Blossom!

Blossom in December

Blue skies above Castor

I've never seen a sky like this before. Perhaps I never will again. Living on a crowded island, there are always planes flying over at some height, no matter where you are. So thanks, Eyjafjallajoekull, for giving us beautiful blue, quiet skies for a while.

It was a gorgeous spring day, warm and sunny. These are the eyes of a male Whitethroat, the first one I've seen this year.  We didn't catch a whole lot at Castor... the hoped-for surge of birds near dusk never quite happened. Despite that, it was a beautiful day to be outside, admiring blossom, listening to Blackcaps singing (not Nightingales, unfortunately), eating cake...

photos taken with Canon Powershot A640

May Day

Bluebells

Blossom

Bumblebee on rosemary

Horse-chestnut

Peacock on bluebells

Young oak leaves

Sycamore

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

Spring

Damson blossom being enjoyed by a) me and b) a Peacock butterfly

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

Spring, springing

photos taken with Canon Powershot A640

Suffolk

Lapwing

Black-headed Gull

Swallow, not sure where to go next

Minsmere

Wren

Spider

Kittiwakes and other gulls on one of the intakes (?) at Sizewell

blossom

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

Creepy-crawlies

Comma

Brimstone (mostly busy flying up and down at speed)

Watching ladybirds climbing up and down leaves is always amusing

Celandine

Blackthorn blossom

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

Blossom and birdsong

Chaffinch singing

Carrion Crow selecting nest material

Definitely not tropical

Climbing plant dangling

Orange flowers

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

More garden stuff

Robin

Red Admiral

ladybird

Dunnock, the photographer's friend

Peacock nectaring on rosemary

More bees on blossom

muntjac

blackthorn blossom

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

Blossom etc

Jackdaws. Break your twig from the tree...

Then take it back to your chimney

Bumblebee hovering at cherry blossom

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