I think this short clip was filmed a couple of years ago. I had some scruffy decorative stones soaking in a bucket of water. It was a real attraction for the local House Sparrows. I t was too deep to stand in and bathe so they could only wash behind their ears and every now and then one would dash across the surface.
The soundtrack I call Thumper. I put that together several years ago using software called eJay Dance 4. I had to give up playing with the program as it wouldn't work on later versions of Windozy but I've finally got round to ordering a newer version - so you have been warned - better get a supply of ear plugs on order.
Bobby had his check up today (Thursday). Mike, the vet, was very pleased with his progress though Bobby was not best amused when a blood sample was taken to make sure the tablets were not doing more harm than good. Mike phoned me the results. Red and white blood cell count fine, kidney and liver function OK. Bobby stays on half a table a day. I can try halving that dose in a weeks time.
Keeping my fingers crossed that tomorrow's change of ISP goes smoothly.
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Long Tailed Tits Return
What a lovely surprise this morning. I was putting some rubbish in the wheelie bin when I heard quiet chattering in the bushes next door and out popped a Long Tailed Tit not six feet from me, settled on the cables briefly and then descended to the fat ball feeder. I nipped indoors smartly, grabbed the camera and managed a few hurried shots before the group disappeared again.
Hopefully this means they will become regular brief visitors again during the Winter.
I may well upload my 'Friday at the Flix' video this evening as tomorrow my broadband is being migrated from Tiscali to Zen - just in case I hit any snags setting things up.
Hopefully this means they will become regular brief visitors again during the Winter.
I may well upload my 'Friday at the Flix' video this evening as tomorrow my broadband is being migrated from Tiscali to Zen - just in case I hit any snags setting things up.
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Blackbirds, Greenfinches and Plants
I think this male Blackbird was spoilt for choice as he sat on a fence with a female on each side.
On closer examination of the photo I noticed his tail looked out of the ordinary. He seems to have lost most of those feathers and the one remaining one appeared to be very jagged.
I would guess he has had a narrow escape recently.
It was great to see five Greenfinches visit the feeders the other day. At least some have survived the attack of finch disease.
I didn't have a tree to plant last Saturday but I did get round to planting a bush I had bought a week or so before. This is a Skimmia japonica. Its mass of berries on such a young plant attracted my attention as well as the evergreen leaves. It went in a section of the front garden where there are mainly deciduous plants.
This is not a very large growing variety so it won't try to take over the whole garden. After I had planted that I noticed the catkins on the corkscrew hazel. They are as advanced now as they were last February and some of the buds are more advanced than they were then.
I think birds, plants and I are all becoming confused by the changing weather patterns. One day at zero and then eleven degrees a few days later.
On closer examination of the photo I noticed his tail looked out of the ordinary. He seems to have lost most of those feathers and the one remaining one appeared to be very jagged.
I would guess he has had a narrow escape recently.
It was great to see five Greenfinches visit the feeders the other day. At least some have survived the attack of finch disease.
I didn't have a tree to plant last Saturday but I did get round to planting a bush I had bought a week or so before. This is a Skimmia japonica. Its mass of berries on such a young plant attracted my attention as well as the evergreen leaves. It went in a section of the front garden where there are mainly deciduous plants.
This is not a very large growing variety so it won't try to take over the whole garden. After I had planted that I noticed the catkins on the corkscrew hazel. They are as advanced now as they were last February and some of the buds are more advanced than they were then.
I think birds, plants and I are all becoming confused by the changing weather patterns. One day at zero and then eleven degrees a few days later.
Sunday, 6 December 2009
Rain Rain Go Away
Watching the rain running down the windows and the birds getting soaked as they gathered for their breakfasts reminded me of the old nursery rhyme ....
Rain rain go away,
Come again another day.
Little Johnny wants to play;
Rain, rain, go to Spain,
Never show your face again!
.... which may well date back to the time of Queen Elizabeth I and the Spanish Armada. I can remember chanting it as a nipper, especially on rainy washing days when mother had to dry the clothes indoors. No tumble driers then, not even a washing machine. Just a dolly tub, me turning the handle on the mangle and a clothes horse draped with damp clothes in front of a roaring coal fire.
The first visitors this wet morning were the Goldfinches soon followed by House Sparrows and Chaffinches. Pictures very grainy, even after processing, as it was very gloomy under the thick rain clouds.
A few days ago I managed to catch a glimpse of the local Robin. Unusually for Robins it is very shy and seldom stays in one place for more than a second or two.
Bobby continues to progress well on his medication which seems to have helped a lot with his arthritis.
Rain rain go away,
Come again another day.
Little Johnny wants to play;
Rain, rain, go to Spain,
Never show your face again!
.... which may well date back to the time of Queen Elizabeth I and the Spanish Armada. I can remember chanting it as a nipper, especially on rainy washing days when mother had to dry the clothes indoors. No tumble driers then, not even a washing machine. Just a dolly tub, me turning the handle on the mangle and a clothes horse draped with damp clothes in front of a roaring coal fire.
The first visitors this wet morning were the Goldfinches soon followed by House Sparrows and Chaffinches. Pictures very grainy, even after processing, as it was very gloomy under the thick rain clouds.
A few days ago I managed to catch a glimpse of the local Robin. Unusually for Robins it is very shy and seldom stays in one place for more than a second or two.
Bobby continues to progress well on his medication which seems to have helped a lot with his arthritis.
Friday, 4 December 2009
Friday at the Flicks (Food and Drink)
Yesterday when I added some suet pellets to the ground feeder it didn't take long for the Magpie to spot them. As it was getting late in the day it decided the best thing to do was to collect as many as possible and hide them in the edge of the lawn.
Some birds find the raised edging round the pond is just right for them to get a welcome drink.
A few days ago when the Starlings descended en mass a couple of them decided they wanted fresh apple. No rotten old windfalls for these. Much better to eat them straight from the branch.
The action was about sixty feet away but the 70 times optical zoom on the camcorder comes into its own on these occasions. By comparison here is the same view taken with the Canon at 200mm zoom.
Hope you have some decent weather so you can enjoy observing the wildlife around you.
Mystery Bird.
As I opened the back door a bird took off from the direction of the pond. Size - larger than a Blackbird, probably about Collared Dove size. Colour very dark mottled brown. Fanned tail with slightly lighter brown curved stripes across. Unfortunately I could only see its back as it beat a hasty retreat. I assume is was a raptor. In fact a quick check of the area showed the evidence in a pile of small grey feathers. Which bird of prey was it I wonder. Now I know why there were no birds at the feeders at what is normally a busy time.
Some birds find the raised edging round the pond is just right for them to get a welcome drink.
A few days ago when the Starlings descended en mass a couple of them decided they wanted fresh apple. No rotten old windfalls for these. Much better to eat them straight from the branch.
The action was about sixty feet away but the 70 times optical zoom on the camcorder comes into its own on these occasions. By comparison here is the same view taken with the Canon at 200mm zoom.
Hope you have some decent weather so you can enjoy observing the wildlife around you.
Mystery Bird.
As I opened the back door a bird took off from the direction of the pond. Size - larger than a Blackbird, probably about Collared Dove size. Colour very dark mottled brown. Fanned tail with slightly lighter brown curved stripes across. Unfortunately I could only see its back as it beat a hasty retreat. I assume is was a raptor. In fact a quick check of the area showed the evidence in a pile of small grey feathers. Which bird of prey was it I wonder. Now I know why there were no birds at the feeders at what is normally a busy time.
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
The Night Visitor Returns + Thanks + Bobby Doing Fine
Last night a little mouse visited on two occasions. The first about 1.30 a.m.. The poor thing was soaking wet as it was raining heavily but that didn't put it off as it was nibbling away at the bird seeds for about six minutes. It, or another, came into view about 6 a.m. for a short while. Just before 7.30 a.m. the Robin was the first bird to arrive for its breakfast. There were no cats sighted in that area of the garden last night.
Whilst looking through the latest comments this morning I was pleased to find Glo of Porcelain Rose had left me another of her poems. Thank you Glo.
I'm glad to hear your lovely pet
has visited the local vet
and found relief from aching hip.
Here's hoping that you both don't slip
on morning walks down icy streets.
A rainbow's one of nature's treats
appearing magically it seems,
as if the sun and rain have dreams
of spreading joy to winter's blues.
Descending starlings cannot lose
When swooping through! ... A cloud of needs
devouring all the breakfast seeds.
Poor collared doves and sparrows flee!
Nocturnal Norris heard your plea
and ventured near your camera's eye.
Of course I didn't need to spy
ANOTHER MOUSE! Now where's my bucket?
The bucket refers to a problem Glo had with a mouse in her home that she was trying to catch so she could release it back in the wild. You can read about it HERE.
Also a belated thanks to Crista of Nature As Is who left me a Friends Award on her blog a while ago.I am most flattered and grateful. I really must try to work out how to get these awards to show on my blog. I am such a scatterbrain I keep forgetting.
An update on Bobby's progress. (Photo taken last year)
His medication seems to be working well. On our way back from our afternoon walks I had got used to him lagging behind. He would stop to have a good sniff and I would have to wait for him to slowly amble along until he caught up. Yesterday he was actually trotting along and getting ahead of me. Obviously, now, his arthritis had been coming on for a while but like many animals he didn't make a fuss about it but just carried on as best he could. The sudden problem with his back legs last Sunday was probably a blessing in disguise as he can enjoy his walks even more now.
Whilst looking through the latest comments this morning I was pleased to find Glo of Porcelain Rose had left me another of her poems. Thank you Glo.
I'm glad to hear your lovely pet
has visited the local vet
and found relief from aching hip.
Here's hoping that you both don't slip
on morning walks down icy streets.
A rainbow's one of nature's treats
appearing magically it seems,
as if the sun and rain have dreams
of spreading joy to winter's blues.
Descending starlings cannot lose
When swooping through! ... A cloud of needs
devouring all the breakfast seeds.
Poor collared doves and sparrows flee!
Nocturnal Norris heard your plea
and ventured near your camera's eye.
Of course I didn't need to spy
ANOTHER MOUSE! Now where's my bucket?
The bucket refers to a problem Glo had with a mouse in her home that she was trying to catch so she could release it back in the wild. You can read about it HERE.
Also a belated thanks to Crista of Nature As Is who left me a Friends Award on her blog a while ago.I am most flattered and grateful. I really must try to work out how to get these awards to show on my blog. I am such a scatterbrain I keep forgetting.
An update on Bobby's progress. (Photo taken last year)
His medication seems to be working well. On our way back from our afternoon walks I had got used to him lagging behind. He would stop to have a good sniff and I would have to wait for him to slowly amble along until he caught up. Yesterday he was actually trotting along and getting ahead of me. Obviously, now, his arthritis had been coming on for a while but like many animals he didn't make a fuss about it but just carried on as best he could. The sudden problem with his back legs last Sunday was probably a blessing in disguise as he can enjoy his walks even more now.
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
A Bit Nippy This Morning
First off - Bobby sends his thanks to all those who left him their good wishes. He is walking much better since his visit to the vets and seems to be making a full recovery. In fact if you had seen him dash across the cricket field yesterday afternoon you would have wondered what all the fuss had been about. Hard to remember that on Sunday morning he had great difficulty even standing.
A quick glance at the readout from the outside thermometer this morning (0.5C) and I knew it was going to be a slow walk for both of us. The main street through the village had been salted but of course pedestrians don't count in the grand scheme of things and the footpaths were frosty with pockets of ice after some overnight rain. Bobby is always very good on these occasions and adjusts his speed down to mine. I slipped over on ice several years ago and I have no wish to repeat the experience.
Two shots of the skyline taken from my front door. The top one with the phone when we got back from out walk. The lower one with the old Canon 350D about an hour later.
A quick zip through last nights video recording showed no sign of a mouse, just the usual cat. This morning the Blackbird beat the Robin to be first at the ground feeder.
As I was brewing my morning coffee it was as though a dark cloud had descended from the sky. The Starlings had arrived for breakfast and were milling around everwhere.
I could hardly see the bird table or the ground feeder at one stage. The Starlings must have left their roost early as the visitation was a good three quarters of an hour earlier than usual. They only stayed a couple of minutes but in that time the heaped seed trays ended up looking as though I had forgotten to put out any food.
A quick glance at the readout from the outside thermometer this morning (0.5C) and I knew it was going to be a slow walk for both of us. The main street through the village had been salted but of course pedestrians don't count in the grand scheme of things and the footpaths were frosty with pockets of ice after some overnight rain. Bobby is always very good on these occasions and adjusts his speed down to mine. I slipped over on ice several years ago and I have no wish to repeat the experience.
Two shots of the skyline taken from my front door. The top one with the phone when we got back from out walk. The lower one with the old Canon 350D about an hour later.
A quick zip through last nights video recording showed no sign of a mouse, just the usual cat. This morning the Blackbird beat the Robin to be first at the ground feeder.
As I was brewing my morning coffee it was as though a dark cloud had descended from the sky. The Starlings had arrived for breakfast and were milling around everwhere.
I could hardly see the bird table or the ground feeder at one stage. The Starlings must have left their roost early as the visitation was a good three quarters of an hour earlier than usual. They only stayed a couple of minutes but in that time the heaped seed trays ended up looking as though I had forgotten to put out any food.
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