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Oh look - what a surprise - it's a pigeon ! Actually, my next few shots are about a specific pigeon who paid me a sad farewell visit on Valentines' Day 2016. I glanced out at the pigeon sitting in my tree and dumped a pile of seed and suet food onto the sill for it. It didn't look too well and at first I assumed it was a bit battered by the winds and rain of late and in need of shelter and food.

The food definitely attracted this wood pigeon to my windowsill where I assumed it was eating - until I looked again.

It continued to keep its head bowed low, but there was none of the noise that generally accompanies such feeding activity in birds - such as the scuffling, pecking, fluttering...

...in fact it barely moved. It tried to eat, but I now noticed that each time it pecked up a seed, the seed fell from its mouth. This is when I realized that there was something seriously wrong.

This VIDEO shows what I was seeing better than the photographs.

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The last picture from my latest trip was taken a few stops along from the start of my ride home. The bus stopped to pick up more passengers nearby to a park - where my pigeon-eyed brain spotted a bunch of pigeons! They were busily tucking into some crumbs or seed that some kind pigeon-lover had left behind (not guilty THIS time)

Talking of pigeons - back home I had company! Somebody wanting some seed put out for them!

After the horrific changes in the yard next door, I was wondering what would become of another bird-friendly house in the immediate neighborhood now that the lady who had lived there had passed away and her husband gone into a home.

Sure enough, much of the bird-loving element has been removed. Firstly, the blue-tit nesting box was gone - making me glad I had not long ago erected a birdhouse myself, following the suggestion of my friend. Although a solitary bird feeder remains in situ at present, other items such as the bird table and bath appear to have also vanished.

In happier news, I managed to get a poor photo of the wren hopping about the rose arch in mid-February! While not a very clear picture, one can just about make out the species...

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Here is another shot of the mass of gulls accumulated across the harbor from my coffee spot. The next photo is not a bird - not a whale either - but an upturned boat! I am uncertain if it is always upside down, only upturned during high tides, or got caught by the gales whipping about me - which is why I did not stay any longer after taking a half dozen pictures and sipping a delicious coffee.

My next - and only other - stop on this trip was Brighton. I slowly paraded around a few stores and made 2 bags worth of purchases before climbing aboard the bus home. It was a double decker and I chose to ride the Brighton-Asda/Ferring ride up top. This gave me the opportunity to take some photos while the trip of circa 1.5 hours duration took place.

This first shot shows bird poop, not birds - generally there are a few pigeons up top the bus shelter roof, but.....not today. Maybe the winds put them off or perhaps somebody threw some unwanted food on the ground nearby - or the wind stole it and put it there, I thought.

I managed to catch a single seagull flying across the sky above the shopping mall whilst other riders climbed aboard. From this angle, I managed to find the missing pigeons, too - there they all were crowded upon a shop roof nearby!

The angle I had to get in to take the shot allowed for an explosion of color due to reflection in the bus window, alas, so my 2 tries were more or less colorful failures.

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Here is a view of the new bird house from the kitchen window - as you can see, it is possible to just spot whether or not somebody moves in from the place I stand when cooking - daily.

February began, and on the first weekend I went on a 700-run. This usually means plenty of bird photographs and more often than not some of a certain parrot and budgie. Alas, this trip, I did not call in to visit them - however, several photos were taken during the trip.

My first shot was taken in Shoreham when trying to escape the gales by wandering off up the shopping street towards the churchyard. I spotted one seagull braving the winds...

He obviously did not want his photo taken, however! The usual crowd of city pigeons were absent on the toilet-road roof this trip, but I did manage to take a few shots ... of more seagulls.

This time at the far side of the harbor, while sitting in the park to sip a hot carton of coffee from the local patisserie. The coffee warmed me up - but I had to take a firm hold of the cup whilst operating the camera, as the wind was very strong this time and would have whipped anything but a full mug off the seat had I placed it beside me as I sometimes do.

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These are the last two photographs I took of the wood pigeon before closing my camera down and doing something else. I still have just a few more late-January shots to share...

This is Ditty landing on top the feeder pole. Despite not being able to use the feeders, doves, pigeons, robins and even jackdaws use the feeder pole to perch on, whilst observing the unattainable food and spotting that crumbs tend to be dropped below as well as a bird table with seed/baked goods to one side.

As you can see, a pair of sparrows were tucking in and showing off to Ditty that food CAN be obtained from these cylindrical tubes...

February commenced the day after I fixed up the new bird-house. Next doors' blue-tit accommodation having been removed and the people across the roads' place about to be stripped - (they also have a blue-tit home in situ) I felt it my bird-loving duty to provide a new accommodation option for Beatie. Lets hope she likes it and moves in - or....somebody does.

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One gets a bite while the other peruses me. A few more blurred photos follow showing how one slowly backed away...

Next up - more pigeons! This time on an exceedingly windy day, with gusts of 40-50mph wind, a pigeon sat in my tree. Of course, there was little chance of getting a clear shot in this weather - but I came up with some very 'interesting' effect shots...

Finally, the gusts settled, and I grabbed a clear shot quickly, whilst I could!

I promise that I do have SOME photos that are not of pigeons coming up soon, hee hee...

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Back to my windowsill and Pidge, who was peeping in at me before munching seed. After a short while, something caught his eye...

...and he flew away. I am uncertain what it was, maybe another pigeon or a sound I had not myself heard. Next to the sill, to finish off the left behind seed, were a group of sparrows.

A couple sat in the tree observing, or waiting their turn, while a row of 4-5 sat on the sill munching - sticking their heads up and peeping in at me from time to time. Alas, I did not get a clear shot of a sparrow head...

Yes, we are back to pigeon poses again - although this shot is a little different to my usual ones. It shows a pair of wood pigeons rested upon the aeriel of the house across the road from me - and a flying bird in the distance.

I am assuming it to be a jackdaw, seagull or starling - but it might very well be a third pigeon. Talking of which, here are a pair on the sill - pecking at one another to get the best seed...

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Here are another shot or two of Curio (and the starling) eating fallen pieces from the feeders. The ground might look more like summer-burnt grass than frosted, but I can assure you this photo was taken in an English winter, not an Australian summer!

Oh what a surprise - a pigeon picture, hee hee. Here is Pidge on the sill, peeping in to check I am not dangerous before tucking in to the seed.

January is in its last weekend as I write this blog - though it is more likely to be late February by the time I get to post it, as I have a backlog building up. The weather has remained more or less cold and the wet and windy weather has been back with us with just 1.5 sunny, still, dry days in between. The colder weather means hungrier birds.

The RSPB birdwatch was on. Most years I complete my entry on the first day - but this year I waited til the Sunday. My results were as follows:

8 starlings, 3 sparrows, 2 blackbirds, one magpie, wood pigeon, and blue-tit.