Hungry Blackcap

The female Blackcap returned this morning. Obviously very hungry and more confident using the Birdfy feeder.



I wonder whether a male will also turn up one day.

Red Watches Brown

Once or twice each winter I catch a glimpse of a visiting Blackcap. This time it was a female which was being closely watched by a Robin.

Green and Brown and Things

Why is it always dull when I see something interesting, to me anyway, I want to photograph? A couple of grainy photos of infrequent visitors to my garden feeders, a Greenfinch and a female Blackcap on the same feeder:





The Blackcap is a fleeting visitor who will probably move on soon. Greenfinch numbers have suffered greatly in this area with many succumbing to finch disease over the past three years.


The laptop duly arrived on time. It is hard to believe it is second hand, not a mark on it. Soon had it logged in to my wireless network and tried out in the summerhouse. Much to my relief it worked perfectly:



Some things I like the iPad for but for browsing / surfing I find a 10 inch screen is too small. Now I am grappling and coming to terms with Windozy 7 as my main PC is still using XP. One of the reasons, besides cost, for buying s/h was that most new ones I was interested in now seem to have Windozy 8 loaded and I have no interest in that. I might have been tempted to go for a Mac of some sort but even used ones seem to cost the earth.


A few signs of Spring - finally there is frog spawn in the pond:



My primulas are flowering, when the ungrateful birds stop pulling them up and today I had the first wasp indoors. I killed a couple today. They were both very dopey and lethargic so I guess they had recently become active. The more early ones I can dispatch the fewer nests there will be later in the year.

Friday at the Flicks - Female Blackcap

The male Blackcap has continued to visit the seed feeders fairly often. Much rarer are sightings of the female so it was pure luck I managed to take some video a couple of days ago:



Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

Blackcap Visitor

Don't see these very often so it was nice to have a male Blackcap visit this morning:





Seems to be liking the sunflower hearts.

Friday at the Flicks - Blackcap

Visits from our feathered friends have been quite scarce for a few days. Partly down to the milder weather but partly down to a Sparrowhawk making what looks like daily visits. Yesterday started quietly, literally, as I did not hear a bird all morning but by mid-day some brave and hungry birds began to make lightning visits to the feeders. Most would grab a bite to eat and immediately fly to the nearest bush.

I was watching one small bird eating the apple and initially though a sparrow had taken a liking to it. It wasn't until it flew away that I saw it was a female Blackcap. I set up the cameras in case she came back. Fortunately she did, spending a little while at the suet ball feeder:



In all I saw her three times and hope she will be back again when the lighting is better for still photographs as Blackcaps are rare visitors to my garden.

Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

Friday at the Flicks - Hedgehog Time, Blackcap, Bobby's Picnic

Up to three different Hedgehogs are visiting every night now.  Here two different adults (different markings) and one juvenile arrive at various times on one night.



Early last night an adult was eating when a juvenile arrived. It appeared quite nervous and approached very cautiously. That time it didn't manage to get much to eat but did return twice by itself to finish off the remaining peanuts.



I haven't seen any sign of the Blackcap for several days so I guess it made up for weight loss on its journey back to England and then moved on to find a mate. I did manage this bit of video when it spent a short while at the Birdy Bistro.



Bobby has always been a Sun worshipper. During the exceptional weather this past week he spent much time dozing on the lawn. On one occasion he wasn't interested in coming inside to eat so ended up with a beefburger picnic on the lawn, complete with hidden medication.



Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you, wherever you are.

Wings on Wednesday

A Friend For Life
Most days the Pheasant visits the garden. He always keeps an eye on the kitchen window. If he sees me I can guarantee that within seconds he will be outside the back door waiting for me to scatter some peanuts.



Mrs Great Tit
I have seen the female Great Tit visit the Birdy Bistro a few times. Not only had she lost many head feathers but also many on one side of her face. From the latest nest box views she seems to be growing new feathers so it won't be long before it will be difficult to tell which is which.



Soggy Ladybird
As I was checking for wildlife in and around the pond I saw a tiny ladybird which was struggling on the surface of the water. I managed to fish it out and after photographing this tiny two spot ladybird I set it down in the sunshine to dry out its wings.



A Fuzzy Moth  (which turned out to be a Fuzzy Fly)
Was it a bee or was it a moth? It looks like a bee. It's bee size. It behaves like a humming bird. I guess it was a Hummingbird Hawk Moth. I spent ages trying to photograph it. I only had the Lumix with me and that doesn't have manual focus. The moth seemed to be playing games with me. It would often hover a couple of feet from my face as if waiting to be photographed but zoom sideways or backwards as soon as I pressed the shutter. So - the best I managed was this fuzzy photo:

My grateful thanks to Pete Smith and Jan for correcting my erroneous identification. What I had spent about a quarter of an hour trying to photograph was a Bee Fly (Bombylius major). They are amazing in the way they can hover in one place and dart around in any direction in the blink of an eye.



Blackcap
While I was sat in the garden on Monday enjoying the unseasonal 18C sunshine I spotted the Blackcap visit the Birdy Bistro. That may well be the last time I will see it. No sighting at all yesterday.

Saturday Cinema - Blackcap

I was sitting here reading my RSS feeds when I noticed what I thought was a Coal Tit land on the bird table. I wasn't going to start the recorder but for some reason changed my mind. Am I pleased I did as the visitor turned out to be a male Blackcap. Last year I had a brief visit by a female to the Birdy Bistro but this is the first time I have seen a male.



The bird table used to be next to the Birdy Bistro which is fairly close to the kitchen window to give me a good view of the visiting birds. Last year I decided to move it to a spot nearer the bottom of the garden to see whether some of the shyer birds would use it. Now I have the camera in place I can see what a variety of visitors there are. As well as having a holder with suet balls I always have one on the bird table and it has proved to be very popular.

The Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) is a warbler. The male having the distinctive black cap and pale ring round the eyes. The female has a chestnut coloured cap and pale eye ring which makes it easy to distinguish the sexes.They can be found in deciduous woodlands with thick undergrowth and in mature gardens and parks. Most are Summer visitors though a small number overwinter having migrated here from northern mainland Europe. Nests are built in low shrub and contains 3 to 6 eggs.

Friday at the Flicks - Female Blackcap

It was a good job I managed to take some photos and a few bits of video of the female Blackcap when she visited as she only stayed a couple of days. You can see how small she is (a little smaller than a House Sparrow) when a Great Tit lands next to her. Notice also that birds, with their eyes set at the side of their heads, have to tilt their heads to one side to find the next seed they are going to eat.



Sound Track: "Your Smile" from the iPhone / iPad app "[SPA] Spirits Massage - The Sound of Moving " available as a free download on the iTunes App Store,

Female Blackcap

Just another practice session with Elements. The original is somewhat grainy as it was taken in dull weather. Basically it was cropped, contrast enhanced, sharpened and then everything except the bird was blurred to make her stand out.



That could have been my last chance to photograph her as she only stayed for a couple of days.

Female Blackcap

The extra plank I put on the Birdy Bistro seems to be doing the job of attracting birds which prefer not to sit on feeder perches. Today I got a very brief glimpse of a bird I haven't seen in the garden before now. Hopefully it was a female Blackcap.

My thanks to Keith (Caldecotte Lake) for a confirmation of its ID. In fact it was seeing the small birds feeding on the bridge rails in his videos which gave me the idea of putting up a flat surface for the birds to feed on.

Poor, rushed photos taken just before it disappeared:





It returned later giving a few more opportunities for a better shot: