Springtime Surprise and Bathroom en Tweet!

The Chaffinches have been surprisingly reticent in the garden lately unlike this time last year when they were visiting in hoards. I wonder if this may be due to the ever present threat of the Sparrowhawk, which although not so noticeable lately is, I suspect, still around. However this female was very happy to show off and posed prettily for me.


What a surprise I had today! After frequently bemoaning the fact that I haven't seen a Bullfinch in this area since I was a child I spotted a flash of red at the very bottom of the garden today and assuming it was a Robin reached for the camera and was absolutely amazed and thrilled to see it was in fact a Bullfinch. I didn't have time to focus properly but managed to hurriedly snap one photo just before it took off. Goodness that did give me a thrill! I do so hope it comes back.




I am starting to think that at last we can all breathe a sigh of relief in the belief that the worst of the weather is behind us and that Spring is really here....I know, famous last words!! But this beautiful Daffodil with it's lovely golden face surely bears testament to that.


This rather unassuming Periwinkle (Vinca Major or is this one Minor, I'm afraid I'm not sure) is a lovely colour I think.


Mr Blackbird also has Spring on his mind and is doing a little DIY, here he was rooting around for moss for his building work!


But where was Mrs Blackbird, was she helping? No! She was at the beauty parlour having a pampering session.




'I've lost the soap!'


'Ooh!'


'This is lovely!'


'Now where's the towel?'

All photos taken by me in the garden over the last two days.

Smiling Skies

I was recently sent this picture entitled (for obvious reasons) Smiling Skies, by a dear friend. She did not take it herself, it had been doing the rounds by email but I thought it was so charming that I would share it on my blog.

It seems Spring is even more shy than this ShySongbird at the moment! Just as we see signs of her peeking round the corner she pops her head back again! It has been really quite cold here for the last few days and a very keen wind also.

This Goldfinch looks quite Spring-like atop the blossom, but that is deceiving as it is in fact perched high in the top of our Winter Flowering Cherry tree (Prunus x subhirtella 'Autumnalis Rosea') which flowers gradually from late Autumn through to Spring and always brightens the gloom of Winter for me.


Here is another photo taken by HLH a few days ago whilst walking the dog which shows it is not quite time to wave goodbye to Winter yet.


But look! Spring has crept out again and left this Celandine to whet our appetites.


As I started this post with a sky shot I thought I would end with one. Last night as it was getting dark I noticed how beautiful the Moon looked so decided to try and get some photos. While I was doing so I half expected a witty comment from a neighbour along the lines of "you won't get many bird pictures at this time of night"!

Colourful Crocus, Pretty Primulas and Beautiful Birds

It has been sunny but chilly here today, thankfully we have not seen any of the snow which parts of the UK experienced again yesterday.

There is not very much colour in our garden yet due to it being north facing but I took some photos this afternoon of Crocus and Primulas which I think are quite colourful.


The Crocus always seem to do well. Unfortunately I have lost a lot of Daffodils in the last couple of years due I believe to the enormous amount of rainfall which has rotted the bulbs. It seems when planting I may have left a pocket of air between the bottom of the bulbs and the bottom of the holes which then filled with water and consequently rotted the bulbs. I have learnt my lesson and will plant more carefully in future although I must say I have planted many bulbs in the past and not had this problem, but the rainfall in the last couple of years has been exceptional.


Primulas like it in the back garden but don't do so well in the front garden as it doesn't get enough shade.


Of course the Crocus and Primulas were not the only colours in the garden today, I also saw this colourful Goldfinch.


And this Blue Tit.


Considering I was about ninety feet away from this lovely little female Blackcap I think this photo has come out fairly well.


Finally this Starling is showing off it's jewelled plumage.


All photos were taken by me in the garden today.

A Rather Different Black Bird!

I thought it might be interesting to post some photos of a Black Swan which HLH (His Loyal Highness, otherwise known as my husband) took last February on a local fishing lake. I don't recall ever seeing one in our area before.

After doing some research it seems there are more in this country than there used to be but they are still considered to be unusual.

The Black Swan (Cygnus Atratus) is a native of Australia and Tasmania and is also found wild in New Zealand where it was introduced. It was brought to the UK as an ornamental bird in the same way as Peacocks but inevitably there have been escapees into the wild.


The Black Swan has a bright red bill and white flight feathers which can also be seen clearly while preening and it has the longest neck in relation to it's size of all Swan species. It makes a musical bugle like sound and can also whistle, especially when disturbed while breeding and nesting. Most Swans are territorial during the breeding season but the Black Swan is the exception to this rule often building nests in colonies.

The Black Swan is the official state and bird emblem of Western Australia and appears on their flag and Coat of Arms. For over forty years it has been the town emblem of Dawlish in this country as a result of having been introduced to the town from New Zealand by John Nash, a Dawlish-born man who emigrated during adulthood but paid frequent visits to the town.


Another rather odd fact is that, because it was universally thought that all Swans were white until the black variety was found in Australia, events of enormous impact which are rare and virtually impossible to predict are called "black swans" such as the terrible events of September 11, 2001. It seems a shame to me that such a beautiful creature should be associated with circumstances of such horror and ugliness.