Garden Birds Again!

I feel on the verge of developing "blogger's block" having not being out birding or any where else interesting recently so I'm afraid its another blog posting on the garden.

I saw two grey squirrels chasing each other up and down the silver birches this morning - my first wild mammal sighting of the year. I haven't seen a grey squirrel in the garden for months - the two young ones from the autumn suddenly disappeared. It would be nice to think that the two this morning were the same squirrels.

A blue tit was investigating the nest box with the camera installed inside the other day so at the weekend my husband repaired the damage done to the nest box by the great spotted woodpecker and put a new better quality metal plate around the entrance hole.

I had fun on Sunday experimenting with my new telephoto lens trying out different modes and settings. I am hoping I will learn from my mistakes!

Here's a couple of photos of the two most numerous visitors (apart from goldfinches) to the garden - feral and wood pigeon






A blurred photo of a blue tit - I think I should have selected a higher speed



And I was really pleased to see this mistle thrush which flew into the whitebeam. We only get occasional visits from song and mistle thrushes and this was a new "tick" for the 2011 list. I wouldn't even call this a record shot though - I think it may be a candidate for the "worst photo of the year competition" still it was nice to manage a photo.




I offered to run an errand for my daughter this morning - the fact that the location was only a couple of miles from the branch of MacDonalds where I last saw waxwings a couple of years ago, of course, had nothing at all to do with my kind offer :D. The rowan trees near MacDonalds still held plenty of berries and one tree even had the yellow variety of berry so beloved by waxwings but, you guessed correctly, the waxwings have not yet found this delectable feast or they hadn't when I drove past. There is no doubt that when I hear of a local "twitch" of these birds I shall have to go along.

Garden Bird List 2011 - 19

Mammal List 2011 - 1