Another horrible day , with drizzle all morning and heavy driving rain on a strong wind this afternoon , I was quite pleased to have some pictures to work on , taken last Sunday on a visit to Bough Beech , in much better conditions .
I arrived well before the Visitor Centre opened which was handy , as the place got very busy soon after opening with the visit of an optics firm showing off their wares . I headed straight to the feeder in the orchard in the hope of finding a Brambling , but the chance of that was nullified by the
incumbent occupant . Regardless of who tried to land on the feeder , the Grey Squirrel quickly got rid of them , even the pair of Gt.Spotted Woodpeckers with their dagger-like bills were driven off with ease , so it was not surprising that the Bramblings were not showing . Leaving that feeder , I made my way to a newly placed one in the hop garden , where there was a lot more activity , but still no Brambling . A pair of Nuthatch were making constant sorties , grabbing some seed and flying off again . With no cover , I just stayed very still and waited for the birds to accept me being there ,
which they did very quickly , and even the Nuthatch accepted my presence . It was a nice surprise when after some time , a Marsh Tit worked up enough courage to fly in and feed . At times there
were so many birds at the feeder , it had to wait it's opportunity on the post . By now cars were starting to arrive and the birds disappeared , and I went for a look down on the causeway . A small number of Fieldfare could be heard in the orchard , but with few apples on the ground , there was little to keep them and they soon moved on . Apart from a few Common Snipe on the North Lake , it was just the usual species to be found . An orange spot on the concrete culvert on th North Lake was
indeed a Kingfisher , but a car stopping on the road right alongside the culvert disturbed her , and she was off . No sign of any raptors , surprising given the conditions . The causeway was now getting busy , time for me to be leaving . Carol had some good news when I arrived home , she had seen both male and female Blackcaps feeding on the Callicarpa berries whilst I was out . No sooner had she told me , the two of them came back for more , one after the other . I managed a couple of shots through the kitchen window , after which , with the sun going off the bush , they weren't seen again
that day . Hopefully they will over-winter again in the area this year and give me the opportunity of some better shots .
Oh for some of that sunshine today .
3 comments:
Nice to spot the Kingfisher, Greenie. Interesting to watch the interactions of different species on the feeders, too - squirrels permitting!
Those optics being demonstrated - which brands of scotch were they dispensing?
Cheers!
The first photo looks like it should be captioned 'Mine all Mine' :-) I seem to have acquired one at my garden feeders recently, entertaining but greedy! You saw some nice birds on the Bough Beech feeders, lovely little Marsh Tit.
I hope you get some return visits from the Blackcaps, I sometimes see them in my garden in the Winter. Incidentally I used to admire a 'Beauty Bush' on one of my American friend's garden blog and recently the penny dropped that it was exactly the same as the Callicarpa I had often admired on your blog. I had never heard of it before and never seen it growing anywhere in gardens in my area, I do like those pretty berries and I've noticed yours always attracts plenty of birds.
A bit like my feeders there Greenie :-) I also find if you sit quietly and wait, the birds become accepting of you :-)
Good to see you have the Blackcaps back, I expect we will be seeing alot of them on you blog over the winter !
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