Saturday 8 November 2008

A little bit of sunshine and a lot of rain

After more than a week of gloomy weather the sun appeared yesterday, but only for a couple of hours..................it gave me enough time to try my new lens, a surprise from Mr P. Hopefully it will give me the opportunity to show you more of the wildlife in the garden........
We put this owl box up around three years ago....and it has not had any takers...........but looking at it today I think something is going on up there......what do you think??

This robin often joins me in the shed and takes spilt seed from the work surface.....he is the most friendly little chap........


Blue tits are around all year..............and do very well here......I had three pairs of nesting birds in the garden this year.......



Collared doves are quite common....I love it when they sit on the chimney and call down to us.........it really is quite soothing......Mr P loves it........
Starlings are noisy, messy and can be a nuisance, I know...........but I have a bit of a soft spot for them.....I really think they get a bad press.....at the end of the day, they are only doing what comes naturally.........


The great tit can bully the blue tits.......he tends to take control of nut feeders........you will often see the blue tits lined up waiting for the larger bird to finish........
This is one of my favourite birds....the dunnock.....such a quiet, gentle soul and very shy......and doesn't this photograph portray just that........I was very lucky to get this photograph, and had to put a pair of jeans in the washing machine afterwards..........but it was worth it..........
I still have a lot to learn with the new lens.....the camera is still baffling me in some areas.......but I am learning to be patient.....and I hope you are enjoying more of the wildlife in my garden..........










26 comments:

Ruth said...

Your birds are so different than ours in North America. Such nice pictures of them too with your new lens.

Graceanne Grateful said...

Being a bird lover all my life I really love this post. And as Ruth said, your birds are very different so it's great to learn about yours there. Beautiful pictures with your new lens.
Have a blessed Sunday. G G :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Cheryl...such beautiful photo`s as always...Hope you are all well and enjoyin your weekend:)~X~

beckie said...

Cheryl, you are doing beautifully with your camera and the new lens! Your collored doves look like our regular doves. They are a gentle bird most often seen in pairs. Your great it is what we call a Blue Jay. And they arebig bullies here too. The little duunock is very sweet looking and what a great picture! I am glad you had sun for at least a little while today. I know you have had a wet summer and now fall.We are having typical November weather-cold and dreary.
Have a great weekend!

Wendy said...

I think you will have owlets before long - or at least it looks like some kind of activity in your owl house. What fun! I suppose the season is wrong for babies, though.

I have a bluebird box I put up in our backyard a couple of years ago, but we've only had a sparrow nesting in it once. No bluebirds. I suppose we must be patient.

Your little dunnock is sweet. It is nice to see different birds. I wonder if your collared doves are the same as our mourning doves. I don't know if Beckie meant mourning doves or plain ordinary doves. We have both here in Canada.

I am glad you are enjoying your new lens. The pics certainly look good to me!

NCmountainwoman said...

I think I am going to enjoy your new lens! Great shots of some lovely birds. Thanks for showing us some birds we don't see here.

Cheryl said...

Hi Ruth....I love to see the birds in America, the contrasts are amazing.......

Cheryl said...

Dear Graceanne.....I am a bird lover to, from a very small child......I love to share my pictures, also to learn from others.....
A blessed Sunday to you......

Cheryl said...

Dear Beckie......I think I am growing webbed feet.......we had more rain last night and the ground here is very waterloged.....I slipped around the garden this morning...lol

The birds are so difficult to photograph.....as soon as I zoom in they fly away and I am left with a lovely photograph of a branch...........patience Cheryl, patience.........

Cheryl said...

Hi Wendy....wront time to year for babies, that is for sure.....the weather we are having they would be washed away.....
there are an awful lot of leaves in that box, I am curious.....

Dawny P said...

Oh these are all wondeful photos Cheryl. Richard isn't here at the moment but I will come back and show him when he gets home as e will enjoy them so much. You did well with your new lens as well - what fabulous work xxxx

Rose said...

You are going to enjoy this lens, Cheryl, and so are we--great close-ups of all the birds. I do hope an owl comes to stay; we have had one here recently, but I've never seen him, just heard him at night.

I love that picture of the blue tit on the hand sculpture; he seems to be waiting for the other bird to feed first...he might have a long wait:) I don't think these are the same as bluejays as Beckie said; you have some species of birds that I don't think we have here.

It's gray and cold here today, too; I hope you have a good weekend, Cheryl!

Q said...

Dear Cheryl,
Thank you so very much for posting pictures of your birds. Your new lens is nice. Your husband is a good man. You quickly seem to have taken to the lens too. Is it a telephoto lens? I love seeing my birds up close and now seeing yours is exciting.
I am in love with the Dunnock! This one does look shy and so very sweet. It is wonderful the way you have taken to photography. Thank you. When I looked at your pictures this morning I felt as if I was walking in your garden with you saying,"Hello" to your birds.
I looked down and my feet were dry!
Hugs,
Sherry

Cheryl said...

Thanks Dawny......I thought of Richard when I saw goings on in the owl box.........a sparrowhawk, and a kestral are both hunting in the garden at the moment........I seem to be attracting more and more to the garden......I am not liking the lens today, it did not do as I wanted, I think it has a mind of its own......
Hope you are well.......

Cheryl said...

Dear Rose.....don't you think it is just wonderful to know an owl is there.....you don't have to see it to enjoy it......

I also thought that your blue jay is an entirely different species....I have seen them on Sherry's blog.....they are similar to our Jay, it to has flashes of blue......

We have a strong wind blowing today....it is angry, it is growling down the chimney as I type......sounds as if the house is haunted.......ooooohhhhhhh

Cheryl said...

Dear Sherry.....glad you enjoyed the birds, and especially the dunnock.....Iam trying to get a better photograph of this sweet bird to share with you.....they are so difficult to capture .....because we are in the countryside they do not have much contact with humans.......as soon as I appear they disappear.......but I am going to keep on trying......

Yes Sherry it is a telephoto lens.........all this is very new to me.....

Love your last comment.....looked down and my feet were dry.....it made me smile........

Hope you have enjoyed your weekend.....

marmee said...

your wonderful sunny garden with all the birds in a natural setting...love it. i am always fascinated with birds. yours are lovely. stay warm and dry.

SweetAnnee said...

Owls need a totally free box to nest in..Ours too has branches around it
they need a straight shot in and out

We had a Carolina Wren around ours
Gosh way too high and big for them.

smiles, Deena
Love your fungi too!!

Lisa at Greenbow said...

I am loving to see all the wildlife in your garden Cheryl. You will get your new camera and lens figured out soon. I hope you find out what is using the owl box. Hopefully not a squirrel.

Cheryl said...

Thank you Deena for the information......I am hoping to see something around the box to give me a clue to what is going on......

Cheryl said...

Hi Lisa....when I saw all the leaves hanging out of the box, I did think squirrel.......we do have a resident squirrel and he has two dreys in the garden....so I don't know....we will see......

Cheryl said...

Hi Marmee.....I must say it was good to feel the sunshine for just a little while.......the weather has been tiresome this week.....we have gales and rain expected tomorrow.......

Tricia Ryder said...

I see you're getting to grips with your new acquisition Cheryl. Lovely birdie pictures :)

Cheryl said...

I am getting there Tricia....but it is slow.......

Shirley said...

Hi there Cheryl :-)

Great captures with your new lens. I can see you are having fun with this camera now! Interestingly I was taking photos of the Dunnock the other day too. It is a great character in the garden isn't it? Have a good week :-D

Libbys Blog said...

Love your new header pic very Christmassy! I hope you have got something going on in the owl box, how cool would that be! As always it is a pleasure to visit your blog!