Hobbies and Crafts

We walked along by the Mar Menor At mid day, Watched a cormorant drying its wings before flying off. Plenty of sparrows around and a few gulls, and we also saw a pied wagtail. We have also seen a bird about the size of a starling, light brown with a small crest, don't know what it is

Ann I love the way the Cormorants hold their wings out to dry :-D.
The Red Kites have been active here today but really quite high up.I saw a Stoat run from one side of the garden to the other this morning ,and sorry to say OH has spotted a baby R** :-S.He did say it looked a bit sluggish so maybe it has been eating some of the poison.

The cover is off the patio table and the chairs are out.It has been so nice to be able to sit out for a little while today :-D

Stock doves...we call them pigeons round here Jane :-D

Vera we were saying the same about the butterflies so I checked what butterflies were being registered http://www.cambs-essex-butterflies.org.uk/sightings.php.

Ann sometime ago I remember reading about wild parakeets in London being culled before they became a nuisance :-(

How are the birds enjoying your fat balls/cakes kandj?

Touch wood it's not me that's poorly Jude...third time lucky Ann had a cough and cold before going on holiday :-(

Jude do you know how Phil is keeping?

Lesley x

Must be posh round here lol Lesley :-D :-D.

The sun is trying so hard to break through the fog.It is very slowly getting there :-D
Hopefully by lunch time it will be out as I am going down the lane to my friend James for a spot of lunch and a to do a bit of work on his searching a few things on his ancestors ,and it would be lovely to sit out on the back terrace.It is a beautiful old converted barn.

Fog is just starting to clear here. No sign of any birds yet apart from the fat old pigeon who seems to have taken up residence under the bird feeder.

Thanks for the butterfly link Lesley. I looked up the Suffolk site as well. I think I have mostly seen Tortoiseshells plus a Red Admiral and a Large White.

On another subject anyone know why my iPad keeps correcting my words? It's just changed "clear" to "clearance" and "up" to "Japan"!!! It's driving me mad

Good afternoon everyone

A nice sunny afternoon, washing almost dry enough to bring inside. The birds have found the seed cake but just the starlings who are fluttering and fighting to get their share but with the young male blackbird popping in a couple of times yesterday and again once so far today. The magpies are about in the garden and emptying the ground feeder. Starlings and magpies are not what I want but they are much better than Jane's baby rat....... oh I've got the shudders just writing about this!

Sorry Vera, can't help with your iPad problem but sure someone more knowledgeable will advise you. Many thanks for the butterfly link as we also have quite a few here.

Lesley, we also say pigeon and so I'm "not posh" here in Yorkshire either (like Jane)

Ann, you do sound to be having a lovely time on holiday, when are you back?

Back on the 18th Kandj.

Vera, aggravating isn't it? I have an idea that somewhere in settings it should be possible to do something about the auto correct but I have not got around to it. Why not put up a query thread on the gen board?

Walking by the sea today we saw Cormorants, a little Egret, some waders that I am not sure what they are, black and white, and the little brown bird with a crest we saw before and the inevitable sparrows. From our balcony patio we saw the pair of paraqueets and flying over above us we saw what we thought was a large egret.

Ann it sounds lovely where you are and so nice to see some different birds.
The little birds here are definitely slowing down on the food.My pellets are lasting so much longer and keeping the pounds in my purse a little longer :-D
We don't have any Magpies or Starlings in our garden.But there do seem to be a lot more Sparrows this year.They hop around the ground under the window feeder picking up the dropped bits :-D
The window cleaner came the other day and I was so impressed as he very carefully lifted off the food tray and then un sucked the suckers to remove the rest of the unit and then after cleaning the window popped it all back in just the right place :-DHe even wiped over the roof bit on the feeder lol

ooops, just popped back to view the butterfly link again and realized that it wasn't Vera but Lesley that posted this...... so thanks to Lesley and blame me having a senior moment!

Looked on google at the Cormorants and they look ugly and almost prehistoric to me Ann but you do have a variety of other birds to watch until your return on 18th.

Jane I hope you enjoyed your lunch with your friend on his terrace? Our daughter and son in law showed us a converted barn they were thinking of buying...... it was in the middle of a field and I said "What about the mice your bound to get out here?" ha ha. Sadly for them they were gazumped but I was secretly relieved at the time.

Kandj,we didn't end up on the terrace as the internet wouldn't work out there :-S.The only mice and other wild life they are bothered with are the ones that the cats drag in through the cat flap :-S :-S.They have 2 cats that are the most horrendous hunters and catch all sorts.(I won't go into details lol)
I can just imagine how relieved you were your Daughter didn't manage to get her Converted Barn :-D :-D

I agree Cormorants do look a bit prehistoric as I think Herons do too.I meant to say we had a Swan fly over nearby .I think it was heading towards Wicksteed park .

It has been a beautiful day here,and a totally clear sky tonight.Lots of visits from Mr Blackbird on the window feeder but still no sign of Mrs :-S.The Long Tailed Tits have been around this afternoon ,and finches and Robins.One of the Robins has pooped all down one of the patio chairs :-S.Dirty Bird :-|

Lol Jane! :-D

Slightly warmer here today than yesterday but we still have a chilly wind which dries the washing but makes me feel cold! Not very many birds around today really although I have spotted the young blackbird who comes occasionally to the window feeder (when the starlings aren't here) and he appears to have a nest in the large conifer in the neighbours garden across the road. He is definitely busy coming and going and we have a wonderful view which is proving to be very interesting.

The starlings made a mess on our window and it's not a nice way to act when they are feeding on home made seed cake, which they obviously like because they keep coming back for more. Shaun's recipe is popular but only attracting the aggressive and very greedy starlings.

Oh what a lovely day :-D,the sun is shining the birds are singing and I can see through the hedge my neighbour sunning herself.It's just like a summers day.

The Woodpeckers are very noisy today.I haven't heard them like this for a long time.The window feeder seems very quiet and there are still plenty of pellets from yesterday .I think the little birds must be too busy making their nests.No doubt they will all come later for a good meal :-D
I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful sunshine :-D

A visit today on the window feeder from the Gt Spotted Woodpecker :-D :-D
Ann will put the photo on the blog when she is back home.

On our walk about today we saw goldfinches, blackbirds and what looked like a bird from the Jay family but not so blue, plus the sea birds of course.

Ann I have seen 2 Goldfinch here today :-D.I had to look up in my book just to make sure it was .They weren't on the feeder but in the guttering on the roof !!!

Filled up the window feeder this morning and seems to be hardly touched today and not many birds in the garden either. It is lovely to see the butterflies fluttering around in the garden. We have a couple of dwarf budlea bushes but my next door neighbour has the huge variety and lots of varieties come when it is full bloom.

I hope your have a good journey back home safely tomorrow Ann and will bring some sunshine back with you. It has been quite bright today but no sun and still have the chilly cool winds so still wearing my wool cardi's..... I am a cold body usually anyway.

Kandj I am the opposite to you as I rarely feel cold.I'm the one that goes around opening the windows and OH follows behind shutting them lol
The Long Tailed Tits are feeding at the moment :-D

I hope Ann has a safe journey home today :-D

Drew the blinds this morning and the window feeder is completely empty!! I am blaming the greedy starlings. Have filled it with suet pellets so somebody is going to have a feast today. Shaun's seed cake recipe has been a success and it's cheaper than shop bought fat balls, so I need to make some more, (again).

It began bright and sunny earlier but just as the washer cycle was ending the rain began (ggrrrr) It is still raining and the wind is chilly..... hope Ann is kind enough to bring a little sunshine back with her today.

Lucky you with the long tail tits Jane....... swop you one tit for ten starlings? ha ha.