This is a still taken from the video showing both birds investigating the box.
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
A Different Pair of Prospective Settlers?
Yesterday morning there was a pair of Blue Tits giving the outside of the nestbox the once over. Neither of these birds went inside so I am thinking it may be a different pair. No sound with this video clip.
This is a still taken from the video showing both birds investigating the box.
This is a still taken from the video showing both birds investigating the box.
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
A Different Rainbow and an Orchid
As we returning from our early morning perambulation I spotted a rainbow. Well, part of what we normally think of as a rainbow as it was only showing on the edge of a cloud. Surprisingly, to me anyway, the Sun wasn't far away from the rainbow, a little lower in the sky and about 20 to 30 degrees to the left. At first the rainbow appeared to be straight, which was what had caught my attention.
As the Sun continued to rise and the cloud moved the rainbow followed the outline of the cloud.
Also to be seen were the trails left behind by all the early morning flights from the various airports in the midlands.
Searching through some sites this may well have been what is know as a fiery rainbow which is seen when the sun's rays pass through ice crystals in high cloud.
This is one of the orchids I treated myself to last Sunday. I have always wanted a Cattleya but in the past they have been so very expensive. Also they tend to be more tender that the varieties I usually go for but this time I couldn't resist the temptation of those beautiful three inch flowers.
I will just have to take care to find it a suitable place next winter.
As the Sun continued to rise and the cloud moved the rainbow followed the outline of the cloud.
Also to be seen were the trails left behind by all the early morning flights from the various airports in the midlands.
Searching through some sites this may well have been what is know as a fiery rainbow which is seen when the sun's rays pass through ice crystals in high cloud.
This is one of the orchids I treated myself to last Sunday. I have always wanted a Cattleya but in the past they have been so very expensive. Also they tend to be more tender that the varieties I usually go for but this time I couldn't resist the temptation of those beautiful three inch flowers.
I will just have to take care to find it a suitable place next winter.
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Showering in the Rain
I got up about a quarter of an hour earlier than usual and had a quick peek through the kitchen window. There was a tight group of five Stock Doves feeding on the spillage from the seed feeder near the bottom of the garden. Fortunately they stayed there long enough to get some video which I will save for Friday.
The morning started well at about +5C and with fairly clear skies and plenty of sunshine it climbed to +10.6C in the shade though with a cool breeze it didn't feel all that warm. Mid morning I made a trip to Focus (top up with bird seed) and then on to Wyevale Garden Centre (suet treats, dried mealworms and a couple of orchid plants).
Needless to say the fine weather didn't last all day as once it was near afternoon walkabout time the rain arrived. Fortunately we found a short lull and managed to stay fairly dry. When we returned the rain came down even harder but that didn't put off some hungry birds. For the first time I saw two Stock Doves on the lawn in the afternoon. Normally they only appear early morning and are usually gone soon after 7 a.m..
Their waterproofing must be good as the raid drops stood on top of their feathers. After a short while a Wood Pigeon slowly ambled across the lawn. If I hadn't seen it move normally I would have thought it was injured by what I saw it do next.
It slowly lifted and stretched first one wing then the other, leaning its body to expose the body feathers under the wings to the rain. It seemed to me it was obviously having a shower. After letting some rain fall on the feathers it would then give them a quick preen.
I managed a short piece of video through a window which was well and truly rain soaked.
Noises off are the local House Sparrows, rain and Bobby crunching his tea! I can't say I can remember ever seeing a bird take a shower in the rain before today. Even just watching the local wildlife in a back garden brings interesting and surprising behaviour.
The morning started well at about +5C and with fairly clear skies and plenty of sunshine it climbed to +10.6C in the shade though with a cool breeze it didn't feel all that warm. Mid morning I made a trip to Focus (top up with bird seed) and then on to Wyevale Garden Centre (suet treats, dried mealworms and a couple of orchid plants).
Needless to say the fine weather didn't last all day as once it was near afternoon walkabout time the rain arrived. Fortunately we found a short lull and managed to stay fairly dry. When we returned the rain came down even harder but that didn't put off some hungry birds. For the first time I saw two Stock Doves on the lawn in the afternoon. Normally they only appear early morning and are usually gone soon after 7 a.m..
Their waterproofing must be good as the raid drops stood on top of their feathers. After a short while a Wood Pigeon slowly ambled across the lawn. If I hadn't seen it move normally I would have thought it was injured by what I saw it do next.
It slowly lifted and stretched first one wing then the other, leaning its body to expose the body feathers under the wings to the rain. It seemed to me it was obviously having a shower. After letting some rain fall on the feathers it would then give them a quick preen.
I managed a short piece of video through a window which was well and truly rain soaked.
Noises off are the local House Sparrows, rain and Bobby crunching his tea! I can't say I can remember ever seeing a bird take a shower in the rain before today. Even just watching the local wildlife in a back garden brings interesting and surprising behaviour.
Saturday, 13 March 2010
Three Finches
Believe it or not I could actually feel the heat from the Sun for a short while this afternoon. A bit of bright light also made some difference to the photos I took. All are quite small crops from the originals.
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Male Chaffinch
As you will probably gather I have been taken by the border I have started adding to my photos.It is one of twenty customisable choices in a free plug-in called BorderMania which will work in programs such as Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop. It can be downloaded from HERE.
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Male Chaffinch
As you will probably gather I have been taken by the border I have started adding to my photos.It is one of twenty customisable choices in a free plug-in called BorderMania which will work in programs such as Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop. It can be downloaded from HERE.
Friday, 12 March 2010
Friday at the Flicks (A Flurry of Activity)
After virtually ignoring the nestbox for three days there was a short flurry of activity yesterday afternoon. Both birds visited the box and several trips were made to take out more of the dried grass stalks. This is a small part of the action.
The entrance hole to this nestbox is quite deep as it goes through two thicknesses of wood. The bird usually deposits the bits of material in the hole as it goes out and then comes back to take them out from the outside. Sounds are of other birds in the vicinity - Blackbirds, Starlings and the occasional Collared Dove.
The garden is almost deserted this morning. Just a couple of Blackbirds where there are normally a dozen or so. I guess the overnight rain has made them think twice about getting up early. No signs of any doves at the moment.
The entrance hole to this nestbox is quite deep as it goes through two thicknesses of wood. The bird usually deposits the bits of material in the hole as it goes out and then comes back to take them out from the outside. Sounds are of other birds in the vicinity - Blackbirds, Starlings and the occasional Collared Dove.
The garden is almost deserted this morning. Just a couple of Blackbirds where there are normally a dozen or so. I guess the overnight rain has made them think twice about getting up early. No signs of any doves at the moment.
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Not One, Not Two, Now there are Six
I looked cautiously through the kitchen window first thing this morning in the hopes the pair of Stock Doves were there. Yes. There they were, but what's this I see. Another .. and another. In the end I counted six of them busily feeding on the lawn. I grabbed the camera and started to photograph them when two in particular caught my attention.
They spent a couple of minutes performing synchronised movements, bowing, slow wing stretching and circling round each other before one decided it had had enough and flew away. Love is in the air. Spring is just around the corner.
They spent a couple of minutes performing synchronised movements, bowing, slow wing stretching and circling round each other before one decided it had had enough and flew away. Love is in the air. Spring is just around the corner.
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Not One but Two
While I was getting Bobby ready for our morning walk, and I was still on auto-pilot at 7 a.m., I spotted not one but two Stock Doves on the lawn. Needless to say the camera wasn't handy at that time and by the time I had fetched it they had both flown away.
The photo is from the batch I took the first time I saw one. My main program for processing photos is PaintShopPro X2 and I have only recently found out that plugins designed for PhotoShop are also suitable for use in PSP so I have been gathering a few free ones to experiment with. For the above photo I emphasised the lighter and darkened the darker parts and added a border.
Another program I have found is a free version of PanoramaPlus by Serif. The new header was made using that. (The text being added later in PSP) The original photos were taken years ago. I forget which camera I used and it is not recorded in the photo files. I know it was a very low quality camera I used to put in my shirt pocket. The free version of PanoramaPlus has a fixed, fairly low size for the finished panorama which it produces very quickly and even works out the right order to stitch the photos. v2 of the program, which I now have, has more facilities and a choice of size for the final panorama which can take a while to produce if a large size is chosen and there are many individual photos to join together. The few times I have taken shots for panoramas I have worked hand held and PP soon sorts out any differences in horizon position or tilts in camera angle.
The photo is from the batch I took the first time I saw one. My main program for processing photos is PaintShopPro X2 and I have only recently found out that plugins designed for PhotoShop are also suitable for use in PSP so I have been gathering a few free ones to experiment with. For the above photo I emphasised the lighter and darkened the darker parts and added a border.
Another program I have found is a free version of PanoramaPlus by Serif. The new header was made using that. (The text being added later in PSP) The original photos were taken years ago. I forget which camera I used and it is not recorded in the photo files. I know it was a very low quality camera I used to put in my shirt pocket. The free version of PanoramaPlus has a fixed, fairly low size for the finished panorama which it produces very quickly and even works out the right order to stitch the photos. v2 of the program, which I now have, has more facilities and a choice of size for the final panorama which can take a while to produce if a large size is chosen and there are many individual photos to join together. The few times I have taken shots for panoramas I have worked hand held and PP soon sorts out any differences in horizon position or tilts in camera angle.
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