Well, as promised, and planned, I managed to get to Baddesley Clinton, a National Trust property, mainly to capture photos of the swallows, but also anything else photographic that caught my eye as well. its always a pleasure to visit there, the wildlife never disappoints, so my upfront apologies for the abundance of photos.
The welcoming committee....
The first sighting was to be, not a swallow, even though I know they had arrived, but a pied wagtail perched on the roof of the house, proudly displaying the collection of breakie for the brood.
Then, back to the roof top, again, and its head was down on the roof tiles, not in agony, possibly having a nibble at the lichen....
Come on Mr PG, what are you doing?
and back to standing up...
Time to spruce up those feathers....
the armpits don't smell too bad....
And the first sighting of a swallow, on the roof tiles....
And another flying over the roof
A close-up of the swallow on the roof
Having a good preen on the roof apex...
Another perched on the gable end
Its a bit late for the dawn chorus!
OK, how was that hit from 1980; Secret Affair; "Time For Action" Secret Affair - Time For Action (1980) - YouTube
Mind the masonry, its a medieval property and a good few hundred years old!
Oi?
Don't you go changing those trade winds, it took us long enough to get 'ere with delayed flight passages and we're a stayin'!
A jackdaw getting in on the action...
Now for Baddesley's (fast growing) young of 2021
A tired gosling
and some resting goslings....
and Mrs Mallard and ducklings...
Mr Tufty alone on the lake. I've not seen a tufted duck here before and the garden staff say the same.
The meadow, definitely a no-mow-May....
I've no idea of what orchid it is, but it looked like white tailed bumblebee having a good feed. It was too busy feeding for me to get a proper look at the tail
A hoverfly
A crow looking in for some titbits of food, large or small....
More swallow photos
This looks like a nagging session to me!
and close-ups...
some half decent inflight photos...
Hopefully I'll get back when the chicks are hatched, Covid19 and other things permitting.
A lovely set of photos Mike, looks like a great place to visit with such historical buildings too.
post edit: for your bee loving trumpet type drooping flowers take a look at nectaroscordium varieities (related to Allium I think )
Unknown said:
Thank you Hazel, and for the flower ID, I've noted that for when the photo is uploaded to my Flickr pages.
It is a fascinating place to visit, the gardens are well tended and harbour a lot of wildlife, which make it a good place to visit, not just for the house and gardens, but wildlife as well.
The earliest records of the house, a moated medieval manor house, date back to 1483, with subsequent additions and alterations. Its a fascinating place with priest holes where the Jesuit Priests would hide from persecution and many other artefacts.
Just a short walk from the house is St Michael's Church, a very ornate little church, formerly Catholic, and later, Church of England, which is also rich with wildlife.
It is by the church that I see the redwings every year.
I couldn't resist a tweak in editing these three....
Mind the masonry....
We all know how delayed these poor birds were getting here.....
I'm not going to hint who is nagging who.....