A Talky Walk

Went for a stroll to the end of the lane and round the cricket field. I went there two days ago and there was nothing of note to photograph. This time the adjoining field was populated by a large flock of sheep. Until I got too close many were lazing in the sunlight:



Several were watching me as I grew nearer:



There were many patches of fungi appearing, starting about the size of my little finger nail:



Some appeared to be fully grown at about 15mm across:



Recently I found that the local amateur radio repeater transmitter was back in operation. (The repeater receives a transmission and the re-transmits it. The idea being that amateurs can use a low power transmitter and the repeater re-broadcasts it at a higher power) Anyway, I had dug out one of my hand held transmitters from where I had stored them several years ago, charged the battery and took it with me to see whether I could make any contacts.



As I walked back from watching the sheep I made a couple of calls through the repeater and an amateur in Boston, Lincolnshire answered and we had a 10 to 15 minute conversation by radio. An activty I've missed for many years. There was a time I used to have radio chats every day when I walked Tramp, the dog I had then, first thing in the morning.

On the return journey I spotted the sunlight shining through the leaves of a Japanese maple bush. A photograph doesn't do justice to the beautiful red glow:





All in all a satisfying walk in brilliant sunlight, even with the cold breeze across the open field.

New Lens

Looked at the available EF-M lenses to fit the Canon M5 and after reading reviews went for the EF-M 18-150mm. Here it is next to the Canon EF-S 17-85mm with adaptor which I used recently. Doesn't seem to be a lot of difference at first glance. The main one is the weight. The EF-S weighs in at 63g and the EF-M at 33g.



Also the weight balance is better when on the M5 body. The adaptor has no lenses in it so all the EF-S lens weight is moved further from the camera body. Much easier to handle the EF-M lens. In fact it felt very comfortable.



Within half an hour of it arriving we went on our usual mid afternoon walkabout.
The idea being to find a variety of subjects.
Nice and Sunny after a morning of heavy showers.

First a couple of 18mm / 150mm views









Seeing there were sheep about we wandered across for a closer look.



I though they would be ideal to try out the video. Wrong.
After looking us over they decided to move as far away as possible.



Oh well. There's always the Poplar trees ...



... and the new seating area in front of the cricket club.



Ash Tree from East and West views.

     

This crop looks about ready for harvesting.



Where do you park the heavy roller when not in use?
In the hedge of course.



The closest I could get to an Hibiscus flower.
A fairly good macro facility at 18mm.



A photo of Penny to finish off



All M5 photos taken in RAW, converted to virtually lossless jpgs.
No cropping or tweaking so this is how they came out of the camera.
Very pleased with everything so far.
There was a very strong, gusty wind blowing so some vegetation may be blurred.

Baa Baa Black Sheep ....

Nice to see some back in the paddock at the end of the lane:









Trying to work out whether Penny is a sheep? 
Right colour but no wool or horns.

Wooly Munchers

Sheep are back in the usual field munching away.
There are two different types.
The whiteish ones, which I think may be Cheviot, were laid back and just watched us:

 





The black ones, which look to me to be Hebridean, tended to remain hidden and retreated rapidly when we got too close to the fence for their liking:





Of course my identification could well be faulty as there are several white sheep which look very similar to me.

The Watchers

Whenever we go walkabout across the cricket field we are always being closely watched:





I'm sure those nice thick woolly coats were keeping them warmer than we were in a cold breeze though they must become heavy with all the rain we have had these past two days.

Follow the Leader

When we went walkabout round the cricket field at lunch time I could see a small flock of sheep a couple of paddocks away.

 

All of a sudden one decided to stroll over to the other side of the field. Within a minute all the others lived up to their reputation and followed.

Friday at the Flicks (Tadpoles, Lambs, Mistle Thrush)

What a difference ten days makes. The tadpoles are growing well with plenty of algae to feed on. I wonder when the back legs will start appearing. (Taken with the Lumix)



Yesterday we took a different route behind the cricket field to get nearer the lambs. That meant crossing one style which Bobby, after a bit of trembling and sizing up, managed to leap. On the way back though he scrambled over it rather than jumping. (Taken with the Lumix, hand held)



Finally the nearest I've got to identifying the bird whose song has been echoing over the village nearly every morning for a month or more. It was a long way away on a high roof top, recorded about 7 in the morning and needed every bit of the 70x zoom on the Panasonic camcorder. I am pretty sure this is a Mistle Thrush.



Here's hoping for a sunny warm weekend so we can all enjoy the sights and sounds of the wildlife around us.

Loads a Birds

Yesterday must have been a record here for a Starling invasion. At one stage fifteen of them descended on the feeders within a couple of seconds. At least that was the number I definitely counted, there may have been one or two more.

Today at one stage half the lawn looked as though it had turned into a low level Rookery. Actually it was a mixture of Rooks and Jackdaws which often arrive and feed together, There were too many to get in one photograph.



Every now and then a couple of Rooks would get too close together and there would be a short altercation. Nothing nasty, just a flapping of wings and opening of beaks.



At one stage a Collared Dove decided that it was economical to drink and paddle at the same time.



Off and on during the day I got short snippets of various birds at the feeders. There is a health warning with this video - the wind was so strong the feeders were blowing all over the place and you may suffer from sea sickness. The sound track is general local bird song recorded a while ago. This is really an experiment while I learn my way round the software.



During our afternoon walk a few of the sheep and lambs were very close to the fence at the end of the cricket field so I managed to get a couple of shots with the camera in the mobile phone. It was too cold in the very strong wind which felt as though it was blowing straight off the North Sea to take the DSLR.

The lambs are growing fast and are now past the cute 'Aw' stage. The sheep was completely unruffled though it did keep a close eye on Bobby.



Finally a short clip from Hoggy Cam of the Hedgehog's final visit last night.



Happy birding to all. John

Caterpillar Identification?

While I was weeding today I found this caterpillar but I have no idea what it is. I have looked at pictures of green caterpillars until I went cross eyed but could find nothing to match. If you can help I would be most grateful. I should think it is about 30mm long. (After more searching - it may well be the caterpillar of the cabbage looper moth)



During our afternoon walk the ewes and lambs in the closest field were much calmer and just watched us. The older lambs are now happily munching the grass so the ewes can relax a bit.





As well as the milder weather bringing out plenty of colourful flowers it is also accelerating the weed growth and bringing out the aphids. I have been plagued with them on my plants in the cold conservatory for several weeks and now they are appearing on the outdoor plants.



I adore the subtle way the colour changes on each petal of these flowers.



We are at the Spring Equinox and British Summer Time starts in another nine days so there is plenty of activity to look forward to. Looks like I will have to drag out the mower very soon as the grass has put on a spurt this past couple of days.

I have not managed to spot the Blue Tits in the box today but there is more moss in the bottom so they must have made a few visits.

Walkies - Old Mill Lane and the Churchyard

We were a bit later than usual going for our afternoon walk. I had decided to go down Old Mill Lane for a change. As it had turned out to be a lovely bright afternoon I took the camera but at first I thought it was going to be a waste of time and energy. I hadn't realised how misty it was until we got out in the open.



There is no mill in spite of the name of the lane. Early mornings usually sees many rabbits down there but this afternoon there was just the one lurking in the mist.



Apart from a Blackbird singing and a Dunnock amongst the brambles the only other life spotted was some birds gleaning in the bare fields.





There are a few large Ash Trees along the lane one having quite a bit of lichen on its branches and showing buds plus another with last years keys still hanging on tight.







As usual Bobby was being very patient, just occasionally giving me a pained look if I dawdled too much at one spot.



On the way back home we cut through the churchyard. Looking up, moss and lichen could be seen on the carved figure above our heads.



Round the back of the church it is possible to look at the old part of the graveyard which is used locally for chickens and, at this time of year, for sheep. This year it was more like a lamb outpatients as most of the ones there were limping and some had bindings on their legs.





On the last part of our amble home I was taken by a complete hedge of green leaves absolutely full of brilliant red berries.



Finally a snap of the patterns on the bark of this tree and then home for a well deserved cuppa as it felt much colder in the damp misty atmosphere.