I spent a good couple of hours at the back doorstep watching the garden today on a very needed head count. With the dark mornings and dark nights I don’t get accurate head counts in the winter so today was the ideal opportunity as I HAD to stay in. I was rewarded… My first sight of GS Woodpecker in the garden for months… Redwing in the trees. Bullfinch, Blackcap, Firecrest and Goldcrest all showed themselves!

I took some pictures, but the light was not good, as usual at the moment so I’ve put up the best of a bad bunch!

So, my garden day list today:-

1. Herring Gull
2. Woodpigeon
3. Collared Dove
4. Great Spotted Woodpecker (male)
5. Pied Wagtail
6. Wren (heard)
7. Dunnock
8. Robin
9. Redwing
10. Blackbird
11. Blackcap (M & F)
12. Goldcrest
13. Firecrest
14. Great Tit
15. Blue Tit
16. Coal Tit
17. Long Tailed Tit
18. Magpie
19. Jay
20. Carrion Crow
21. Starling
22. House Sparrow
23. Chaffinch
24. Bullfinch


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GOTCHA!

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!!!

As most of you know by now my mother lives with me, and today (having been Christmas shopping for three weeks and away from home) she was adamant that I was to get into the Christmas spirit! She wanted me to buy the Christmas tree and put it up - TODAY WITHOUT FAIL! That's tradition - I do all the work and she swans around singing Christmas songs whilst I tut my way through the day! I was up at 4am and listening to the dawn chorus; Hesper (my dog) by my side (as always) and having fed the birds and done the garden morning head count we lay on the sofa and snuggled up until the troops arrived and then it was back to the garden (well, the back doorstep with my coffee and Hesper snuggled at my side) and I was not prepared for what turned up. I managed to get the camera set up EVENTUALLY and I'm so pleased it was Sunday.... I spent most of the morning trying to capture this little tyke (much to mother's dislike!). I still got the tree, put it up and to top that, I PUT UP ANOTHER TREE so we have TWO!

Here's my little tyke and although I can't wait for the Spring (as it really is my favourite time of year) I hope he/she stays with us for the winter.... I shall work on getting better quality shots!


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DUNNOCK, in the garden too...
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Return of the Blackcap

First sighting of Blackcap in the garden since Spring - Fabulous. Trevor saw a female this morning and I saw a male at lunchtime. This is a female from last Spring. I tried to get a shot of the male at lunchtime, but failed!

Return of a winter garden visitor

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This image has been up before, but I couldn't resist another showing. We had Firecrest and Goldcrest feeding in the garden last winter and I was hoping they would return this winter. The first sighting of a Goldcrest was Sunday 29th Nov (spotted by Trevor). Fingers crossed for a Firecrest soon and time to get the garden hide up and running and to get some more images!

I think I'm getting my MOJO back!

Thanks to Trevor’s persistence I went out today for the first time in weeks. Only a short visit to Porthpean to look for a Great Northern Diver (a life tick for me) and a short visit to Par, but I think it rekindled my passion! By the time we finished Trevor was nagging to go home! My hands held out so hopefully the treatment is helping. I did get my life tick too as I found a Great Northern Diver very close in at Porthpean within a couple of minutes of arriving. It was a good session. Thanks Trev :-)

Cheeky Robin at Porthpean... The light was terrible and I think I may have sharpened this one too much!



Tufted Duck at Par Beach Pool...

Starling in my garden...

I so wish I had been closer to this Wren. I never get so much time to watch them as they normally flit away quickly, but this one even had a snooze. I suspect if I had moved closer though, it would have been gone in a flash!


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Common Darter
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Greenshank. On this same bird yesterday I auto contrasted and it was too bright so I have tried to tone it down a little today. Sometimes AC works well though.

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Starlings at Par Beach Pool at dusk this evening giving a stunning acrobatic display before going to roost in the reeds...
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A crankey post in more ways than one...

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I had to go up to Torpoint today as I didn't want to risk the post strike with society paperwork and it created the first window of opportunity to do a bit of bird watching for nearly two weeks! Most of it was done from the car as my hands are playing up again... I've waited so long for an appointment to see a consultant (who hopefully will tell me why this is happening and give me a miracle pill); they lost the referral and then last week I received TWO appointments! To add to that, I received another letter this morning stating that they are in the process of making me an appointment so I've decided not to respond to that one because I'm getting CRANKEY. To add to that even more, I was so looking forward to visiting Wacker Quay today and I was going to risk an out of the car session (hands wrapped up) with the scope, but as soon as I arrived I heard it; a gun shot. Two men over near the woods with shot guns and three dogs. There were birds flying in all directions and this upset me too much to stay. I may have done something regretful. Now I'm even more CRANKEY, so to go with my CRANKEY mood I've taken some CRANKEY pictures... They were mostly taken at a distance and are not good, but it cheered me up a bit. Oh, sorry for being CRANKEY Trevor - I don't know how you put up with me sometimes :-)
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A long road ahead, ...

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but I have my friend to guide me :-)
I do hope they survive the shooting season and their walk in the road!

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It was cold and windy and the last thing I expected to see was this fella sitting on a slate topped wall...
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Dunnock in my garden

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I've not been doing much; unable to get out and about due to lots of work and it has not been a good day today, but I'm still keeping my day list and having the odd session in the garden, even though I'm quiet and it's so dark out there even in the daytime! Catching up with the blogs tonight and decided to put these up for Holdingmoments Keith. "Hold onto those special moments in life"...

Robin in the garden...



Coal Tit in the garden...



I needed the flash for this one!... Don't think that Squirrel proof peanut feeder will last much longer!