'At a site in the north of the county'

photos taken with Canon Powershot A640

Garden Birds: The Movie

It's cold and windy outside, so I thought I'd try digivideoing some common garden birds through the bedroom window. It's not come out too badly, but there's no soundtrack.

The stars of the show:

00:00: Goldfinch and Greenfinch are enjoying some sunflower seeds together when

00:10: they're joined - briefly - by a Coal Tit

00:14: another Greenfinch turns up

00:18: a Great Tit and Blue Tit arrive simultaneously, then more Blue Tits and Great Tits

I'll have to try to film the Marsh Tit that's visiting every day at the moment.

Canon Powershot A640 + Leica Apo Televid 77 with 20x eyepiece

What I've been up to

Lambchop at the Union Chapel, London

counting sheep

Looking at fungi

Taking photos of bumblebees' bottoms

taking photos of rosehips

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D + EF 300mm f/4L IS USM or Canon Powershot A640

Autumn at The Lodge

photos taken with Canon Powershot A640 or Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Weirdness on YouTube

It looks quite convincing... from a distance...

Red Admiralty

Six Red Admirals, all on one sunny clump of Asters

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Cornwall 2008

Sennen Cove

Razorbill on the beach

As well as mucking about on the beach, there was also the small matter of the first Alder Flycatcher for the UK, at Nanjizal. Well, that's what they say it is, anyway. Conveniently we were driving through Penzance (on our way back from The Lizard for the Common Nighthawk) when news broke, and chortled as a chopper took off. You could almost hear the cries from inside: 'No, we've got to land again! Let me out!'

Read all about it at Buckton Birder.

Loads of nice scenery but birds were more elusive.

Kynance Cove

Kenidjack

More photos at www.flickr.com/photos/bogbumper

We stayed at Beachside Studio, Sennen Cove, and got quite a good window list going: Chough, Raven, Arctic Skua, Kittiwake (including three colour-ringed birds which I'm waiting to hear about), Gannet, Arctic Skua, Mediterranean Gull, Buzzard, Razorbill, Grey Seal, Rock Pipit and, er, Robin. 

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D + EF 300mm f/4L IS USM or Canon Powershot A640

Coast

Gibraltar Point, early doors

In our usual perverse fashion, we went to Lincolnshire on Friday night because there were lots of good birds turning up in Norfolk and East Yorkshire.

Camping is usually filled with experiences to delight the senses; unsurprisingly, it was bloody cold at night, but we added Little Owl and Barn Owl to our tent list (Bittern is probably still the best bird on it).

The absurdly well-equipped (internet, gas heater, fairy lights) campers in the tent next to ours kindly loaned us their battery-powered airbed inflator, which was nice. Later on, they had a noisy argument, which was not so nice.

A wander round Skegness seafront early on Saturday was next to useless, due to thick fog which persisted until about 1pm. If there were any good birds, they were invisible. Eventually we went to Gibraltar Point (nice cafe) and wandered around the dunes. There weren't many birds around and nothing was moving, but a Yellow-browed Warbler gave itself away by calling from an inaccessible bush.

We'd nearly finished trudging around when a last look along the road revealed another Yellow-browed, flitting around in an Elder bush - briefly.

Sunday morning was less foggy, and sunny briefly before the sun got up behind the clouds. The skies were a bit more lively, with skeins of Pink-footed Geese heading for Norfolk, the odd Redwing, Brambling and plenty of Siskins and Redpolls.

photos taken with Canon Powershot A640

Beeston

Kestrel

Meadow Pipit

We went to Del and John's ringing session at Beeston this morning. There were a few nets around the garden and a 'pipit box' out in a stubble field - a triangle of nets with a tape lure in the middle. It succeeded in attracting Meadow Pipits but also a Kestrel which dived helpfully into the nets. It was a bit grumpy and stuck a talon into Del's finger.

Elsewhere around the farm it was great to see hedges bursting with fruit and buzzing with insects.

Small Tortoiseshell

Hedge full of berries

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Sunny Saturday

This beautiful male Southern Hawker spent a good portion of the day patrolling the pond, but stopped for a rest on the buddleia

Ruddy Darter

Across the road...

Yes, autumn's here

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Sunny Sunday

Comma on blackberries

Red Admiral

male Southern Hawker basking

Painted Lady on valerian

Rosehips

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D + EF 300mm f/4L IS USM, Extender EF 1.4x II

Fight!Fight!Fight!

Jackdaws fighting on the lawn. The two main combatants were claw-to-claw, while the (apparent) loser's mate occasionally joining in with pecks to the aggressor's wings and tail. Eventually all three flew off when they spotted me peering out of the window at them.

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D + EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Small Coppers

Out in the gardens at lunchtime, Small Coppers were everywhere. I hardly saw any other butterflies. What photogenic little fellows they are.

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Froglet

The Great Crested Newts seem to have vanished again, so the amphibian content of the pond seems to be down to one Common Frog and one Smooth Newt eft. I love the frog, but I won't be kissing it.

photos taken with Canon Powershot A640

Dolphin food

'Marine turtles and some seabirds are particularly at risk, as they feed on prey that floats at the surface. They may mistake floating balloons for their jellyfish prey and swallow them, or become entangled and drown. Once swallowed, a balloon may block the digestive tract and eventually lead to death by starvation. Some whales, dolphins and fish are also known to have died as a result of eating balloons.'

Who would want to be associated with any of this? Stand up, Eastnor Cricket Club.

The pictured card floated into my garden this afternoon. 'I am one of many balloons released at Ledbury Carnival on Monday 25th August', it says. Nearly 100 miles isn't bad, but they obviously haven't read about the Marine Conservation Society's 'Don't Let Go' campaign.

I'll return the card, but they'll also be receiving information about the campaign and why they shouldn't be doing balloon races. Ha!

• Yes, I am aware that dolphins, turtles, whales and seabirds are in short supply in Cambridgeshire, but that's not the point. I presume Eastnor CC wouldn't dream of dumping a load of latex in the middle of a field, so why let loads of balloons go? What do they think will happen to them?

• I won a balloon race about 15 years ago. My balloon, released in Northamptonshire, got as far as Felixstowe, before it could harm any hapless sea-creatures.
  

photos taken with Canon Powershot A640

Garden macro

That elusive garden rarity, the Seven-spot Ladybird


Peacock butterfly caterpillar (I think). Several of these hairy beasts were munching their way through a patch of nettles next to the veg patch.




Sunflower buds


Broad-bodied Chaser wing. Picked this up on the pond spoil heap. Did it die of old age or did a Hobby get it?

photos taken with Canon Powershot A640