Sun and Spots

Friday started out very overcast with the odd shower. By the afternoon things turned out more cheerful with blue sky, white clouds and plenty of Sunshine. Only a stiff, cool breeze to spoil it a bit. I managed to find a spot where I could set up the tripod and camera out of the wind with the intention of shooting a bit of video of any Sun spots. As it happened there was more cloud than I thought which was moving rapidly across the Sun as can be seen in the middle section of this short video:




Easier to photograph were some spotty creatures I spotted around the garden.
Seven spot Ladybirds enjoying the warmth of the Sun in sheltered locations:







The first two were taken with the Nikon S9050 and the final one with the Canon 50D, 70-100mm zoom with added macro lens.

Friday at the Flicks - Nest Box

The Great Tits are still showing interest in the camera nest box with another visit by both birds on Wednesday morning:



I have taken to using a sepia tint on videos from this camera - seems to look clearer than plain old black and white, to me anyway.  No signs of the nest box shuffle as yet though it is still used as a roost every night.

Why am I ......

stuck in here when the Sun is shining out there?

Humpty Dumpty With Feathers

The rotund shape of Long Tailed Tits always makes me think of Humpty Dumpty:







We were just getting ready for our afternoon walk when I spotted a LTT on one of the home made log peanut butter feeders. It flew off before I could get a camera ready but fortunately a few could be seen in the branches of a tree just past the end of my garden. Consequently, even with a 400mm lens, these were small crops. That is only the second time in over 12 months I have seen a LTT sample the peanut butter.

Spidery Baubles

Another morning when the spiders' webs were covered in dew drops:





Each showing an upside down view of the front garden and rays from the morning Sun.

Small but Cheerful

One area of the front garden is now looking much more Spring like with clumps of miniature narcissus in flower:





Their immediate surrounding and resulting micro-climate makes a lot of difference as to how early they flower. These are in a large raised circular bed with earth round the side and deep gravel in the centre. Now the Sun is warming the gravel most days that holds a certain amount of heat over night which minimises the effect of frosty mornings. Other similar bulbs in a narrow raised bed with no gravel are well behind, only showing leaves but not even a bud yet. Both lots receive about the same amount of Sunshine.

More Great Tit House Hunting

Following the visit to the camera nest box yesterday, this morning saw a Great Tit investigate the diamond shaped box. This is the first time I have seen a bird go inside it. Occasionally you can see a beak poking out of the entrance:



I wonder whether this is the same bird.