Archived & Upcoming Images of the Day
Does the tail at the left make this 9 or 10 magpies in the old rhyme: 1 for sorrow, 2 for joy, 3 for a girl, 4 for a boy, 5 for silver, 6 for gold, 7 for a story never to be told, 8 for a wish, 9 for a kiss, 10 for a bird you can not miss.
.jpg)
A Robin and what we think must be a Lesser Whitethroat having a mid-air skirmish.
 (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg)
The Bluetits are now stripping buds from the Ash trees. In this montage the bird can just get the bud in it's beak, but a moment later has dropped it (and it let it go).
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
A typical 'head out of frame' image of a male pheasant suggested this abstract study of all those different patterns of feathers on just the side and back.
.jpg)
Violets under an old Silver birch have appeared every one of our 17 years here, and probably for decades before.
.jpg)
Is this robin looking up, down, or just showing off? Probably a minor head turn for a bird that can preen it's back.
.jpg)
Not many fieldmice (wood mice) for some weeks, but this is the most appealing of the recent week.
.jpg)
A session clearing overgrown bushes from the W side of the main pond exposed some snowdrops the rabbits had missed.
.jpg)
Moorhen feeding on the main pond with the full red beak and shield of breeding colour.
.jpg)
Both male and female kestrels are about again. Here the male is flying by some willow catkins.
 pussy willows(r+mb id@576).jpg)
This squirrel found/un-buried a last autumn conker and sat ignoring us in a black poplar chewing his way through it. When it was eaten we got one stare and off he/she went. Obviously they are not poisonous to squirrels.
.jpg)
The sweet face of the bluetit, raising its wings, to launch to the sky.
.jpg)
Blackbird female collecting nesting material. No sign of the male helping, which doesn't mean he isn't collecting elsewhere.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
The cherries were already starting to blossom when the frosts came. Here is a detail of a frosty flower.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Blackberries seem to keep a few of their spent leaves until spring. Here the morning sun from the rear makes some lovely colours.
.jpg)
Several days of overnight frosts and fog provided for some opportunities for those wrapped up warm! Here the details of some Hazel catkins become an almost abstract image in soft shades of orange, yellow and green.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
We sometimes see a robin hovering over water to pick off floating food. While testing a setup to photograph this (even though it was icy when they just land!) happy chance got this. The unusual look isn't flash - light reflecting off ice has strange effects.
.jpg)
Suddenly we have a flock of about 8 long tailed tits visiting our North hedge.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
A female blackbird having a good peck at the log. Her beak is open and her orange tongue is visible. There is nothing wrong with her eye - it's covered by the protective membrane (a sort of third eyelid) that birds have. In other shots it is clear.
.jpg)
The handful of surviving alder trees are producing some attractive tracery against the sky. What we call 'cones' seem to be officially 'corky outgrowths to keep the seeds afloat in water'. Cones seems easier!
.jpg)
The catkins are out on a few of the willows, and the bluetits are making the most of it. Catkins contains load of individual florets and the bird has pulled out a single one in it's beak.
.jpg)
We often see Male robins doing crazy show-off displays to the females, but for once they obliged on camera.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
The mice have returned to their normal manic behaviour.
.jpg)
The classic robin on the classic old tree stump.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Bluetit about to jump off some dead-wood we hang the peanut feeders on. Good thing he doesn't know a tawny owl occasionally hunts from the same perch (see archive for 21 Dec 2007)
.jpg)
The Christmas nuts are now rather stale, but the squirrel doesn't mind.
.jpg)
This caught our fancy because it shows the difference in size so well. (NOT a montage)
.jpg)
This robin was singing alternately in competition with another only 30m or so along the farm track.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
The fieldmice (wood mice) are making occasional appearances. This must be the first 'Miss Winsome Whiskers of 2008' entry.
.jpg)
A snowdrop quietly decorating the base of an ornamental bush.
.jpg)
An elegantly poised male blackbird. We see pairs at both sites, but so far not both usably at the same time.
.jpg)