Archived & Upcoming Images of the Day
The cold weather does nothing to sweeten the temper of the various visitors, and means closely matched combatants may be more determined to maintain access to the food - as this Great Tit from the normally dominant Robin.
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Two thoroughly disagreeable starlings.
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We have a few (3 or a few more) Fieldfares still using the orchard as an apple windfall banquet. The major flock is long gone - a flock of about 10 sometimes flies by. But we don't often see them at the camera sites, but this week quite a lot!
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Another Fieldfare appearance - these two images a few minutes apart of probably the same bird.
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A Dunnock's search under the snow is rewarded with a corn grain.
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The local Thrush also put in several appearances in the snow. The bird has started using a sheet of corrugated iron (intended to attract snakes in the summer) as it's 'Anvil'.
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4 frames from the build-up of the first snowfall. The last image unexpectedly includes a not very good view of a Redwing - not seen for many weeks.
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Snow may be falling but many birds are nevertheless out looking for food.
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Probably slim pickings for a fox - worms frozen under the soil & mice under the snow. We think this one has heard something moving and is having a go at turning it into a 'mouthful'
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A fox exploring the woodland site for something to eat.
Is it trying to gnaw the peanut butter impregnated wood?
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Montage of female (left) and male blackbirds 20 minutes apart.
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The snow has brought in the Jay looking for something to eat around the peanut feeders. We don't see them trying to extract peanuts (the beak tip is too big) but like many creatures they search the base of the feeder and the ground beneath for bits dropped by Woodpecker and the Squirrels.
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For several days after two snowfalls we saw only a tiny fraction of the normal number of images of Fieldmice (Wood Mice). This one really expresses the problems for such a small creature in snow many times deeper than it is!
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Trampling down of the snow by the many visitors (and our broom to keep the site usable) means the fieldmice (wood mice) are back to leaping about.
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"Where has the sun gone?"
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We understand that badgers spend bad weather hibernating in their setts, So this one out just after midnight in sub-zero temperatures must be really hungry.
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These 2 female blackbirds about 4 hours apart at first look similar, but although close to the same size, despite their postures distorting this, they have different beak colouration and other small differences in markings
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Leaping mice don't usually come this bizarre.
In the closer view of the mouse in the air you will see that it has
retained a grip on the corn grain between it's front paws!
Some of you claim our mice MUST be jumping down but if it was
it wouldn't have had the corn grain in its paws.
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We would bet that corn grain got dropped when it landed!
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One heron fly-by (after several weeks absence) becomes a montage and a closeup.
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Robin vs 2 Great Tits.
Looks to us like the Robin is relishing the challenge, but more
likely is just determined to get at the food in the peanut feeder
to the left and will force his way past.
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Lots of Great Spotted Woodpeckers visits at the moment, and we know we have at least 2 pairs visiting, snowing or not. This is a male - you can just see the red patch at the back of the head.
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These two undersized grey squirrels may be siblings. - there was no aggression between them as we normally expect to see.
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This Great Tit looks a bit more than usually willing to defend it's position. The peanuts in the feeder to the left may save its life in this cold weather.
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Here the Bluetit is sort-of defending its position, but doesn't stand a chance against the aggressive Robin, and we think it more likely it is making a desultory gesture at being forced to leave!
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We got several (not very good) photos of this Collared dove before the Grey Squirrel's arrival, and none thereafter. A pair of Collared doves like a conifer tree a few meters from this site, and from the house 30m away we often see them 'playing' there from the house. Baby Collared Doves later this year?
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Conifer seed heads contain lots of useful (and tasty?) protein if you can only chew your way in!
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There are so many interactions between a male chaffinch and a Great Tit at this feeder we think there may be two birds that really dislike each other. Like human society a bit isn't it?
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Great tits are wonderfully marked when you have a close look.
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In a flurry of wings this Great Tit flies off.
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We just love this Rook's face. This is one of a pair of rooks that frequent the centre of our plot every day.
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Predators have to be irregular creatures or their prey will know when to hide. After an absence for over a week the barn owl turned up 3 days running, each time around 18:45 perhaps for some reason we don't know.
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The bird only stayed for a couple of minutes. The heap on top of the post is the remains of a peanut butter and corn mix put out too late for the birds to finish and of no interest to an owl.
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On the third and final day the bird stayed on the post for about half an hour. A slight drizzle turned into a rain shower. Image 3 (lower left) happened to catch the bird shaking out the damp plumage, and the final image shows the whole top of the head spangled with raindrops just prior to leaving - compare with the image above it. Owls feathers are not very water resistant - the bird flew off presumably to perch somewhere dry.
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The smaller Bluetit (right) looks a bit apprehensive at the Great Tit that has probably just landed. Sometimes they squabble, other times they feed together in peace.
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These 2 successive frames indicate that the rabbit lifted the fir
cone from behind the log (probably awkwardly placed partly under it)
on to the top to have a good chew on it.
The images are 1 hour apart - has the mouse magically turned into a slug?
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A clump of Snowdrops not yet fully opened shows the interesting way the flowers form and then drop down from the protecting sheath.
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The Robin can see Spring on its way.
From the top of this conifer the song was echoing off the garage.
We are amazed how open the beak is.
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This single frame by chance catches for the first time what is about a weekly occurrence - the large feeder landing on the ground. It is normally retained by a circle of tacks to stop it sliding off but can still be tipped off. The squirrel on the right triggered the camera just as the squirrel on the left did the deed as it clambered up the pole.
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It was getting dark and raining when we spotted the feeder had fallen, and put it back next morning. Shortly afterwards, this Grey squirrel seems to be puzzled by the leaf from the ground now stuck to the top of the feeder
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