Friday at the Flicks - Chaffinch and Robin

Nothing out of the ordinary going on so here are a couple of the regulars:



The Blackbirds are becoming very bold, though not quite tame yet. A few are usually within a few feet of me when I top up the feeders. After our frosty early morning walk I was taking Penny's harness off and a female Blackbird waited on top of the fence right next to us. As we walked round to the back door the Blackbird kept up with me, walking along the top of the fence. I must get round to trying hand feeding it to see what happens.

I haven't seen anything investigate either of the camera nest boxes as yet.

Nearly There and I'm Actually Ready

Very best wishes to all our readers with thanks to all who have visited over the past year.



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New Nest Box

I spotted a Wildlife World camera nest box in one of Amazon's lightning deals sales and decided to order one.

It is quite versatile.
Set up as a Robin or Wren box:



As a Blue Tit box:



As can be seen the camera has plenty of cable attached.
The camera is in its own housing inside the hinged top:



Also the camera box can be removed to be used separately:



It could be used as a sheltered camera to watch feeders, etc..

The camera comes with two lenses, standard and wide angle.
At the moment I have the standard lens on which I focussed to what should be the height of a nest. Camera is colour if there is enough light and b/w with IR lighting in poor light.
The camera includes a microphone which I haven't connected yet.

The result can be seen top left in this screen grab:



My old camera box is top right.

For now I have fixed the box, set up for Blue Tits, on the back of the Summer house facing large bushes for shelter and well out of direct sunlight except for maybe an hour each day.  Now it is a waiting game to see whether it gets investigated.

Friday at the Flicks - Suet Attraction + No Sharing

It doesn't take long for birds to find a way to reach the suet balls:



Two female Blackbirds into one bird table doesn't go (no sound):



Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

Tuesday Twister - Answer

Last week's Tuesday Twister had everyone guessing but it turned out to be difficult. The nearest was Adrian who though it might have been some sort of hanging basket, and Wilma who thought it was a hanging decoration. It is supposed to be a planter, but one which can stand on a shelf or window ledge. It is a duck with a hollow back lined with plastic so a small plant pot can be stood in it, or filled with compost and bulbs planted. I just use it as an ornament:



    

That's all for this year folks. Many thanks for all who had a go guessing over the past year. Who knows what next year's puzzles will be but once I have thought of something they will be back some time in the new year.


Today I received the results of my heart scan and was, literally, given the thumbs up. Everything is working as it should do. So that was quite a relief.

Two of a Kind

Not very often two Robins are seen in the same garden as they are extremely vigorous about guarding their territory. Most probably these are, or soon will be, a breeding pair.

Number one was at the front of the shed:



Number two on the shed guttering a short distance away:



Number one was investigating everything looking for food:

Moon

As we picked our way along frosty and frozen footpaths at dawn this morning I could see the Moon shining in an otherwise clear sky. Once home I grabbed the 70D and tripod and took a few rapid shots before my fingers froze:



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