BIRD NEWS:648

 

My garden is a peaceful place - apart from when other people's pe(s)ts enter and destroy. Here, symbolizing such, is a dove - resting on the path. It just sat there dozing for almost half an hour, while I washed up and made a coffee.

Dove below, with sparrow, blue tit, and goldfinch on the feeders...peaceful!

There was a goldfinch on the bird bath in my next shot. And then...

...there were two! Meanwhile, the dove just sat there, meditating, relaxing, dozing, whatevering...

The dove then decided to go have a drink...

It then decided to stand there - in the bath...sip and snooze.....

I decided to take a video - which you can see HERE - thinking it would be drinking....but mostly, it just stood staring at whatever, relaxing peacefully in my back yard.

BIRD NEWS:647

Suddenly another peacock appeared. So, they now house a pair of peacocks near the cafe at Leonardslee! Like pheasants, the male is brighter than the female in this species - and the one with the fancy tail display when it wants to show off.

They wandered about some - getting closer still to the actual cafe.

I wondered if they were going to go inside....they got closer, and closer...

...but we did not see them go right in. We wandered around some more...

I would call this statue pigeonhead, but I think it's a dove and to do with peace, or so Liz said.

Leonardslee also have 10 farm ducks on one of their ponds now. Our next excursion was to Nymans. We wandered the gardens, then both woodland areas.

At one point I spotted a bird fly and land - a bird of prey....a kestrel!

BIRD NEWS:646

 

The pair of collared doves enjoy pecking below the feeders, where greedy birds gobbling down the seed drop crumbs or toss out seeds they do not fancy. It is lovely to see them back again after several years.

Starling, finch, tit, sparrow...they all enjoy the menu at the Sande Cafe! Now, Liz and I took an excursion - after many weeks of not doing so, it felt to me.

We arrived at Leonardslee Gardens and went to buy refreshments. What should we see at one of the picnic tables - but a peacock!

I crept a bit closer - it did not seem to object. Maybe it liked having its picture taken it was probably quite used to it if it had been hanging out outside the cafe for long!

After a while it got fed up of the picnic table and went to forage in the garden behind.

I dont often get a chance to get up close to a peacock, so I took plenty of photos.

Perhaps too many....

BIRD NEWS:645

 

The grey wagtail photos continue. It is now October, and the little fellow still visits.

For a change of bird, here are a dove feeding under the feeders, starling on the bird bath, and sparrow, blue tit, goldfinch....

Same again...the feeder station is quite popular!

In fact, so popular, that I am currently refilling the sunflower hearts and fat balls daily, if not seed too.

Starlings and goldfinches here! Then I spotted that there were two collared doves munching dropped seed...

This pair seem to hang round recently also. Maybe it is because a lot of field/land has been taken to build housing on recently. Wildlife is moving on from their former territory as we push them away - but finding little pockets of nature amongst the big brick houses with concrete driveways and gravel yards.

Some of the goldfinches do other things than eat sunflower hearts or nyger seed - this pair are taking drinks in the bird bath.

BIRD NEWS:644

 

A grey wagtail is visiting my pond again! I recall seeing one earlier in the year, then not for some time....but he is back!

My next alas blurry shot is of a greenfinch that decided to share the sunflower hearts with the goldfinches.

The next shot shows blue tits, gold finches and a greenfinch on the feeder poles.

As you can see, despite being post Covid, I have only a handful of at-home shots to share. The reason being that my friend Liz is busy for a few weeks, so we can only do half-day trips - and there is a petrol crisis going on. Liz doesnt want to use petrol until the worst of it is over, as akin to the toilet roll panic of 2020, we now have a petrol panic in 2021. So...have another goldfinch picture!

The grey wagtail remains in the garden. I have spotted him 3-4 days this week.

It wags its tail and struts about the pond edge beak-diving at bugs...

I havent got any really good shots yet, but I do keep trying!

BIRD NEWS:643

 

Goldfinches just love sunflower hearts!! They do eat a few nyger seed too, but not many in comparison. I wonder how long the babes will feed at my feeder pole cafe for?

This blue tit was munching grubs - assumedly - from my son's underwear, hung on the washing line! Just shows what can climb on your 'clean' washing overnight.

During my period of 11.5 days covid isolation, I did this and that about the house, poly tunnel and yard - one thing I did was to clean up the patch behind the frog pond. I have ideas for what I want to plant there, but for now, it offers a bleak died-mud experience. The robin followed me about as I pulled out nettle and bramble, but then.....

One day in September, I looked out of my kitchen window and spotted a gray heron standing on the fence, looking into my pond. Soon after, before I could return with my camera, it had flown to a neighboring rooftop, however. In my second attempt to capture it on the camera, I managed to get a pigeon in shot too!

I took a solo ramble up our local hill, mainly to observe the newly renovated gardens. Additionally, I took a picture of this skylark - along with some information - on a NT board.

Back home, and we now have a family of around 7-8 goldfinches that visit and daily empty the sunflower heart feeder tube, along with munching the odd nyjer seed. 3-4 blue tits also come down daily to enjoy the peanuts and fat balls - and one day late in the month of September, I spotted a greenfinch joining in the cafe indulgences.

There is somebody in the tree watching me - a blackbird!!!!!

BIRD NEWS:642

My first couple of pictures are from the budgy aviary at Priory Park Chichester.

Liz & I had plans for the upcoming fortnight - annual leave for me - but alas, the day prior to the start of these hols that I had looked forward to so much, I rec'd notification that I had to self isolate, as one of our drivers was down with Covid.

I was not too happy, as my 15 days of ability to get out some place every single day for a walk - locally &/or with Liz - vanished. It morphed into being stuck at home for at least half my time-out from work.

Somebody had come to visit my bedroom window by the looks of the oil waxing marks...

I had other visitors at home of course - an entire family of goldfinches decided to seed-snack at my pole-cafe.

Beautiful as they are, it is not the same as a 2-8 hour day out with Liz, complete with coffee, hiking, nature seeing, and perfect companionship.

The family kept visiting during my isolation period, thankfully, because part way in I was told I actually had Covid and had to extend the duration of my isoltaion period to cover all but 4 day of my 15 days annual leave.

The goldfinches ave stayed with me right thru - now coming down to empty the sunflower heart feeder thruout the day daily. There are around 6-8 of them - but that's not all I have seen. In this shot, one of our starlings is present. Liz spotted about 60 of them in a flock up on the roof and round about....the flock split into 2 groups. So we have a fairly large gang of starlings about.