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.

The Christmas Hedgehog

I hope you all had as much fun on Christmas morning as Penny had with her Christmas Hedgehog.

The Moon's a Balloon

Glorious day yesterday, for the time of year. At Sunrise it was 13C, followed by sunshine nearly all day. The temperature only dropped to about 8C by sunset. I even got a bit of tidying up done in the front garden. During our last walk-about of the day I noticed the Moon shining in a totally clear sky. Seeing it reminded me of David Niven's book, The Moon's a Balloon. I used to have a copy which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I have no idea what happened to it but it gave me the urge to read it again.

When we arrived back home I got out the 50D and set it up on a tripod to take a few photos of the Moon. Lighting conditions were ideal for the shadows to show up some of the craters towards the edge.

Canon 50D,  EF IS 100-400mm at 400mm,  cropped

Unfortunately it was too high in the sky to include any foreground but the remaining light in the sky did make it easier to get a reasonable exposure to the shots.

Nice surprise and Christmas present from Flickr. I have a Pro account as it enables me to have lots of folders to keep the photos sorted and on checking the latest upload there was an offer of an extra free three months which could be added to my account. Brilliant.

Later I had a search to see if there was an eBook version of The Moon's a Balloon. I found a few in epub format at a reasonable price but the only two reviews on the iTunes store put me off. Both were pretty scathing about the number of typographical errors.

Back to normal today - it's just started raining!

Thank you to all who suggested names for Penny's lamb. There are so many good ones I still haven't made my mind up. Must go and wrap her Christmas present - a Christmas Hedgehog.

Merry Christmas to All Our Visitors

Christmas week has finally crept up on me so I'll take this opportunity to wish you all a safe, dry, peaceful time.

Friday at the Flicks - Those LTTs Again

During the week I made another log feeder for the peanut butter. Also I now have two varieties of the butter. A few days ago Shirl (of Shirl's Gardenwatch ) mentioned the variety she uses so I had a look on the net to see if it was available mail order. Not only did I find several places where it could be ordered but it was better value, money wise, than that sold specifically for birds.





On the left is the 330g jar of peanut butter for birds at £2.99

On the right a 1Kg tub of pure unsalted peanut butter at £5.49












The new peanut butter feeder. Made with smalller holes, half inch diameter instead of one inch. It is taking a while for the birds to get used to the new peanut butter but, like most new foods, it is slowly catching on.







A quick capture of a few Long Tailed Tits sampling the new stuff.




Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

Female Great Spotted Woodpecker

Talk about being in the right place at the right time ..... I was literally just positioning the camcorder to video anything of interest attracted by my home made peanut butter feeder when a female Great Spotted Woodpecker arrived. At least, I assume it was a female and not a juvenile. The adult male has a red patch on the back of its neck.

This one stayed for a couple of minutes and was the first bird I have seen see off a Starling which tried to barge in on the act. Just as well as once the Starling brat pack arrives it is difficult for other birds to get a look in.



Audio track was made using the Animoog app on an iPad2
The peanut butter used is specially formulated without salt for feeding to wildlife. Many varieties made for human consumption have added salt which is not good for the birds.
It looks as though I got the length of the log just about right as woodpeckers press their tail feathers against the wood for balance as they cling on.

Macro on Tuesday + Name That Lamb

Yesterday was a bit busy so I didn't get round to showing the answer to last week's Guess What. No one gave the fully correct answer to the puzzle photo:



Most got the idea that it was an insectivorous plant but thought it was a Venus Flytrap. In fact it was a pitcher plant - Sarracenia purpurea.  My plant is looking a bit worse for wear at the moment:

 


No new Guess What for a while. Many thanks to those who have had a go at guessing the various puzzle pictures I have put up during the year. I will probably start again in the new year.

This week it's name that animal time. Monty the Moose had a short hard life as Penny's favourite toy. She had hurled it around the room so often it eventually fell apart enough for her to remove the stuffing. That has now been replaced with a lamb.





Sixteen squeakers plus an internal bell and definitely her favourite for now but it needs a name so if  you want to make any suggestions I will choose one.