Juvenile Blue Tits

Two juvenile Blue Tits are now regular visitors to the Birdy Bistro. I would think they were born a couple of gardens away where there are nest boxes regularly used by Blue Tits:



Of course they are not the guilty ones who have been destroying the bottom of the peanut feeder.

Friday at the Flicks - Grey Squirrel

Big Ears

It can be a tad fraught when we walk through the churchyard. There are often rabbits around and if madam spots one she takes some holding. Being a retired racing greyhound her previous training kicks in and she hears and sees nothing else. Every ounce of concentration is on the prospective chase.

On our walk yesterday afternoon I spotted a couple of rabbits but fortunately they were hidden from Penny by the grave stones and bushes:



It looked as though one had sensed our presence and I hoped that meant they would beat a rapid exit before you know who spotted anything:



Unfortunately one decided to move in the open and eagle eyes (not known as a sighthound for nothing) spotted it so after a quick shot it was a case of hanging on to Penny and the camera when big ears made a dash for cover.



That is one of the reasons Penny always wears a harness. It does her less harm if she suddenly decides to accelerate and the lead brings her to an abrupt stop. She is slowly getting better and normally responds to commands once she finds it impossible to chase.

My Feathered Friend

Many people have a chirpy Robin follow them round the garden, especially when digging or weeding. Here the Robins seem to be shy and disappear when I go outside. Starting late Winter I had a bird which would come down as soon as I started to top up the feeders. Over the months she has got bolder and bolder. Which is my feathered friend? A female Blackbird.

Late yesterday she came down as soon as I started to top up the feeders. As usual I scattered some seed on the ground for her and she stayed there while I fetched the Nikon to take a few photos. For these she was about six feet away and carried on collecting seed while keeping one wary eye on me:






Today, while I was removing some grass from the rockery, she came within three feet of me and once again allowed me to photograph her:

 

One day I will have to try holding out a handful of seed to see whether she will dare to come that close.

Macro on Monday - What's Wrong?

Pleasing to see several correct guesses for last week's mystery photo. It was indeed a close up of Penny's eye. It was one of those rare days with glorious Sunshine and the grass reflecting in her eyes made her look like a wolf with glowing green eyes in a horror movie. Anyway, congratulations and virtual gold stars to TexWisGirl, Ragged Robin and Adrian.

Something different this week (couldn't find anything to macro!)

This time you can see the full object but there is something wrong.
Can you spot what is wrong?

Daddy-longlegs Spider  -  Pholcus phalangioides

It was a while before I noticed it.

Guesses in the comments will be revealed next Monday along with the answer.
No prizes, just for fun.

Goldfinch

Often get a pair of Goldfinches visiting these days but don't often manage to see one in the clear:

Tatty Tyke

A couple of days ago one of the local squirrels made its usual raid on the bird seed feeders:



As I watched I noticed it had several large patches of fur loss:

 

 

 

A search of the internet resulted in finding several possible reasons for this to happen:

1) Result of a fight

2) Mange which can be caused by squirrel mange mites

3)  dermatophytoses - a variety of fungal infection. The fur isn't lost but breaks off as it brushes against things.

There are other causes but I think in those cases the squirrel would likely be nearly or completely bald.  The above mentioned causes tend to be temporary and the probability is that the fur will grow back in time.