Some Surprises Are Nice .........

Yesterday it was a very pleasant surprise to see for the first time in the garden not one but two juvenile Robins? which seemed quite at home investigating all the places where seeds could be found.

Keith suggested these are juvenile Dunnocks so I had another look round the internet. I only found one site which had photos of a juvenile Dunnock and a juvenile Robin where the differences were clear. Looking at the shape of the beak (the Dunnock's is finer) and the colour of the legs (the Robin's are darker)  it would appear that Keith is correct. A lot of photos on the net seem to be wrongly identified which made things very confusing for me. Also it appears that a lot of people have trouble telling which is which, me among them.







Some Surprises I Could Do Without ......

The day before delivered a surprise which was more of a shock than anything. I was busy on the computer and the back door was open to let Penny come and go as she pleased. I noticed her come in the room but couldn't see what she was doing. She kept whining and coming across to me but I took little notice until I had finished with the 'pooter. Looking to see what Penny was up to I saw she had brought in a dead, part eaten Wood Pigeon. I was not best pleased and told her so very firmly. I disposed of it at the back of one of my compost bins which has a narrowish opening at the top of the front. I though no more about it until I saw madam coming across the lawn with the same object in her mouth. She must have leapt up to get in the bin. On my second attempt I disposed of it in a fully enclosed container. It still sends shivers down my spine when I recall the event.

I know Penny chases after the Wood Pigeons but they fly away before she gets near them. I am sure this one was dropped by a passing raptor . It looked well plucked and search as I could I found no feathers around the garden.