Guess what I saw today?

[eileen]

OK, OK. I know many of you have already had these little visitors in your gardens but it's the first time I've seen them in mine this year!!  ::)

LONG TAILED TITS  ;D ;D ;D

By the time I got indoors, set the camera, focused - Yeah you've guessed they flew away!!!!  :'( :'(

I'll have my eyes glued to the patio doors tomorrow to see if they come back.  :D

Eileen.

[eileen]

[SueT]

I`m very jealous Eileen, I haven`t seen any for a while  :'(

[Gardengirl]

How lovely Eileen - I must admit I have never been lucky enough to see these birds in my garden.  I did however have a visit by three Goldfinches at the same time last year on Christmas Day.  

[Hugh_Jones]

Yesterday, our regularly visiting c*ck pheasant was strolling on his lordly way towards the bird table when a stray golden pheasant appeared from out of the herbaceous border.  A battle royal ensued, and lasted for 5 minutes until (mainly for the sake of the crocuses) I banged on the kitchen window.  The golden pheasant was last seen galloping across the lawn with the ordinary pheasant in hot pursuit and uttering warlike cries.

[eileen]

Wow Hugh, it's not every day you see something like that going on!!

Mind you, I hope the Golden Pheasant survives as they are beautiful birds.

Cheers Eileen.

[tim]

Funny how scarce the t-ts are? Only 3-4 years ago, they were around here in flocks. Now we just get one or two up from the village, where they frequent the river.

Goldfinch, Nuthatch, Greenfinch, Treecreeper, Jenny Wren, Bullfinch, Robin, Sparrows, Jackdaws, Chaffinches, Collared Doves, Wood Pigeons the size of flying-boats - but no Woodpecker yet, and very few Starlings. = Tim

Oh, and one thrush!

[Gardengirl]

I think the starlings are all here in Herts with me Tim.  Loads of them all on the grass verges.  When our elderberry tree has its fruits they kick up a heck of a row all munching away.  Mind you I then get elderberry cr*p all over my car >:(

[Mrs Ava]

... and the t*ts are in our garden, masses of them.  ;D

Heard a woodpecker whilst I was lottie-ing it on Friday, but am yet to see one this year.

[Hugh_Jones]

Please don`t mention woodpeckers, EJ.  I`ve had to take 3 t*t nesting boxes apart and make new fronts for them simply because our resident woodpecker decided to enlerge the holes.  When he started on the first we thought they were going to nest in it, but, having ruined the first box, he then went on to another, and then a third, then nested somewhere else (we know that because the whole family came back to ravage the nut cages later on).

The really bad news is that my wife found a dead Little Owl in our woodland on Sunday.  It was heavily entangled in debris from a pine tree branch which had landed nearby.  We can only assume that the branch had broken during the gale ten days ago and somehow caught the owl, but didn`t actually drop until last Saturday night - it certainly hadn`t been there on Saturday morning.

[SueT]

Oh that`s so sad about the Owl, I`m very fond of owls they`re lovely birds.

[Mrs Ava]

Wow Hugh, what a lot of damage those wooddies did!  It is funny, I see these wonderful birds and creatures around and about, and don't tend to think of the vanadalism they are responsible for.  And what a shame about the owl.  My mum and Ava saw a Snowy owl a couple of weekends back, a great site for my mum as she hadn't seen one in flight for years.  And for the last couple of days, wrens wrens everywhere.  Such cute weeny little birds.  :D

[Hugh_Jones]

Not today, I`m afraid, but yesterday, when the sun was bright and warm, I counted 23 of these little monsters sunning themselves in the branches of this one oak tree

[SueT]

Oh that`s so cute Hugh! :D

[Mrs Ava]

Tree dwelling rats!  When we lived in our cute ragstone cottage in Kent, a little blighter came down the chimney into our then new born daughters bedroom!  Made a right old mess of the upstairs, and finally it escaped through an open window.  Don't mind them in parks, or hopping along the back fence, but don't want them in my house or digging up my bulbs!

[MagpieDi]

Wow!  Looks rather a nice plump one Hugh !! I'm sure Dottie P could dig out a recipe for you.........and one for woodpecker pie too!!  ;)  ;D

[Tenuse]

A squirrel's just a rat with good PR.

Ten x