Hobbies and Crafts

Have just seen one BIG Pheasant in the garden...He looked a bit lost.
Our Bird Bath looks like a toilet most of the time Vera :-S. You would think that they would poop over the edge rather than in the water LOL.It can't be very pleasant have a bath in all that muck !!!!..Maybe they aren't too fussy :-D
Can't wait to see the Swifts and Swallows :-D

The wind is quite strong here now and the birds have all disappeared. The Starlings have been steadily eating their way through the fat nuggets. And I see from the window here that all the mealy worms have gone again, as well as the crushed up fat balls which I put on the ground feeder. :-) :-)

We still never have Starlings. Just once in a while when they arrive in hordes .I can't remember the last time that happened.I think we have just about every other bird going ,but just not the Starling. I have to say I am not sorry :-) They are not my favourite birds.

More visits from the Jay again on the window feeder. He lands with such a thump,and then has to kind of walk backwards on it so he can get his beak in the food tray.It is such a whopper of a bird!!!Probably half a length longer than the feeder !!!!

We have both been for routine dental check-ups this morning (all good) and as I was helping my hubby into the car a blackbird in a nearby tree was singing so loudly.
It was a pleasure to see and hear this birdsong on an otherwise cold wet morning.

Ann, Adam has grown quickly and he looks very much like big brother Luke.

Glad all went well at the dentist for you Kandj. It's good to see you posting.

I agree with you - there's nothing quite like a blackbird singing.

Windy and wet here for most of the day so not many birds around but we did have some long tailed tits in the garden yesterday. I often wonder where they come from and where they go to. The seem to appear out of nowhere, stay for half an hour and then disappear again and it can be weeks before we see them again.

Not really wildlife, but what a joy to see lots of young lambs in the fields, as a friend and I crossed Romney Marsh on our way to Rye, this morning. Mostly they were Romneys, but some with dark long legs too, - not sure what breed they are...maybe mixed.

The blackbirds were singing heartily, as we arrived in Rye.
They really do enjoy a god burst of song, don't they?

Very few birds to be seen in the garden. It is very windy though, so that always reduces numbers.
Haven't noticed any of the small species gathering nesting material, but something is shifting a lot of moss off the roof and dropping excess on the paths.... The seagulls are good at that, so they might be the messy ones here.

Kandj, yes Adam is like Luke. Glad you dental checks were both ok. Our are due soon, I hate the deep cleaning.

Vera, yes I always wonder that about the long tailed tits, they seem to fly in and out quickly then we don't see them for a while Jane is the only one who seems to have permanent visitors.

Gwyn I do love to see the lambs in the fields. The ones with black legs may be Suffolk sheep although they also have black faces from the picture. I was surprised to hear on Countryfile that Herdwick lambs are born black, I assume they change colour so maybe others are born with black legs and change. :-D

Good Afternoon Everyone :-)

I thought I'd tell you that I now have 4 collared doves.
The third appeared about a month ago and kept getting sent off by one of the original pair.
They will tolerate it if it doesn't get too close.
Now they have been joined by a fourth, but I don't think it's a second pair.

They sit in my elderflower tree until they hear me coming out with the jug I use to put seeds and nuts in to scatter them about.
If they are not there, I give it a shake and they soon appear.

Today one of the great tits was back. It came when I shook the jug.
It then sat on the washing line swinging and looking at me :-D
So pretty <3

So you are collecting them Jem? :-) :-)

Bird feeders all empty so I guess that is the next job. :-D

:-D.. No Collared Doves in my garden.Just the big Woodpigeons cooing and collecting sticks and twigs.Also doing the naughty business in full view LOL.

We had a night away in Ely on Friday.What a lovely place. We stayed a few miles out in the sticks in an old Riverside Inn. The silence was wonderful.No traffic noise or light pollution.Just the sound of birds.Came home to the window feeder scraped clean.I think the Squirrel might have been involved with that.
Yes we are lucky to still have the Long Tailed Tits visiting .They may well just suddenly disappear though.They have to be one of my favourite little visitors :-D :-D

Feeders all full now. We have the collared doves and the wood pigeons. Those pigeons are insatiable!! Long time since we went to Ely but yes, lovely town. Did you go into the cathedral?

Edit sorry, lovely city.

Ely is a lovely city but we haven't been there for ages. I don't know why as it is only about an hour's drive from us, about the same distance as Cambridge which we go to quite often.

Lots of sparrows around, a few bluetits, blackbirds and pigeons but the strangest thing is a solitary long tailed tit that has been flying in and out for a couple of days. I am wondering if he somehow got left behind when the little flock visited the garden the other day. It is unusual to see just one. He seems to like the fat balls so I'll make sure I keep them topped up.

I mentioned the other day that I would have to clean the pond. (I always feel silly writing the word pond for something the size of a large washing up bowl!). Anyway OH has just come in and said I can't clean it out as it is full of frogspawn :-D

Ely is only about an hour from us too.But we had never been. Yes we went to the Catherdal Ann. It was brilliant.I loved it. We will be sure to go back again as our ticket for the Cathedral lasts for 12months,and there is lots more to see.
We often go to Cambridge which about the same distance so really there is no excuse not to visit Ely again.
Lots of swift visits from the Jay here on the feeder . Foggy morning today and it looks the same again for tomorrow .But if like today the sun will shine later in the day :-D

While I was at the kitchen sink this morning a pair of gold finches were fluttering about the witch hazel which is only a few feet from the window over the sink. Moving carefully so I didn't startle them I went and got my iPad from another room to try and get a picture. One of them seemed almost to be posing for me. Just got the camera pointed at him, about to press the button and a fat old pigeon flew in, landed with a splash in the bird bath and frightened them off. If I had had a shot gun he would have been pigeon pie. :-P

My lone long tailed tit is still around. I think he is waiting for the flock to come back and collect him.

From what I can remember the cathedral was lovely, but was free when I went in Jane.

Oh what a shame Vera, blessed pigeons. Maybe your Long Tailed Tit has sent out a 'May Day' and is waiting for rescue.

If you have done the RSPB birdwatch the results are in take a look in your mailbox . I have got to go and buy yet more mealworms as the Robin is non stop backwards and forwards.

Thanks LG, all I could make out was there is a shortage of Starlings. Is there more information in there somewhere, I didn't find it an easy site to navigate. :-S

I did hear that Robins came top of the list.I am not surprised seeing how many we have around here. I have seen 4 today.

I hope your lonely LTT has company now Vera.It is unusual to just see the one.Mine are still about.Not in great numbers though.Definitely 2.

I was taliking to a friend last night and she says that everyday she has about 7 Pheasants come to her garden. One in particular taps on the patio door to be fed LOL