The Wait

Cormorant. Couldn’t see it when it was first pointed out to me. It was so still, so quiet. Just waiting…

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Robin Takes a Bath

Spotted this beautiful little robin taking a bath in the local park recently. Here he goes!

Pigeon

Intelligent-looking pigeon.

What are you thinking?

Gold

I’ve seen very few goldfinches in the garden; even then, they didn’t stick around for long. Just occasionally I’d hear an unfamiliar song, then look up and notice one on a chimney stack, or catch a brief flash of red and yellow as a pair took off from their precarious perch on last year’s Rudbeckias. In fact, I’ve never seen many of them, although I remember seeing a group (or charm) feasting on some thistle seeds by the dusty road I lived on when I was a child.
Last year, I bought a packet of Nyjer (Guizotia abyssinica) seed and a special bird feeder, hoping to attract some of these attractive little birds. Nothing happened. A couple of investigative visits from  long-tailed tits, but they didn’t seem to find it very inspiring. This spring, though, two goldfinches started visiting regularly, always after I left for work, of course! But this morning I managed to take a quick shot of them (through the window, so not top quality).

With luck, they will become regular visitors, and possibly even nest nearby.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/g/goldfinch/

 

A Few Images from a Walk

Weak but welcome sunshine yesterday.

Snowdrops, as you’d expect …

but also a solitary celandine …

and some not-quite-ready daffodils.

Interesting ivy-draped doors.

And finally, buzzards soaring in the blue March air!

Waxwings

It was a privilege to see a flock of waxwings at close quarters late last week.

I first became aware of these beautiful winter visitors as a little girl, when my mum spotted one as it feasted on a red-berried shrub outside our front window. Although I didn’t see that particular waxwing, my mum’s excitement must have transmitted itself to me – and stuck – because it’s always been an ambition of mine to see one for myself.

Twice I’d seen them since then, always at quite a distance, silhouetted against the winter sky, unmistakable with their pickaxe-crested profiles and (what I hear as) metallic calls.

Until last week. Totally unexpected and utterly amazing! I could tell that the small, light-coloured birds, swooping and then soaring high into the roadside trees, were not usually found in these (urban) parts. Fieldfares, possibly? When I heard that distinctive sound, though, and caught a glimpse of those trademark crests, I realised what was in prospect.

Fortunately, I was near enough home to rush back for my camera. I began cautiously, snapping away at their lofty perches: an  insurance policy in case they all flew away. Bolder, and having confirmed that they were indeed waxwings, I ventured towards the tree that had attracted them in the first place; whatever it was, it was laden with swags of blazing red berries, although these were diminishing rapidly as they were devoured by the visiting foragers.

 

No-one else (apart from one woman who had to dash off) seemed interested, or even to notice them. All the better for my frantic attempts at photography. And for the waxwings themselves, of course.

I’d never realised how beautiful they were, how their colours were both subtle and bold, how graceful were their movements. Or with what gusto they wolfed down whole berries!

They moved constantly: one group flying off to be replaced by the next, and, inevitably, this is reflected in the quality of some of the shots. But I’m not making any excuses. This was probably that unrepeatable waxwing sighting I’ve been waiting for all my life. And I feel honoured.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/w/waxwing/

 

Visitor

The welcome sight of a blackcap visiting the garden.