Just down the back lane looking over the fence - saw this female and one young - but was spotted and the young one dashed into the undergrowth
On down the lane, the postman came behind me so I headed for the copse and down into these fields
No wildlife or birds around but better still no people!
Sue has to be on a lead now as fairly blind which doesn't stop her chasing a rabbit and I wouldn't want to lose track of her. She fairly patiently waits for me to take the photos.
Nice to see the May coming out, just up by the school field now.
We are back onto the lane now and Sue decided she wanted more so we turned to follow the road down
Came around a bed to see these two about 15 - 20 yards ahead of me
Hope you don't mind a little sequence of them, don't know whether the posing was friendly or not, I did hope to see courtship feeding but not lucky.
Then they both flew up into the hedge, I was happy to see them leave the road in case of cars coming around the bend below them. Can't make up my mind if it was a pair or just two males posturing - they were mirroring each other there at the end weren't they.
Anyway that's all folk,
feel free to add your walks on here if you wish
Gaynor
Lot to learn
My pleasure Jude, it has been lovely to walk out in the sunshine lately. Hope you get better quickly now, it must be awful not to leave the house at all. This weekend though will see a change with the cold weather back, even the birds will forget about their mating season for a while.
A couple more pics from same day in my garden - well that pic was supposed to be under the above comment!!
These Greenfinches are a pleasure to see, as it is a while since I had any visiting the garden, I can't remember seeing any at all last year.
Mr and Mrs
I was sharing a cup of coffee with my neighbour, keeping a safe distance, and enjoying the sight of the birds close by.
Sparrow saying come on you have had your share
Our turn now
My little post filled with mole hill, waiting to be topped up with compost when I can buy some and plants would be good too!!
Chaffies in my elderflower/berry tree
That's all folk
keep safe and happy
Pete
Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
Lovely additions Gaynor and good to see the Greenfinches which were so in danger of their numbers dropping off with Trichomonosis. It has been lovely sunny weather which helps lift the spirits and our feathered and furry friends add to boost our mental well being. Guess we have to concentrate on what is outside our window and remember there is still beauty in the world - even though much of it has fallen off a cliff. Stay well, and thanks for sharing your garden birds; give Sue a cuddle from me - and yourself at two metre distance of course !
@ Pete, you've had such a rough time of it over the years but you provide a lot of inspiration to those people with challenging health problems. I am lucky with my general health, only minor problems which are not life threatening in any way (unless they come up with a Coronavirus cure which involves anti-malarial ingredients which would be worse for me than the virus ! )
Just wondering how Mike and I can celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary today - no restaurant meal, no special holiday break and I'm sending him a cuddle at social distance LOL
Btw, Happy Birthday Ann, hope you can enjoy your celebration and Mr GB cooks you up a delicious feast :)
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Regards, Hazel
gaynorsl said:How can you celebrate you ask Hazy? Chocolate!!!!! no ban on it yet!!!! I haven't any in the house and of course I am now missing just a small portion when I need a treat.....like now!!!!!!
LOL Gaynor, no chocolate here either but a friend of mine dropped off a lovely card, some cake, homemade cranberry sauce (which I love with chicken, turkey, ham) and a huge bunch of flowers, bless her. Once this pandemic is over (whenever that will be) we will have a belated celebration although I'm not one for eating out very often and I'd settle for the Leighton Moss café which would suit us better !! A good birding trip will be just the ticket and maybe next year when there is more certainty that Covid-19 has run its course, a trip to see my brother and family in Australia would be wonderful. Seems a long way off at the moment LOL Keep well, keep hand washing and keep distancing.
Here's a contribution from our recent walks. On the 24th we walked on the back roads, so you go up a slope with high banks, past the badger sets (library photo from 2015)
Along the top with views over the village & saw our first Clouded Yellow of the year
then turn left & go through a little copse, I could hear a bird call but wasn't sure what it was, then saw it with the bins (briefly) & decided it was either Firecrest or Goldcrest. I got a distant photo (looks a candidate for Paul's quiz) but at least confirmed it was a Firecrest. There was also a Chiffchaff singing.
At the bottom of the hill we go past a pond & river & then head back uphill though the vines to home.
On the 27th we went out the other way on the marshes. We started by taking some shots of a Storks nest that has just been started. It's very exciting because it's our first that can be easily seen from the garden.
Then we took the small road out toward the gironde river, a female orange tip stopped a little way off
There was a male too but they didn't mate & he went off, then after 1km (our distance limit) we turned right & then right again onto a track back towards home. A couple of Coypu dived into the water alongside the track, a belly-flop as usual, got 1/10 for style! LOL. No chance of a photo though. The track has nice bushes either side
It's nice & dry with no rain for a few weeks now. A few birds flitting around but nothing posed for us. So head back home before our hour is up. Another photo of the Storks from up near the house
A photo of the bank at the back of the garden, very sunny looking,
I must do a bit of weeding, but the insects like it all. The moles are really bad at the moment, they seem to be dancing to the battery powered mole repellent!
We knock them down daily, but they just come back again! Walk finished & just a photo of the setting sun.
Good news on the telly last night, for a change, a couple in their nineties survived the virus, despite both being hospitalised. Good health everyone & stay safe.
Best wishes
Hazel in Southwest France