias and Magnolias were lovely while there we saw six Red Kites overhead and in the garden a beautiful male pheasant and a Golden pheasant. We came back to Burton B and ate our rolls in the NT car park by the sea. There was a cold wind but we were able to sit out by the car where it was sheltered to eat. Then sat in the garden when we got back. Tomorrow and the rest of the week it looks like rain though which is a shame.

:-D

Ann
Sounds as if you had a lovely day.
It's great to get out and make the best of the brighter days, even if it's a bit chilly.

I've never seen a red kite flying free, let alone six..... What a sight that must have been.

It was Gwyn.

Ann we have had red kites over the garden several times recently.

Something really odd happened this morning when I was sitting in the garden. There were a gang of Starlngs sitting in the Thug's tree with the Sparrows. One of the Starlings started talking, honestly. Luckily I had the video camera with me as I had been filming some long tailed tits on the feeders. He was saying " Pretty boy " so clearly, three times then a whistle then three more times before pausing and starting again.

I thought it was a parrot or budgie to start with but he was sitting on the top of the tree as clear as can be.

I thought they just sounded like trim phones !!!!

Having just read this through I am really glad it's not last Friday or it would seem like an April Fools joke !!!

M.

Brilliant Maryanna....I'd love to hear it :-D

Ann,that is good you have managed to get to Abbotsbury Gardens before the change in weather..It must have looked so pretty with all those beautiful flowers.We don't get the great dispay of Rhododendrons etc here.The soil is not the same.I miss the West Country for all those kind of plants.

Red Kites are quite common these days around these parts.Juat a few miles away it is not unusual to see 8 or more all flying together.We get 2 at the most.But Buzzards have also been around recently.Normally 2.They fly a lot higher than the Red Kites.

That must havesounded funny Maryanna although I do know starlings are great mimics.

Jane I have seen one or two kites on the way to Hampshire but to see six was really something. :-)

It is quite a sight isn't it Ann to see so many Red Kites :-D.They are just amazing birds to watch.
I think we have a Sparrow Hawk around at the moment :-S

I look on Google for the red kites. They are amazing.
A sparrow hawk came here a couple of years ago and it is NOT a pretty bird!

We stopped for lunch on the way home at a NT car park called waldon Hill, don't ask me where it is, on the road from Street to the M5 is the closest I can get. It was a lovely view out over the valley anyway and we sat and watched two Byzzards, so graceful as they glided across the sky in front of us.

Vera at a risk of becoming boring about Madeira in the hotel room is there a facility for making tea etc? Or is it like a lot of hotels no kettle etc available. If the latter do they frown on travel kettles. We had one hotel that banned them. :-)

You'll be fine at this hotel Ann. We had tea/coffee making facilities and a little fridge that was useful for bottles of water. There's free wifi and I had no trouble using it in our bedroom though another lady told us she had to go to the lobby to use it. There's also a safe in the room but you do have to pay for the key - a small amount per day plus a refundable deposit that you get back when you hand the key in.

The way the weather has been here for the last couple of days I wish I was coming with you.

Thanks Vera that is great, do like a cuppa when we wake up. And the fridge will be useful too. Thanks for that

When do you go Ann?..I must say we do miss facilities for making a cuppa in many European Hotels. I do like a nice cup of tea first thing.That is usually the first thing we do when we get home from a holiday abroad..Just make a decent cuppa :-D

I spotted the female Duck wandering down along the side of the big hedge this morning and then she disappeared into it..I just hope there is no nesting business going on in there lol other wise Thomas will have a field day :-S.It is bad enough seeing come up the garden with a Rabbit in his mouth ..I dread to think should it be a Duck !!..Hopefully they might QUACK very loud and scare him off :-D

Monday week Jane for 2 weeks.

You will have to make loud noises to shoo the ducks off if theya re nesting. For their own good!!