February 2011 part 6

21st Long-tailed tits in garden being chased by blue tit who is living up to his nick name of  "billy biter"

                                          "Lithest, gaudiest Harlequin!
                                         Prettiest tumbler ever seen
                                         Light of heart and light of limb
                                         What has now become of him."    W.Wordsworth
24th Sunny day sat outside feeding a robin and blackbird mealworms.
28th Great spotted woodpecker visits garden. A blackbird tries to copy the blue tits by eating from the upturned coconut but he doesn't have the same ability as them but he gets food all the same.
February ends cloudy and cold but on the whole it has been mild.

February 2011 part 5

18th Glimpse of fox by the river trotting down the track I often take. i wonder who would have been more surprised if I'd been walking there!  ME .

Fox ( Vulpes vulpes) Very adaptable living in both country and towns. Mostly nocturnal. Feeds on small mammals, squirrels, rabbits, small birds, insects, eggs, grass, fruit and carrion.

February 2011 part 4

16th First ladybird of season in garden. Long tailed tits in garden , blue tits, great tit and 3 male blackbirds.
17th Wren in garden Small blue iris in flower as are the celandine and the bluebells are pushing up through the soil.

Best ever picture of kingfisher.

I just love him!

February 2011 part 3

8th The sparrows are investigating the spaces under the eaves in next doors house. Pigeons feeding in the river and the kingfisher flew past. A morehen, blue tits and long tailed tits also around.
The snowdrops at the top of the road are in full flower.
12th Sunny with a chill in the air. A pair of grey wagtails by the bridge flitting over the river. Catkins on trees. The winter flowering jasmine's flowers look like little yellow jewels in the ivy.
14th Saw 2 blue tits bathing by the bridge.

Loved this picture my husband took.
Blue tit (Parus caeruleus) Also known as Tom tit. Can be aggressive. They lay 6-8 eggs and eat manily insects, nuts,fat ans scraps

February part 2

5th another visit to the river and saw male mallard, morehen, long tailed tits, crows bathing in the river and a  pair of grey wagtails flitting about.

Grey Wagtail ( Motocilia cinerea) More colour full than its name suggests. The female builds a nest in a hole close to the water and lays up to 5 eggs. They feed on insects, flies, small beetles and dragonfly nymphs. the song is a shrill "tsee tsee". The males throat is white in the winter and black in the summer.

February part 1

1stWet start but sunny afternoon. Kingfisher at the river again - what luck!

 "It was a rainbow gave thee birth, and left thee all her lovely hues."   W.H. Davies
They make a piping "chee" call. The males beak is black while the female an orange colour at the bottom.
Also saw a gang of long tailed tits.
3rd Another sighting of the kingfisher my husband is jealous!

January 2011 part 3

31st Another walk by the river and we see a bullfinch.

"See the bright bullfinch now, high on the apple bough." .. Anthony Rye

Bullfinch (pyrrhula pyrrhula) It is believed they mate for life. They lay 4-5 eggs, feed on seeds, weeds, and berries, feeds caterpillars to their young. Female does not have the rosy breast colouring of the male.
A Grey heron stands by the bridge looking majestic.

"Ye fisher Herons watching eels."  R. Burns

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) a striking bird. lays3-5 eggs an eats fish, frogs, eels, insects and water voles.