Rain Rain and some more rain

Another wet day here in Snowdonia. I met some very hardy souls from the Snowdonia Society out in torrential rain on the hill behind the house this morning. They were picking what remained of some 'Himalayan Bolsa'. Its a lovely pink fragrant flower which our native butterflies seem to like too much and as a result are not pollinating the native plants. So over the past 8 years in conjunction with the local farmer they have slowly been eradicating it from the area. They are certainly committed to the cause to be out in that weather! The dunnock chick made the mos of the brief break in the cloud and started to sunbath, trying desperately to dry out his feathers. Still lots of Soldier beetles about.And I found this Caddis fly floating inside an old planter in the garden. Am sure he didn't want to be there so I helped him out with a leaf and he soon dried out and flew away.

Bird counter hits 54

Being awake at 5.30am this morning had its benefits as I saw a lovely new bird in the garden. A beautiful little Willow Warbler. I have to admit to emailing the photo's to a friend to confirm the ID, as Willow Warblers and ChiffChaffs are virtually identical. But he emailed back and I'm now officially up to 54 different birds seen in my garden. It's a fantastic number especially for an upland garden. Also saw this Ringlet butterfly. Considering we've never planted any flowers in the garden, the wild patches are looking incredibly colourful at the moment. I just wish I was better at my flower ID's, listing them could keep me busy for months.

First Video Blog

Well its been a wet and windy day in the garden today but there's been plenty going on. I've found some rasberries growing in the wild patch at the top of the garden. They are surrounded by nettles though so I think it'll be the birds enjoying them this year and not me.

I saw 12 Jays in the garden but didn't manage a photo of them all. So far my best attempt is 6 of them in one go. This is going to be my next challenge I think, to try and get as many as possible in one photo. I had a flock of ten Chaffinches too today. I am going to attempt my first video blog tonight. Its horrid outside but Blackear the hedgehog came for a quick feed so I grabbed my video camera and hopefully here it is

New visitor

After such a sad morning, it was nice to see a new visitor to the garden today. This little dunnock chick was watching the other birds intently as the fed on the feeder. Mr Sparrow came over from next doors feeder for a change. Mr Redfoot was around again making a right ole mess with the monkey nuts. Getting slightly worried about the wasps nest at the top of the garden now. The hole has become quite large are there is a constant stream of wasps going in and out. Although they are not hanging around the garden at all. Not sure what to do about them as so far they are not proving to be a problem. Lots of soldier beetles still about.
My spider ID is useless. This one stood out as he is quite wierd looking with what looks like a single eye up on a stalk.

R.I.P. QUENTIN

Really sad news today, Quentin the cheeky blackbird chick has been found dead.

Killed by the Sparrow Hawk.

Mr No Tails lucky escape

I've had lovely day in the garden today, surrounded by birds, butterflies and the squirrels. The highlight of the day if not the year was a visit from a Sparrow Hawk. I had been taking photographs of Mr No Tail Sunbathing when suddenly he looked up and darted into the bushes, a fraction of a second later the Sparrow Hawk swooped and only narrowly missed him. Didn't manage a photo of him in flight but he did pause for a while on the garden bench which was fantastic. Later in the day a new Chaffinch chick appeared with his mum to feed. We have Harebells just coming into flower now at the top of the garden. And I've finally decided to give our third squirrel a name, Mr Redfoot. As he has the most amazing ginger blob on both his feet.

Ancient Oak Woods

Elizabeth and I had a lovely walk through the woods here today. I was having so much fun taking photographs of absolutely everything that I completey lost track of the time. It was nearly 3pm when I realised I'd totally forgotten about having lunch. Elizabeth has only been here for a week and has lost nearly half a stone already! I think I need a little work on my hosting skills. We saw a quite a few different fungi in the woods but I guess officially they are not actually in my garden so I've only included the one photo in my blog today. The Red Admirals have finally arrived, seems a lot later this year than usual. Oh I managed to get a snapshot of whitear last night. They don't mind my watching them feeding but as soon as the camera goes off they scamper off and don't return for hours.

Slacking I know

I know, I know, I've not updated my blog for days. I have a good excuse though. My friend Elizabeth has been over to stay so we've been busy trekking (ok the treks were to the health club where we spent hours in Jacuzzi and sauna and a mega hike to the shops, but it still counts ;-) )
Here's Squizz and her friend, no sign of Snarly Sid for a few days though.
Oh great news, Mrs No Tail was collecting food and taking it away again today so it looks like she's had a second brood this year. How exciting is that, another load of chicks to look forward to seeing. Here's one of this years chicks, not named her yet. Not seen cheeky Quentin for a while though.
The Jays have done really well this year, 12 of them in the garden yesterday. Will do my best to get a group photo, but its not easy. This is one of this years chicks, getting slightly wet in the rain.

Mowhawks rule!

Jay Chick

Its been raining so hard all day today and the river has just burst its banks. The feeder's been busy with lots of tits and chaffinches. Not taken many photographs though as it was just raining too hard. I did see 5 Jays in the garden all at one time today, which was amazing. Mum and her 2 chicks were there too. One of her chicks spent most of the morning doing a great punk impression. I did manage to get a couple of photos of him displaying his crest, which he's obviously really proud of.

The two chicks

Jay Chicks

Finally managed to get a photo of one of the Jay chicks today. Didn't think they were ever going to leave the cover of the bushes. Phil turned up again today looking fit and well. Which is a relief as I've not seen him in over 3 weeks. So a good day in the garden

Feeder Falls

Another Bug shot

Not had much time looking at the garden today :-( But I did notice the squirrels have destroyed yet another feeder. The poor Blue tits go to grab a sunflower seed and the whole lot falls on theirs heads. The squirrels have chewed through the wires again. Lucky they're only 79p from Home Bargains so easy to replace.

Blue Tit and Robin

Mice, I want one!

I was so jealous today! I went to visit my friend Chris and as we were sat out in the porch, this little mouse came to her feeder only a 2 foot away from us. Apparently there are a few of them who live in the wall next to the feeder and are regular visitors. It was fantastic to watch.

Back in my garden, it was peeing down. The Jays visited though with two of their chicks. The chicks stayed well hidden in the bushes but mum was tooing and froing with peanuts from the feeder for them.

Nuts and more nuts

Update on Sid, he seems to be doing well. He was eating the monkey nuts I put out for him and using his arm well today. No sign of infection, which is excellent. I noticed the trees are full of Cob Nuts today. I wonder if we'll get to pick any this year before the squirrels eat them all, they usually do. I've already missed out on the Bilberries. The birds beat me to it by a matter of hours I reckon!

Not had a bug shot for a while, so here's one. As usual I haven't a clue what it is, except its absolutely tiny.

SNARLY SID'S BEEN SHOT

After not being seen for nearly a week, Snarly Sid turned up today with what looks like a gun shot wound to his shoulder. Thankfully it appears to be only a small flesh wound from a .22 rifle I suspect. Unfortunately there are people who take great joy at shooting Squirrels and one of them (living only 500 yards away as the crow flies) openly boasted on his current count of 77 recently. Personally I can't understand how people can get enjoyment out of killing defenceless wild animals. Ok there's the tree and red squirrel arguement but nature continuously evolves and usually for a reason, so who are we to say what should and shouldn't live.
OK rant over , fingers crossed Snarly Sid will make a full recovery. Had a visit from one of the Dunnocks today, they very rarly come to the feeder altough I see them in the bushes quite often. Talking of not seeing things very often, its been ages since I've seen any of the woodpeckers. I'm hoping thats a good sign that there's plent of food up in the forest for them and their chicks. Maybe I'll have to wait until the winter before I get to see this years chicks.

Cat naps

Not much happening on the feeder today. I think it may have something to do with these two deciding to sleep beneath it for most of the day!

Feathered Friends

Mr No Tail Sunbathing
Considering its been quite a chilly and windy day today I was surprised to see so many birds sunbathing in the brief sunny spells we had. This female Chaffinch chose to do her sunbathing on the garden bench whilst Mr No Tail sprawled out on the grass.
Chaffinch (female) sunbathing


Over the last few weeks I've seen 4 birds similar to this one who have lost all their feathers on their heads. Apparently this is quite common at this time of year as the birds go into their post nesting moults. But it could also be caused by a mite. Birds can easily preen them away from their bodies but cannot reach their heads to do the same, hence the lack of feathers. Apart from making them look very strange it doesn't do an adult bird any harm and they will grow back a full head of feathers after their next moult, so I'm told. I'm cleaning the feeder regularly just in case, as this can help stop it spreading to other birds, if it is a mite.This is one of the Chaffinch chicks. You can see he is just starting to get his male plumage feathers, like his dad who's standing behind. The siskins flew in for a quick meal before heading off again.