Odds & Sods 2021

Taken through an upstairs window a few minutes ago. Fortunately it hung around while I ran for the camera!

Oh dear, someone is going to be lunch!

I don't think it caught anything on that visit, although I have seen successful hunts in the garden. I was surprised to see that sparrowhawks sometimes 'dig' birds out of foliage where they hide.

Hunt and be hunted, food must seem plentiful there compared to other places the sprawk has visited.

Lovely Sparrowhawk--thanks for posting, DB. In our previous garden we had huge numbers of Collared Doves, but we figured we needed to carry on feeding them in order to encourage the visiting Sparrowhawks to choose one of them rather than one of our smaller birds. I never watched an escape like Dave has but I watched a Sparrowhawk mantling over a Collared Dove on our lawn, de-feathering it, and emptying those expensive sunflower hearts from the crop several times over the years. It seemed the Sprawk could not lift Dove-plus-seeds but could just manage to take off if it removed the seeds. The Dove provided a much larger meal for the Sprawk family than one of our smaller birds and we only had one family of each of those in the garden. Yep, they all have to eat and Collared Doves are not endangered. This garden, only three miles from the previous one, rarely has any visiting Collared Doves and only a few times have we seen a Sparrowhawk. Here we are trying to feed birds without increasing the Squirrel population which meant adding Squirrel guards to every bird feeder. The Squirrels are joined by Crows, Jackdaws, Magpies, Jays, Robins, Blackbirds, Dunnocks (and possibly the Foxes and Rabbit who visit the garden) in cleaning up anything which drops from the feeders. Not sure just how the Rabbit has so far escaped being dinner for the Foxes but our fingers are crossed!

Have also been visited by a sparrowhawk in our garden last week and this is the reason why.... my new family of goldfinches, I can get upto 20/30 in a sitting but mostly about 10 to 15 all day long.as a massive shock to see a sparrowhawk in our garden...

Was a beautiful sunny day at Leighton Moss yesterday and the beardies were out in numbers,  at least 20 of them at one time, however,  with the sun being out, the beardies being out the crowds were out so getting clear views or near enough photographs was difficult;   in the end I just used the binoculars and listened to the wonderful sound of them arriving to and from the grit trays with the unique pinging sound.      The deer stags showed briefly at Grisedale hide so I will add a quick pic of one of them.

the handsome male beardie ....

this one looks like one of this years young and by all accounts they've had a good breeding season

a bit of a wing and tail stretch 

Lovely captures Hazel :o)

Stunning birds. Thanks for the photos.

I'm loving these photos of the moustached reedlings and goldies, nice photos folks.

Still not getting out at the moment, the gum is still a little tender and prone to bleeding (the joy of anticoags), so a few from the gardencams....

https://www.flickr.com/photos/peak-rambler/51595314649/

 

Playful foxes

https://www.flickr.com/photos/peak-rambler/51595543600/in/photostream/

 

Playful foxes, the dog fox rubbing up against the hedge, leaving his scent mark....

https://www.flickr.com/photos/peak-rambler/51594870553/in/photostream/

 

Playful foxes.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/peak-rambler/51595541000/in/photostream/

 

Playful foxes, one having a drink from a water bowl

https://www.flickr.com/photos/peak-rambler/51593830702/in/photostream/

 

Playful foxes, one having a drink from a water bowl