Away For The Day

Woodpecker

There's still lots of snow on the hills. I think it snowed some more during the night as the snow line has definitely lowered. I've been out all day today so have nothing to write about tonight really. Oh except for last night, I saw something brown and furry run under the hedge. It was quite large, larger than a bunny but smaller than a fox and wider than a cat. All I saw was its back end so haven't a clue what it could have been. I did go on a stake out from the back bedroom but it never returned. Robin

Sqirrel I.D.

Well as I mentioned a few days ago, its getting harder and harder to tell the Squirrels apart now that their coats are changing slightly for the winter. So I have made a chart for myself to help. Although when I see them all lined up like this I can tell instantly who's who. In order: BERNIE has the most amazing thick coat, grey hands and a very red head. REDFOOT has a greyer head and also has grey hands but has two very red feet. SNARLY SID is the reddest and smallest of them all. He has red hands and arms and red feet. But his character stands out more than anything. SQUIZZ is quite grey apart from faint marks on her hands and a red streak down the side of her body. I hope that right? yeah, I think it is.I realised Mrs Woodpecker wasn't quite so fussy about which feeder she used today as her fat balls have run out and she moved straight over to Mr Woodpeckers Suet feeder without a second thought. Here she is in the tree waiting for me to go back inside. I tried to do my Suet Square Challenge again today but couldn't beat 8 .I spotted a new hole in the moss today and right next to it were two toadstools. I found a Squirrel Dray in the woods today. I had a lovely time watching 3 squirrels jumping through the bare branches from tree to tree and then in and out of their Dray. If the weather is ok tomorrow I will go and try and get some photographs.

We Have Snow!

I couldn't believe it today when I looked out of the window and saw all the mountains covered in snow. I hadn't seen it on the weather forecast so it was a lovely surprise. It hasn't reached the garden though, I think we are about 150 feet below the snow line.

It was quite late in the afternoon and dusk was approaching when I ventured outside and as a result some of my photo's are a little dark today I'm afraid. Even in the dark though I spotted something quite unusual. Placed in a neat pile on the edge of a mole hill I found this collection of what I think are plum stones. I haven't a clue what put them there or why but it certainly is fascinating. I looked behind the summerhouse again today to see if the array of fungi was still there but there was nothing. Apart from some new thistles, nettles and bramble there was nothing, not even remnants of the fungi that was there before. I was quite disappointed with the summerhouse though. After raving so much about the bargain of the year during the summer, I think I am now finding out why it was so cheap. I went to open the door and saw the wood had split. So much so that it as impossible for me to get in. We even gave the whole thing 3 extra coats of weatherproof stain during the summer and this has still happened. Not sure what to do about it now. If I manage to open it and plane it, then in the summer there will be a huge gap but if I don't do that, I can't use it until the warmer weather arrives. Oh well, never mind. On the way down the garden I spotted some new Fungi growing in the grass. I'm not very confident on fungi I.D. so I won't attempt it just in case I get it wrong. Just as I was going back in the house I looked around and saw this really unusual mist descending down the hillside. It was a bit like a scene from the horror movie 'The Fog'. I'm glad I saw it on my way in otherwise I would be struggling for things to write about in tonight's post. Just realised I've done a whole blog without a single bird or furry thing. Now I'll have to make up for that tomorrow night.

Romance under the bushes

Finally a photo of Billy the Goldfinch, not at the feeder. I have to admit, even I was getting fed up with seeing photos of Billy with the only difference being a left side pose or right. There's still no sign of a mate. I know I call him a HE but did you know that in fact there is no way to tell a male and female Goldfinch apart unlike most other bird species. See, this blog is full of useful info although I can't think of a single scenario when knowing that could be useful. Redfoot's been back again. Today she was busy burying nuts. She would take them from the feeder then nibble the end of, does that stop them sprouting? Then off she goes to bury them. She started off very close to the feeder but after a couple of hours she was right at the top of the garden burying them in the bank. She obviously likes to spread them about. During all this Bernie turned up but she kept herself well hidden in the bushes. She did well too as she found a stash of peanuts which had been buried there earlier and wolfed them all down. So it was quite lucky that Redfoot didn't spot her. The Jays have been here in force today. I think I saw 5 of them at one point. There is still one that stands out from the others. He is so much braver than the others or should I say tamer? No, can't really same tame yet but who knows. When Winter comes and food is scarce you never know what could happen. It's quite exciting just thinking about it. The new Mr and Mrs Blackbird are still around. Both of them are quite timid and only come in to my garden when the food has run out next door. Today New Mrs Blackbird plucked up the courage and picked up some old cheese from beneath my feeder. She flew off with it but then spotted me at the window and panicked. She dropped the cheese and flew straight into the hedge. About 5 minutes later New Mr Robin appeared from beneath the hedge, flew over to the cheese, picked it up and then disappeared back under the hedge without eating any of it. Obviously the romantic in me hopes she was waiting for him under there and he dropped it between them and they ate it together all romantically.

Bunny Hopping Woodpecker

More heavy rain and wind. I'll be sounding like a scratched record soon. I haven't got much to report today as I spent the afternoon with my friend Max inside a cafe and there wasn't much wildlife going on in there, thankfully.

Before I left though I did spot Mrs Woodpecker behaving rather strangely on the post. She flew and landed on the tip of it then proceeded to 'bunny-hop backwards' , probably the easiest way to describe it, all the way the bottom, where she then circled it and then proceeded to jump back up it. Again she circled right around it and then bunny hopped backwards down again. This went on for ages. She didn't stop to feed or look in any of the splits in the woods. Maybe she could hear a nice big juicy bug inside and was just waiting for it to come out? Redfoot the Squirrel was here when I woke up. I don't know if their coats are changing ready for the winter but their markings are all changing slightly so I'm having to look twice to check who it is quite often these days. Unless its Snarly Sid who is such a big character, you can tell by the reaction of the rest of the garden when he's about to arrive!
I hope I'm right is saying this is a female Greenfinch. We had a pair here last week but for the past few days, this little female has been all on her own. I have a horrible feeling something may have happened to her mate. The Sparrow Hawk has been around a lot this past week or maybe it's the stray cat (who I found hiding behind the guitar in my lounge of all places, yesterday)?

Hail Today

I was lucky today to have lots of free time to just sit and enjoy the garden, the complete opposite to yesterday. The weather has been horrid but the garden was still buzzing with birds. I saw Mrs Woodpecker sheltering under this branch as the Hail pelted down. Can you imagine how much that must hurt if you were the size of a Blue Tit. I remember getting caught out on a run once in a hail storm and the marks the hail left on my thighs lasted nearly a week!
I was asked a couple of weeks ago via the Autumn Watch website why there wasn't a photo of me on the site but there had never really been a reason too. But today I just couldn't resist as my 20 year old deaf cat called Bryoni came and joined me birdwatching. I thought she looked so sweet sat there next to me.
Ok back to the real wildlife. I had another first today. I saw both MR and MRS Woodpecker on the feeder at the same time. I've never seen that before. They still only use their favourite fat holders and never swap with each other.
I beat my Suet Square challenge today, sort of. There are 9 birds on there but the photo only shows 8 as one is hiding behind the back, so does that count?
Oh, don't know if I should admit this but when I filled up the feeder this morning I totally forgot about taking the fat balls out of their net bags. I then spent ages taking photo's from the bedroom and still didn't notice them. It wasn't until this afternoon when I was watching a little Chaffinch, doing what I thought was pattering his feet to get worms that I realised. The Chaffinch happened to have a broken leg and wasn't doing what seagulls usually do in the rain but that was how I remember, broken leg/net bag etc etc well it made sense to me. Anyway, it ended up with me having to go out in the pouring rain again and then holding yucky soggy fat balls. ewwwww, don't think I'll make that mistake again. Oh we have a new hole! right under the feeder. Can't wait to see what emerges.

Snapshots

Literally only spent 2 minutes looking out at the garden today. I woke up late and then it was dark by the time I got home. I took a couple of snap shots as I walked out the door to the car. Here is Bernie looking as lovely as ever.
And..........
Well, I took the photo then when I got home thought WWwww that's a lot of birds, maybe I've actually managed to beat my record but alas on a proper count I've only managed to equal it. But I have beaten the species record, which now stands at 4.

Belly's full of berries

Bernie came round today. I spotted her high on the hillside just below the tree line and watched for ages as she ran all the way down, to the garden. She then spent a good half an hour rummaging around in grass looking for the peanuts I'd scattered earlier. She didn't even bother visiting the feeder.
And I had such a variety of food on the feeder today, from some old home made fruit cake to left over noodles. I bet the birds didn't know what had hit them. The Jays even ventured onto the feeder tray to indulge in the culinary delights.
The Blackbirds preferred the natural stuff and two of the males filled their belly's from the juicy red berries at the top of the garden.
I watched a pair of Sparrow's feed on the suet today. Well he was feeding and she stood there staring at him. This lasted for about ten minutes when eventually the male took a huge mouth full of suet and fed it to her. The photo looks more like they are having a fight but honestly, he was being nice. The Niger seed feeder has now been out a full week and even though there's been something feeding on it for 5 full days it is still half full. Amazing. I've decided to name the Goldfinch 'Billy'. As in Billy No Mates. I'd always thought Goldfinches where flock birds so I thought the name was quite apt. I'll be stumped if another one turns up now though as they all look completely the same!

Redfoots' funny nose

I think it was even darker today here in Capel if that's possible. By half past two people were driving through the village with their car headlights on even and it wasn't even raining. The darkness made taking photographs very difficult again. I spotted one of the Robins flying up off the Bird bath (yes, I found it eventually) and doing a hummingbird impression, feeding off the fat balls. I tried for ages to get a photo but the light was so bad I had to use a very slow shutter speed which meant the Robin virtually disappeared as she was moving so fast. If you look closely you can see one of her feet on the edge of the bird bath and some flapping wings just above. Either that or I have a phantom Robin ghost arghhhh hehheee

Redfoot turned up today and I found out he is a she. She's been visiting for such a long time now and this is the first opportunity I've had to see what sex she is. She was loving the grapes I put out. She then went up to eat the peanuts but within seconds was scared off by something and fell head first off the feeder banging her face straight in the ground. Luckily its very muddy and soft there and the worst she suffered was a very funny muddy nose. There were three male Blackbirds in the garden today, chasing one another. I tried to get photo's of all three so I could compare them and maybe name them if I could find something distinctive but they wouldn't stay still long enough and I couldn't work out who I'd photographed and who I hadn't. I got so muddled up I had to give up in the end.My suet feeder challenge hasn't changed either. The most today was 8 again and still only managed 3 different species at once. Maybe I set the bar too high.

Oh I forgot to mention all the thunder storms we have had during the last few days. We've had 3 in the last 4 days. Last nights was amazing. The thunder literally shook the house in the early hours. Oh I just remembered what it was that scared Redfoot this afternoon, it was a huge clap of thunder. All the birds dived into the hedge at the same time. I have to admit I've not actually been outside today in the garden as the weather was just so horrid. I must make the effort tomorrow and see of there's any new fungi or plants about. The Goldfinches were here again. Although they seem to eat none stop and then the Blue Tits step in when they are not here the Niger Seed has barely gone down in the feeder. Which is great as its not the cheapest of the bird foods but certainly now value for money.

Its so dark

Wasn't it dark today? I had to have the big light on in the lounge at lunch time today just to see my dinner. I wonder how it affects the wildlife outside. The feeder seemed as busy as usual but there was no sign of any of the squirrels today. In fact we're not doing very well on the mammal front at all at the moment, well apart from the feral cat and I don't think he counts. With the Hedgehogs hibernating and the fox, oh, don't want to think about that one, the garden is certainly lacking some decent mammal action. I've not even seen a mouse or a vole in weeks. What I would really love to do is get hold of a decent infra red camera and see which mammals come out when it gets dark in the garden. That would be so much fun. I wonder if you can hire them? Imagine if you found dor mice or a Pine Martin *#*#*#dreams*#*#*#* Wow, back in the real world...........
My Suet Square challenge didn't go very well today. Only managed 5 birds at one time but I did get this photo which I adore. I love the little Blue Tit in flight about to join the much larger Woodpecker and Great Tit. Maybe my challenge should also include, How many different types of birds at one time' as well as 'how many'. Oh before I forget, want to say a big hello to Joanne and my Aunty Maureen. I was so made up when I heard you had visited my blog. I hope we get to catch up soon :-) The Horses and the Black Sheep are still in the field at the front of the house. I may go out tomorrow with some carrots to see if I can get some nice photo's of their faces rather than a load of bums!
Well I kept to my word about the fat ball net bags. It was a yucky job and me being lazy, tried to do it without scissors at first which left me with fat gunk down all my nails and a sore finger where the net wouldn't break :-( I eventually went and got the scissors which will now live in the bird food rack. Lets hope they start selling them without the nets soon, hey Dragons Den here I come....

3 out of 4

When I looked out of my kitchen window and saw this view today you wouldn't believe how excited I was. Two of my favourite British Birds feeding on the same feeder at the same time. What made it even better, although you'll have to take my word for it, just slightly lower down was a Nuthatch which is also in my top 4. So 3 out of my 4 favourite British Birds all together, all in my garden and I'm here to see it. Who needs Golden Oriels when you have Woodpeckers, Nuthatches and Goldfinches, right here. The Goldfinch was here all morning but there is no sign of a female yet. Is it me or does this one look more brightly coloured than the one on Wednesday? Could we have two males maybe? Ok, now I'm just being greedy. The feral cat is still about, the old lady next door has started feeding it. I was sort of hoping it may just be lost and someone somewhere will be looking for him. But I can't get close enough to tell what sex he is so I'm not completely convinced he's an adored family pet. I must phone the Cats Protection tomorrow, just in case. I think the birds know he's now well fed as they seem to be feeding quite happily on the lawn again. As I'm writing this, I have the last Autumn Watch on the TV. They've been talking about different bird foods and feeders etc. It then turned to the little net bags that fat balls come in. I've always left mine in the bags and then placed them in the feeder as I believed the story of limbs getting caught was more of a old wives tale but just in case as of tomorrow they'll be taken out. Today I had 8 , yes EIGHT birds on my single suet square block. I've now set myself a challenge of photographing the most birds I can on the Suet feeder at on time. 8 is a great start I reckon and probably going to be hard to beat already.