Each day I realise, even more, how lucky I am in these Covid times to have a garden to help me maintain what vestiges of sanity I had before this whole virus thing took a hold! Nature has wonderful powers, and should be cherished to the full - a concept that too many people in positions of power do not seem able to grasp.
Here are some of the highlights from our own tiny corner of the planet - our garden - in the two weeks nominated in the title of this blog post.
Monday, 10th August
We occasionally get a mixed tit flock visiting the garden. The mix of tits included in the flock is variable. On this occasion we had (at least) 4 x Blue Tit, 1 x Coal Tit, 1 x Great Tit, and 9 x Long-tailed Tit. I say 'at least' as the garden is small and the tits are darting about all over the place, and difficult to count. On this occasion, they brought a Willow Warbler along for the ride.
I managed a few shots of the Long-tailed Tits, which appreciated being able to have a drink, but were also feeding on what I believe were aphids which were under the leaves of a Cotoneaster. They are, in my opinion, some of the cutest of British garden birds.
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| Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) - garden on 10th August, 2020 |
I also managed a shot of the Willow Warbler.
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| Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) - garden on 10th August, 2020 |
Many people are reporting a poor year for butterflies, and I was getting a little concerned how few Small Tortoiseshells were around when compared to the norm. However, numbers have suddenly picked up and we peaked for the week at 7 present on this day.
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| Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) - Garden on 10th Auugust, 2020 |
Tuesday, 11th August
A relatively unremarkable day, but I did take a few shots of a visiting Red Admiral. These butterflies have now started appearing with some regularity.
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| Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) - garden on 11th August, 2020 |
The other photos that day were taken just before bed time. I went out to the garage to lock up, and a small frog popped out of the bed that is densely populated with poppys. I rushed in to get the camera and managed to fire off just one frame before it shot off at an utterly amazing speed - it struck me at the time that it was as fast as a darting mouse! This was not too encouraging when Lindsay has a frog phobia!
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| Common Frog (Rana temporaria) - garden on 11th August, 2020 |
As I closed the curtains in my study before heading upstairs for the night, I noticed this very small spider on the window frame - I have no idea of the species. Both this shot and the one above were taken using the on-camera flash of the Nikon D7200 to which the Sigma 150 macro was attached.
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| spider species - my study on 11th August, 2020 |
Wednesday, 12th August
Nothing remarkable this day either, but I took some shots of a Peacock butterfly with natural backlighting.
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| Peacock (Aglais io) - garden on 12th August, 2020 |
Thursday, 13th August
It was a quite good day for birds in the garden, with 15 species putting a foot down. The tit flock was back - still accompanied by the Willow Warbler, although the Coal Tit was not seen. No photos were taken of any flock members, but the butterfly theme continues with a Comma which visited that day. We don't see many Commas in the garden.
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| Comma (Polygonia c-album) - garden on 13th August, 2020 |
Friday, 14th August
We had the tit flock again and the Coal Tit and Willow Warbler were in there. However, the only photo I have to offer is of a Large White butterfly. This, I believe, will be the last butterfly in this account!
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| Large White (Pieris brassicae) - garden on 14th August, 2020 |
Monday, 17th August
The week started well with 17 species of bird visiting the garden this day - a very good number for the time of year. The tit flock was back once more with a full compliment and the addition of Goldcrests. There were at least two Goldcrests, and there might have been as many as four! Britain's smallest bird is rarely easy to photograph and was no more cooperative than usual on this day - here are a couple of record shots.
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| Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) - garden on 17th August, 2020 |
My shots of the Willow Warbler were much worse than those of the Goldcrests, but I did take a few shots of a Blue Tit.
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| Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) - garden on 17th August, 2020 |
Wednesday, 19th August
At the end of this day, I did found something strange as I was about to close the curtains in my study where the light had been on all evening. Three shieldbugs, which I think were probably Birch Shieldbug, were on the outside of the window. I do not recall ever having seen shieldbugs attracted to light before. This sighting resulted in rather unusual photos of the undersides of two of them, taken with flash and the macro lens from the inside of the window glass. I suspect that they represent male and female of the species, but I hesitate to suggest which is which!
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| possible Birch Shieldbug (Elasmostethus interstinctus) - garden on 19th August, 2020 |
Saturday, 22nd August
The highlight of this day was a count of 28+ House Sparrows. A Collared Dove left its mark on our bedroom window and departed, apparently unharmed. It made for an unusal 'birdprint' photo. From experience, the oil and dust from the feathers is not the easiest to remove from window glass.
Sunday, 23rd August
The week ended on a high with a rare visit from a male Blackcap and a visit from a female Sparrowhawk, which we suspect may have eventually taken one of our House Sparrows after a brief chase. Sadly, neither of these birds were photographed.
Each year, I let some of the sunflower heart spillage from the feeders grow and flower. The flowers are attractive to some insects, including bees, although you would not know it from the image, below! The sunflowers come in a quite wide range of variety. Most are single-flowered, but a few very large ones are multi-headed with up to ten large flower heads.
The garden is visited by good numbers of juvenile birds in late summer, with the most numerous, after House Sparrow, being Goldfinch. Some of the juveniles are already showing signs of adult plumage, but this one hadn't reached that stage of maturity yet.
This brings me to the end of this edition of my garden account.
My next blog post will probably feature a couple of ventures out into the wild, with one of them a little different to the usual from me. In the meantime, take good care and stay safe, but don't forget to get out and commune with nature whenever you can!
The highlight of this day was a count of 28+ House Sparrows. A Collared Dove left its mark on our bedroom window and departed, apparently unharmed. It made for an unusal 'birdprint' photo. From experience, the oil and dust from the feathers is not the easiest to remove from window glass.
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| bedroom 'birdprint' - on 22nd August, 2020 |
The week ended on a high with a rare visit from a male Blackcap and a visit from a female Sparrowhawk, which we suspect may have eventually taken one of our House Sparrows after a brief chase. Sadly, neither of these birds were photographed.
Each year, I let some of the sunflower heart spillage from the feeders grow and flower. The flowers are attractive to some insects, including bees, although you would not know it from the image, below! The sunflowers come in a quite wide range of variety. Most are single-flowered, but a few very large ones are multi-headed with up to ten large flower heads.
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| Sunflower (Helianthus) - garden on 23rd August, 2020 |
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| Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) (juvenile) - garden on 23rd August, 2020 |
This brings me to the end of this edition of my garden account.
My next blog post will probably feature a couple of ventures out into the wild, with one of them a little different to the usual from me. In the meantime, take good care and stay safe, but don't forget to get out and commune with nature whenever you can!
You’ve had everything wonderful to photograph in the yard.
ReplyDeleteI think that I'd have gone quite mad this year if we did not have a garden to enjoy, Anne!
DeleteAn excellent count and variety in your garden Richard, including the LTT taking water, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, and Goldcrest, great stuff. We had three frogs together in the pond recently.
ReplyDeleteTake Care Stay Safe.
Pete.
The frogs can't get into our new pond, Pete, but they still visit the garden.
DeleteI'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Rose Coloured Starling that has been 3 miles away for the past two days, including in a friend's garden, might come my way. Possibly going to have to go there tomorrow to see if I can find it - together with all the other souls that will be searching for it!
Best wishes to you and KT - take great care - - - Richard
Good morning Richard: You will get no argument from me that Long-tailed Tits are arguably as cute a bird as one might find in a garden. Perhaps we need to compose new lyrics to that old folk song "in an English Country Garden" and insert them among the flowers. I have to say that any of the tits do it for me. The impression the dove left on the window is remarkable. I don't think I have ever seen anything quite like that. We have added dots to our windows and collisions have been eliminated, thankfully. The most heartbreaking one we had was when a Black-throated Blue Warbler hit a window at speed and broke its neck on impact. So sad, and we felt guilty, and that was the impetus to do something. I hope that Lindsay will overcome her distaste for frogs and at least learn to live with them. We have an American Toad that hides among the ferns and we consider it a very welcome guest in the yard. I am sure your frog is equally charming.
ReplyDeleteI've long been aware of your penchant for tits, David!
DeleteYou got me looking at the lyrics to "in an Eglish Country Garden" and I see that the first verse deals with 'flowers', the second 'insects' and the third 'songbirds'. The strange thing is, however, that although the first two verses are, broadly speaking, correct (spiders and snakes in the second verse, being technically wrong, but at least 'English'), the third verse includes Bobolink, Tanager, Cardinal, and Bluebird!!!
We have had two or three fatal bird-strikes on the windows over the years, and rather more where the bird is stunned - most years I end up standing in the garden with a dazed bird in my hand until it recovers enough to fly away and this might take up to an hour. This usually happens when a Sparrowhawk creates panic, and I don't think spots on the windows would help much in that situation.
Lindsay's phobia of frogs is fully ingrained, and unlikely to change - particularly if she had seen the speed that that one moved at!
In regard to your first sentence, Richard, I pride myself on having great powers of observation, and a deep appreciation, based on many years of intense scrutiny!!
DeleteA true connoiseur!
DeleteLovely Long tailed Tit photos and the Collared Dove print is beautiful. Can't work out if that's a tail pattern or c**p pattern. I think I know what I would have done had I hit a window!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely the latter, Marc, and, as you say, with good reason!
DeleteStay safe - - - Richard
Well done Richard, You know what they say. -Use it or lose it-. Stay safe. Mike.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mike. I'll take that as inspiration to get out more, as I seem to have been stuck in at home lately. Take good care - - - Richard
DeleteAbsolutely stunning Richard, the mixture of nature, are beautiful. My favourite is the Long-tailed Tit, lovely.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bob. Those Long-tailed Tits are always a source of delight when they visit!
DeleteAnother fantastic garden post! (In this case, "fantastic" covers both garden as well as the post.)
ReplyDeleteWe fell in love with all the tit family when we lived in Europe. "Cute" is definitely the correct description. Those Goldcrests aren't exactly ugly, either. Gorgeous butterfly photographs with the Large White being quite special in its simplicity.
You are so fortunate to have your garden for a quickly accessible "nature fix".
Our wet season is giving us all-day rain lately and we look forward to a break in the clouds soon so we can get out and about. Hope your new week is off to a great start!
Sorry for the late reply, Wally. I've been busy paving in the garden, followed by a day out with over a thousand frames fired off (probably a record for me), which has kept me totally occupied for a past couple of days. I am beginning to think that I should give up this photography thing!
DeleteThe tit family all seem to have such delightful characters - very sociable and flitting around as if life is an absolute joy.
I hope that your wet season doesn't impose too many restrictions on your adventures. We have had a fair bit of rain lately, and it has turned a bit chilly, with the heating coming on in the house from time to time.
Have a great weekend, and take good care - - - Richard
Hello Richard
ReplyDeleteYou captured the long-tailed tit between the leaves and branches perfectly, but the bird print also managed the pigeon well .. I've never seen anything like it
Greetings Frank
Hi Frank. The window cleaners came today, and the bird print is now gone. We sometimes see marks where a bird (usually a Collared Dove or Woodpigeon) has hit the window, but that was the clearest one that I have ever seen.
DeleteTake great care and stay safe - - - Richard
What I would give to see Long-tailed tits here. I have only seen them once and that was much further South. I also would be more than happy to see a Goldcrest although many years back I saw one here very briefly. The Blue Tits are slowly returning, heaven know where the go in summer, but they certainly know where to find food in winter!!
ReplyDeleteThe Little Owl is around but not very visible. So long as I can hear them though, I am happy to know they have not disappeared.
Have a good week, and stay safe. Diane.
P.S. We are collecting the dehydrator tomorrow apparently it is working again!
Strangely, Diane, the only time that I recall seeing Long-tailed Tits in France was, if I remember rightly, near Carcassonne - well south!
DeleteSo pleased to know that you are still hearing the Little Owls, and also that you have a dehydrator once more!
Take great care and have a wonderful weekend - - - Richard
Hola Richard, que tal ha ido el verano? Por mi zona todo bien. Me han encantado tus fotos de Aegithalos caudatus, un pájaro que a mi se me resiste. Enhorabuena por el reportaje, un fuerte abrazo desde el norte de España.
ReplyDeleteSaludos Germán. Me alegra saber que su verano estuvo bien. Mi verano fue un poco extraño por tener que evitar el virus. Sin embargo, ¡todo está bien hasta ahora!
DeleteAhora se siente como si el otoño hubiera llegado a Inglaterra y la calefacción de la casa se hubiera encendido por las mañanas y las tardes.
Mis mejores deseos de un Reino Unido un poco frío - - - Richard
Hello Richard, wow so much different birds and other animals in your garden. Love the Long tale Tits. Great photos as well. That was a painful encounter for the bird with your window. Hope it survived.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Roos
Hi Roos. Those Collared Dove's are tough birds, and I am sure that it was OK. The print on the window has now gone as the window cleaners were here today.
DeleteI am discovering so much to interest me in the garden this year, and it has been a great help in these difficult times.
Best wishes - stay safe - - - Richard
Hi Richard, beautiful the different birds and insects in your garden. Great photos. Greetings Caroline
ReplyDeleteThank you Caroline. I hope that you are having a great time in Denmark. Best wishes - - - Richard
DeleteHi Richard,
ReplyDeletethat bird print photo on the window is really very special. At first I thought you had merged 2 photos until I read that a turtle dove had hit the window.
Goldcrest and blue tit are really nice to see and I am a bit jealous of your series of the beautiful long-tailed tit.
I also see beautiful and sharp photos of butterflies,
That Bumblebee on the window might not be that strange. I had a very large grasshopper on the window and could also footgraph it nicely on the inside hahahaha ... They are very special pictures of these bugs.
Be careful.
Greetings, Helma
Thank you, Helma - You are really keeping me busy with your comments on four blog posts at one sitting! I must say, however, that every one of your comments is much-appreciated.
DeleteTake good care - - - Richard