Kicking off this year's odds and sods with Starlings in a rainbow on that extreme rarity: sunshine.
It was early morning, with the sun barely cresting the tree line. We were able to get out for our morning walk as it wasn't raining. This photo is my trusty Canon 80D and Sigma 18-300mm lens zoomed in at 300mm.
Pulling back a bit.
And finally all the way back.
Oh, 2024 got off to a good start with this.
So far my cat, perhaps two neighbouring cats visiting our garden, a local fox and Tawny owl, and this trap have accounted for at least five of the beasties. Sightings of rats in our garden are getting rarer, so I think I'm winning. Two rather timid and wary rats, that I know of, are proving more elusive to catch. I've resorted to buying a lethal trap. The trap was triggered, yesterday, but no rat, sadly. Though a mouse might have triggered it, and was small enough to be within the kill bar.
90% luck, 5% field craft, 5% camera skills.
Fabulous captures aitch!
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
Well done Kevin. The Green Woodpecker is a special treat, I have only ever seen one - just quickly flying by! Great shots of the Stonechats too ...
Excellent Hazy, you have a crackin' vantage point there. I love the first one - so sharp and clear. I only ever see them miles away ... well not miles away, but a long way off ... . The one tossing the little fish is wonderfully timed ...
HAZY said:Our male Kingfisher has finally returned,
Lovely photos Hazel, and nice to know there's a youngster to carry on.
Mike
Flickr: Peak Rambler
Very nice to see with it's catch Hazy
Thank you and like you, I rarely catch more than a glimpse of the Green Woodpeckers
A bit of a rest between hunting flights.
Feeling a little frazzled this morning. More due to dehydration...you see our neighbour dropped this on our driveway late Friday afternoon. Three to four cubic metres of soil.
Daughter and I spent five hours, yesterday, shifting it into this. An older photo, from three weeks back, as we've made much more progress with the infill. Hope to get this done by September, neighbour's jobs permitting. I can finally get rid of the hated decking put in by previous owners, which is now rotted through. The stuff is lethal when wet, like an ice rink.
We separated out the old turf, piling it up, as it makes superb soil when composted down. The rest of the soil was quite stony (think of B grade soil sieved to 80mm) but is superb as a sub base.
Prior to the infill, I found this to one side of the ditch. It's the twelfth confirmed rat kill since last September. Not sure what got it: cats, poison, other. First rat we've seen in weeks after I and our neighbours set about eradicating them. Though by the sounds of things, I and the local cats have accounted for most all of them.
I think the reason for the infestation we saw last year was the Covid lockdowns. Pest controllers were trapped in their house like the rest of us, meaning rats (and other vermin) could breed unchecked. I read lots of news articles about an explosion in the numbers of rats when lockdown was lifted. At least now we have the means to get rid of them ourselves.
From a few weeks back. This hornet appeared on our kitchen floor. I released it, kicking and screaming, into the garden after its photo shoot. It might have preferred the warmth of our house.
Greenfinch, next to a car park on our morning walk. I've seen loads of Greenfinches around, just not in our garden. I'm mortified they've spurned my bird feeder.
These two Pied wagtails had a nest on one of the roofs of either our house or one of the neighbour's. They were plucky little beasties, seeing off everything. In this instance, they were mobbing a Carrion crow!
Definitely from a couple of months ago. I've noticed this pattern whereby we get an explosion of Starlings (adults and fledglings) who feed off my bird feeder for about three weeks, then disappear. It's quite eerie, in a sense. Same with a golf course we walk through on our morning constitutional. For about three weeks or so, we see about a hundred birds feeding on the greens and tees. Then, one day they all disappear.
Cinnabar moth caterpillars. Saw these in a new nature reserve close to us. I last walked through it about 8 years ago. Back then it was quite a featureless 'field' with small saplings. Returning to it about a month ago was extraordinary. All the saplings were now grown up, giving a wood type feel to the place, with footpaths sneaking in and around. Lots more wildlife to see. Definitely part of our regular morning walks now.
Red admiral on another part of our new walk.
That's it for now.
Today, I shall introduce sprog to the delights of hacking out fencepost concrete footings to accommodate a concrete spur. The last one I need to do.
Lovely photo Ed, nice light on it.