I've just come back from a week based at the eastern edge of Dartmoor, which is why I've been away from Bloggerland for some time. I had, I thought, scheduled this post to publish on Wednesday, but I must have done something wrong! I'll try and figure it out.
Most of my photography, which usually takes place 'out in the wild' is what I describe as 'opportunistic' - i.e., it is not planned or staged with props, and I do not attract birds, or other wildlife, with any sort of lures. I do have a portable hide, but this only gets used once or twice a year.
However, matters in my garden are somewhat different. I do attract birds with numerous feeders, and I do set up basic photographic props (strategically placed branches) near the feeders in the hope of getting some reasonable photos - I don't like to take photos of birds on feeders, unless it's the only way I can get a record shot of an interesting bird. I also use my hide a little more frequently in the garden (2 or 3 times a year) than I do in the wild. I have 6 bird feeding stations in my garden, five of which are visible from my study window. The 6 stations have a total of 14 feeders. Consumption in the winter months is approximately one and a half kilogrammes per day. In addition to the feeding stations there are 4 watering points/bird baths and 2 hedgehog feeding stations.
In some ways, this winter in the garden has been a bit disappointing. In previous years we've had regular visits by winter specials such as Redpoll, Siskin, and Brambling, with last winter being a record year for Redpoll and Siskin, although not quite so good for Brambling. I see that, on 1st January 2016, we had 25 Redpoll and 13 Siskin - what a start to the year! However, our last sightings for these three species, to the end of February, were Redpoll (18th December, 2016), Siskin (2nd September, 2016), Brambling (14th October, 2016). I'm wondering if these early sightings mean that the birds passed through and ended up further south - in which case, I hope they visit on their way back north again. I take some consolation, however, in that we we have done slightly better this winter with the 'winter thrushes', and that we've had a garden 'lifer' in the form of Green Woodpecker (which paid us a second visit a couple of weeks later).
My last post on garden birds related to the week up until 11th December, 2016, so here are a few images of some of the birds between then and the end of January.
12th December, 2016
Amongst the visitors this dull cloudy day were one Mistle Thrush and one Fieldfare. The first two images were taken through the glass of my study window. The third was difficult as it was taken at an extremely acute angle (approximately 30 degrees) through the double glazing of our bedroom window.
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| Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) - our garden on 12th December, 2016 |
13th December, 2016
The following day (also cloudy dull), visitors included 3 Mistle Thrush, and a Redwing. I didn't manage any usable images of the Redwing. We also had a visit from a female Great Spotted Woodpecker - a species not often seen in our garden. |
| Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) - our garden on 13th December, 2016 |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) (female) - our garden on 13th December, 2016 |
27th December, 2016Although cloudy, the day was somewhat brighter than most we'd been experiencing. As well as the usual suspects, visitors included Grey Wagtail, Song Thrush, Stock Dove (2), and Long-tailed Tit (2).
We usually get Grey Wagtail for a few days each year, but this tends to be in spring or autumn. This one was with us from 26th December until 25th January. |
| Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) - our garden on 27th December, 2016 |
Out in the wild, I'm not usually too enthralled to see Stock Dove, as they pose a threat to nesting Little Owls. However, these extremely timid birds are very welcome on the relatively rare occasions that they visit our garden. Their iridescence neck markings are wonderful. |
| Stock Dove (Columba oenas) - our garden on 27th December, 2016 |
Bullfinch is usually a relatively uncommon visitor to our garden, but this winter they have been a daily feature with up to five birds at a time. They are extremely handsome birds, but difficult to photograph in the garden as they seem to frequent the darker places, and they are some of the messiest eaters imaginable - they accumulate debris round their beaks as they eat, as you can see below! |
| Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (male) - our garden on 27th December, 2016 |
Here are a couple of the more common birds photographed that day. |
| Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) - our garden on 27th December, 2016 |
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| Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) - our garden on 27th December, 2016 |
4th January, 2017We didn't have any unusual visitors on this particular day, but I did take a few photos of the 'regulars'. |
| Blackbird (Turdus merula) (female) - our garden on 4th January, 2017 |
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| Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) - our garden on 4th January, 2017 |
8th January, 2017
On this day I did take a few shots of a male Bullfinch. Yep, a messy bill again! |
| Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (male) - our garden on 8th January, 2017 |
9th January, 2017
It was a wet day, and I couldn't resist this shot of a soaking squirrel outside my study window. |
| Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) (male) - our garden on 8th January, 2017 |
13th January, 2017
We'd had a little snow during the night, and this hung around for a while. I managed to catch Mrs. B. before she'd made too much of a mess of herself. |
| Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (female) - our garden on 13th January, 2017 |
It's very rarely that we see Reed Bunting in our garden. This was one of those days! |
| Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) (male) - our garden on 13th January, 2017 |
Eventually, the sun started shining through, and I got a shot of the male Bullfinch.  |
| Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (male) - our garden on 13th January, 2017 |
We were still getting regular visits by the Grey Wagtail. Here it is with a remnant of snow. |
| Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) - our garden on 13th January, 2017 |
Some of you may know that I have a bit of a thing about water - splashes and light reflections. In these next two images I think it looks as if the bird is standing in pools of quicksilver. |
| Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) - our garden on 13th January, 2017 |
17th January, 2017
A star visitor this day was a Goldcrest - onother relatively rare visitor to our garden. This is the UK's smallest bird and it was difficult to photograph through my study window as it was in shade, and constantly on the move. |
| Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) - our garden on 17th January, 2017 |
20th January, 2017
I had another chance with the Goldcrest on this day. |
| Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) - our garden on 20th January, 2017 |
25th January, 2017The Bullfinches were around again. Collared Dove are a daily visitor to the garden and, together with Woodpigeon, are responsible for probably around 60-70% of all the bird food consumed in our garden. It's tempting to try and find ways of making things inaccessible for them, but my wife will not allow discrimination! |
| Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (male) - our garden on 25th January, 2017 |
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| Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) - our garden on 25th January, 2017 |
27th January, 2017No report on the subject of garden birds would be complete without a Robin!  |
| Robin (Erithacus rubecula) - our garden on 27th January, 2017 |
29th January, 2017A dull day brought a few common birds in front of the camera. Today we were also graced with another visit from a female Great Spotted Woodpecker. |
| Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) (male) - our garden on 29th January, 2017 |
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| Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) - our garden on 29th January, 2017 |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) (female)- our garden on 29th January, 2017 |
I'd originally intended this post to cover the period up until the end of February, but I think that there's enough in this post already!
Thank you for dropping by. Maybe next time the post will cover February?
