BIRD NEWS:94

This shot shows Song munching a suet ball and Spadge sitting in the tree with another sparrow. Here is a close-up:

It was not long afterwards, that I caught sight of someone else - who had spotted me at the window and was looking in hopefully - Bubster-Pidge!

I put out another scoop of suet and seed, but someone else was faster to the sill - Cough! A rather fast gobbler, he came our blurred.

Here is a shot of Tapper, who also came along for munchies when spotting me put some on the sill. Coming up, two more hazy shots of birds on the table - sigh - Curio, and an unidentified bird underneath Ditty...

You will be glad to know that I have finally got out on an excursion again, and have some better shots coming up, soon - but I also have some sad news to share - the hedge between our yard and next door's is no longer present - the council gutted their yard. I will leave you today with a shot and see if you can figure out what you are seeing - a clearer photo will be in my next post!

BIRD NEWS:93

Continuing the saga of the new next door neighbors - here is what became of the bird table the lady who used to live there had -

- broken and ready to dump, sigh.

Thankfully, our yard offers many bird friendly items - such as the stone bath Mr Black is sipping from here.

& our bird table with daily food allowances for these sparrows to enjoy. I did get a clearer shot a little later - by sneaking closer and waiting til I had an elbow rest AND the wind had gusted out for a moment.

The sparrows went into my tree shortly after - to hunt food on the sill, I had spotted activity in the yard, so just put out a scoop of suet and seed on my sill.

In other yard news, not much has been going on. It is wintry now, with gusting gales as November draws to a close. The birds are more on the look out for food donations, but there are many berries available for when I am busy!

BIRD NEWS:92

Alas, rain stopped my plans to go out this weekend although it did not stop council workers going in next door, which is currently vacant, and raising half of the yard. I dread to think what it will be like when completed.

There used to be a couple living next door who cared about gardening and birdlife. Every so often they would buy a new shrub or plant and pop it in some place... The birds really enjoyed having 4 homes in a row that catered to birds, too. Alas, the lady passed away not too long ago and the council are gutting the place, inside and out.

The new tenants obviously do not care for either, having the yard stripped bare, it seems. The shed, water butt, bird bath, bird table, bird house, bird feeder pole have all gone now. I do not know what Beatie will do when she tries to find her nesting spot and finds no bird house!

Saturday produced wind and rain - and the gradual ripping out of the yard next door -

- thankfully the rain got heavier so they packed up halfway through.

(NB on th date of posting this blog rather than writing it - it is the day after they completed the work - more photos to follow in a latter post - :( If you look at that nice thick hedge in the bottom left corner of these photos - it is the last you will see of it - it's now GONE!) 

In happier news - HERE is a cute owl video.

BIRD NEWS:91

This is a much better shot of Ditty, despite the breeze, I am sure you will agree. The wind did not stay breezy for long though, and so my next shot is back to blurry.

The weather continued to be somewhat offputting for photography throughout the remainder of November. However, during the final 10 or so days, the weather was much colder, more seasonal, and brought about the appearance of the old familiar birds who knew the location of sufficient food - such as the now adult Bubster-Pidge!

Alas, I have had no trips to visit Naboo and Bluey due to work commitments/short notice of time off. I do not know until 1-2 days beforehand whether I will or will not be free on a Saturday. I do have a trip planned for the afternoon during the first weekend of December though...

TRIPLINK 1

TRIPLINK 2

TRIPLINK 3

...some regular readers may recall I attended this event on the past 2 years and have on both occasions taken some interesting photos. Fingers crossed there will be enough time before dusk falls to grab some duck/swan pictures along the moat, this year.

BIRD NEWS:90 and a video

Well, Ditty was back soon after MR Black left - but I still could not get a decent shot. I got even worse shots of Magster the magpie, due to the increased wind - and not being close enough. I simply cannot take good photos while the tree branches are swishing and swaying as fast as they go, nor while standing too far back to rest my elbows on the sill.

Maybe I should learn to control the shutter speed on my little camera and try to get better pictures - BUT - part of me enjoys the wavy blurred look the windswept photos show anyway...

This shot of Ditty for example is artsy if not 'properly shot'. I like it that way - although I dislike the next shot I took of her. Updating you on the November birds of the yard - very little changed until this morning. The weather has been wet and windy on and off for a week or so, but until this morning not cold. This morning the colder weather brought the birds ASKING for food again - so I may have some company for a few weeks, now.

HERE is a video of how some birds feel about their partners when they die...

BIRD NEWS:89

After I finished my meal at the riverside park, I pottered along to the toilet block before catching the bus home. Guess what I spotted on a roof in a side road - yes, MORE pigeons!!

Well, that does October - what lies ahead in the next month, I wonder...

November began and was just as mild as October. This is the second year in a row we have had late/mild winters, which is good for the birds and for most humans - though maybe not all gardeners who hope the hard frosts and snow to will kill the weeds! We entered the second week of the month and I managed to have my camera on hand and spot a bird at the same time - Ditty.

Ditty was standing on top the bird table eyeing the area tentatively, waiting to approach a land in the seed area and munch...

Alas, by the time I had checked my bubbling pan on the stove and pie in the oven, Ditty had vanished...

...a day or so later, Mr Black was in much the same position, however I did not get a very clear shot of him on the table, nor later on at the bird bath...

BIRD NEWS:88 & Calendulas

Back to those dancing pigeons. Here they go....dance guys dance!

Of course, they did not dance all the time, and one of the gang soon spotted that I held something 'edible' in my hands and became more interested in me than his friends.

It came parading about in circles, getting closer and closer...then zoned in on a crumb and munched! Meanwhile, its friends were still dancing and courting on the path a little way away...

Whereas the Worthing beach gang have gotten to know me a little, if not well, to these Shoreham dancers, I was a total stranger. I wonder if they will recognize me the next time I pop along...

This friendly, brave one started hanging about after the first crumb or two fell off my lap and it was not long before the others followed suit and came to investigate, also enjoying the meal from the few crumbs I dropped. 

Next time I visit Shoreham, I will take a pot of seed with me, I think...

One of the most-used medicinal herbs in history, calendula has been the stuff of legend, and not just for ailments. In the Middle Ages, it was rumored that if a girl walked barefoot on calendula petals, she would be able to understand the songs of birds. Read more HERE.