Macro on Monday - Guess What

Last week's puzzle picture was definitely of ice - but where or what? In fact it was a very close view of an icicle. The 'veins' were probably the frozen trails of water drops running down the surface of the icicle. I though they made a fascinating pattern. No one thought of an icicle so I am going to claim the gold star again this week. Wicked aren't I?

  

Here is the new puzzle picture taken though the microscope - answer next Monday.



Clue:  A embryonic ray of sunshine waiting to burst forth next Summer.
No prizes - just for fun.

Ultrasound scan, x-ray and blood tests over with this morning. Full results on my yearly meeting on the 29th but the ultrasound radiologist gave me a reasonable running commentary so at least I know nothing has changed there. That is exactly what I want to hear each year..

Friday at the Flicks - Robin, Rook, Great Tit

It's not often a Robin stays in view for very long here so it made a change to be able to video one for a short while as it set about eating the seeds falling from one of the feeders.



The fat balls have been lasting a long time in the recent sub zero temperatures. Only the largest and strongest beaks have been able to tackle them as this video of a Rook shows.



Finally I spotted that the Great Tit had once again been performing a nest box shuffle.By the look of things it seems she has also been removing some of the discarded feathers from that fight a while ago.



Yesterday I saw two Great Tits taking Sunflower hearts and eating fairly close together so I think it may well be a pair.

Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

Blackbirds by the Dozen

I normally fill all the seed feeders just before it gets dark so there is plenty of food for the early risers. Also over the past week I have been scattering seed over the frozen snow in the back garden so the ground feeders also have plenty to go at. I scatter it about as that saves many arguments as the birds don't have to get too close to each other.


Since the start of Autumn I had rarely seen a Blackbird in the garden. Then a few started to arrive when the temperature dived below zero.. The numbers have continued to grow up to a peak yesterday morning when I counted twenty one feeding at first light. I have always found that Blackbirds seem to be one of the first birds in the village to be up and about each morning. Unfortunately that means the light levels are far too low to try for a photograph of the multitude.

As well as the Blackbirds there have been up to ten Wood Pigeons grabbing as much food as they can. That is another reason for scattering the seed. If it is all in one place then one of the pigeons will sit on it and keep all other birds away.



There was nearly one less Blackbird this morning. I was doing a bit of filming when a shape came hurtling out of the sky. A Sparrowhawk had dived in aiming at one of the birds feeding on the lawn. Fortunately for the Blackbird the raptor was noticed and within a second the garden was empty and the air filled with alarm calls.The Sparrowhawk flew up to a nearby branch empty clawed. It was amusing to watch as two Wood Pigeons sat on a nearby branch and just stared at the hawk as though to say - come on if you feel tough enough. Needless to say the camcorder wasn't pointing in the right direction to capture the action.

There have been far fewer Goldfinches since the harsh weather arrived. Often I will se a lone one at the feeder and just occasionally three or four. This one was captured in one of the short bursts of sunlight we have had recently.



It looks as though we are going to get a short respite from the cold weather for the next few days. I hope to get my drive cleared as I have my yearly  scan, x-ray and blood tests on Monday.

Mini Ice Sculpture in the Garden

I leave the pond pump running all year, that is until it freezes up which it does in really cold weather. The water is pumped through an imitation hand water pump and returns to the pond down the mini waterfall. I check it each day this weather to see whether it is still flowing. From a distance yesterday it looked as though it had frozen. When I went closer I saw the water was still flowing but was falling through a ring of ice above the waterfall.



I tried taking a few photographs but none could really show the effect so I took a short piece of video.



As there are frozen splashes of water around the area I guess the scattered water has been freezing while the larger birds have been bathing in the pool at the top of the waterfall.

A bit on the chilly side this morning. -8.1C when we went for our early morning constitutional.

Macro on Monday - Guess What

Well - I guess I get the gold star again. Maybe it was a bit obscure last week. Centre Court referred to Wimbledon and yes, it was a flower. Amongst other things Wimbledon is associated with strawberries and cream. The photo was of a strawberry flower taken in November when the plant had no chance of producing any more fruit this year. Thank you to all who had a go at identifying it.

   

The funny looking object above the flower is my home made lighting for the microscope - a bright white 12V LED.

Hopefully this week's puzzle picture will be a bit easier.



Clue: A product of last week's UK weather.
No prizes for a correct identification - just a bit of fun.

Snowy Weather at the Birdy Bistro (Belated Friday at the Flicks)

Another senior moment, or is that senior week these days? My body clock seems to be running a day late - blame it on the snow. That slows everything down. Anyway - over the past week I have been taking snippets of video of some of the regulars visiting the garden during this unusually early cold period.



Woke up this morning and was more than a little surprised to see we had had over an inch of additional snow over night. At least it was easier to walk on than the uneven solid ice on the footpaths yesterday. Ice spikes may well give a grip but uneven lumps of frozen snow play havoc with the ankle and knee joints. One good thing at the moment - the temperature is +1.3C and even the icicles have shrunk overnight though I have a feeling it will soon be back below zero.

How do ducks keep their feet warm on frozen ground? A lady got in touch with my local radio station yesterday. She said her ducks settled down on the ground and then tucked their feet up under their wings.
Not daft are they?

Front Garden by Night and by Day + External Robin Video Link

We may well be at the end of the present batch of snow showers but with this morning's temperature dipping down to -8C it will be a while before it disappears completely.

This is my front garden as photographed a couple of nights ago:



And the view this morning:



In this part of the country we expect to see views like that once every few years in February, not the beginning of December.

There is a photographer who goes under the name GoldfinchGarden on YouTube who has some really great bird videos. This morning he sent me a link to his latest - a slow motion close up video clip of two Robins feeding from a hand, though not at the same time as there was a bit of an argument as to who would get the seed. It's not over violent and well worth viewing. The video can be found HERE.