Archived & Upcoming Images of the Day
Two Tawny Owls here make landings on different perches.
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A nearly midnight Owl visits the Meadow Post ...
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... while small hours of the next night sees the other Tawny Owl landing on the Kitchen perch. Working out the actual intervals as the date changes at midnight can be very counter-intuitive
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The Reeves' Muntjac Deer Fawn is still doing well.
When we don't have an adult in view for scale we look at the ears for
lack of the damage that comes with the passage of time.
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The Reeves' Muntjac Deer really is growing well.
We no longer catch images of the Fawn suckling.
One of our recipients thinks these Deer 'smile', and you see the reason here.
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Male and female Brimstone Butterflies obviously forming an 'attachment'. They fluttered around each other for several minutes before vanishing over the trees.
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This is a small Moth we see some years - you can gauge the size from the stinging nettle leaf the moth is resting on.
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A Peacock Butterfly approaches a Herb Robert flower to top up his energy supply.
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This species of Moth normally lands deep in a bush out of sight, but for some reason blessed us with a well lit view on the leaf of a corkscrew Hazel tree.
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Here we see a Bumble Bee systematically visiting the flowers of a Yellow Flag Iris adorning the main pond. This Bumble Bee has to 'back out' of each flower. Smaller Bees can squeeze out of the side.
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The first properly opened Yellow Flag Iris in the middle of the main Pond.
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The yellow Flag Iris is dazzling, but it is hard to see what is going on. This Purple cultivar lets you see all of the complex 'bits'.
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Top view of the Purple Iris showing the 3-fold symmetry
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On the long grass by the path across the Meadow we spot this Azure Damselfly resting on a grass stem. First sighting of the year
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On this old bramble stem we find this immature female White-legged Damselfly.
They often wander far from their breeding grounds when immature.
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The nest box on the main pond island is a hive of activity in the morning as Mum and Dad Blue Tit try to satisfy the (unknown number) of youngsters inside.
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Both parents launch from the hole using their legs to 'spring' them into the air.
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One of the parents brings back a quite large grub or caterpillar.
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Another caterpillar awaits it's fate in the gape of a Blue Tit chick inside the box.
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An earlier than usual walk north along the farm Road catches this moment of a Hare sprinting along the North bridleway.
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Extracted from the above montage is these three near the middle.
All the images are of similar quality and we can email you the whole
montage at camera resolution on request.
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First Dog Rose of the season that we have spotted.
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2 days later our noses detect a few Burnet Roses on the outer side of
the inner hedge at the East. The scent of the flower is intense - you
can smell it metres downwind.
On our site Burnet Roses have always appeared a few days before the first
Dog Rose, but this strange Spring has changed the timing.
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The gap in the foliage to the right of this image has become a favourite place
for many of the larger visitors to have a drink.
Here the male pheasant stops by for 'a beak-full'.
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A Badger stops by for a drink from Duck Pond.
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This Fox stops for a 'wistful' look over the Round pond at the now thoroughly overgrown island. The water at this pond is finally beginning to drop and its awkward to get a drink, so about two minutes later the Fox appears at the less leaky Duck Pond to quench their thirst.
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This Reeves' Muntjac Deer wanders quietly to the easy-access water for a drink.
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Juvenile Rook here outnumber the adults - its been a good year for Rook breeding. This one on the Farm railings to our south is making his presence known.
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This Rook was hunkered down on the mounds of soil and rubble outside our south hedge. Not pleased to see us human the bird launched awkwardly to escape.
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Another of the multitude of juvenile Rooks. By Rook standards the plumage is a horrible mess.
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You may see it immediately - or not - in this photo, but this young Rook seems to be a regular on the concrete access track. Running along the track making efforts to take off as we walk behind back to the house, the Rook eventually dives into the track edge foliage. If the bird keeps still the black plumage merges with the black shadows.
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For 3 Hours at the end of one night we see 3 Roe Deer individuals - a sort of 'family group' if Roe Deer formed families. In order we see an adult female, Juvenile male (small Antlers) and an Adult male (substantial Antlers).
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This is the now 'Antler Deprived' male Reeves Muntjac Deer.
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In the deep of the night this Badger visits the woodland site for snuffle about.
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A Badger squats down at the front edge of the Duck Pond.
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An hour later a Badger (not enough info to ID as 'the same') passes the Woodland feeding site at speed.
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Great Spotted Woodpeckers - this is a male with the red patch on the back of
his head - have used this techniques for eating peanuts here for decades, although
their chosen feeders and posts have changed over the years.
1. Peck peanuts in the feeder until one is small enough to exit the mesh.
2. Go to a indent in a nearby pole (in this case the post supporting the feeder).
3. Wedge the fragment into a crack and hammer it until bits are small enough to swallow.
As time passes the indent gets deeper and we have to replace the pole!
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When the supply of peanuts is more easily crumbled a simpler method works - keep bashing the nuts in the feeder until a small enough piece appears.
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This white of this freshly bloomed Hawthorn (May) shines in your eyes!
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All that wonderful precision in just a single Dandelion flower!
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A solitary small Horse Chestnut candle shows the delicate colour details of this gloriously complex structure
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There seem to be a lot of Magpies about. This one is perched in one of the several dead Elm trees in the south hedge.
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In the tip of a dead Elm tree each day this Robin can be seen broadcasting his song to the world.
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This Grey Squirrel has found something to eat even after the nighttime visitors.
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This Spring's entry for Baby Bunny of the Year award.
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The male Orange-tips continue to try to mate with any Butterfly that is white! Here he picked a Small White that seems to be as confused as he is and is actively offered to mate. But the genitals don't 'match' and he gives up.
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The Orange tip Butterflies are having to wait longer than usual for the Garlic Mustard plants
to appear. Here on a purple flower we see the harder to identify the FEMALE Orange-tip
butterfly - with a smaller and less dense Black tips to the wings to replace the males
glorious orange.
Both sexes have the subtle green patterned underwing.
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A Bee-fly flying low over the ground catches an image of the characteristic brown and transparent pattern on the wings.
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"Are you looking at me?"
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A fully mature (and a bit worse-for-wear) Fox checks over the Woodland site.
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This Badger pushes their way through the weeds at the south hedge gap.
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The endless nest building/refurbishment requires the materials!
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"En Garde!"
Well - watching the world go by while my mate sits on our eggs.
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We haven't seen Sparrowhawk making flybys of the peanut feeders lately, but this female is obviously back in circulation for better or worse.
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An unusual brief visit by a Kestrel to Meadow Post. The plumage suggests both male (head) and female (tail) so this is probably a juvenile male.
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The Reeves Muntjac Deer Fawn munches his way through the orchard.
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'Our' Fawn continues to thrive.
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'Our' Fawn continues to thrive.
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The Night of the Roe Deer 1 of 4
This Roe Deer spent about 4 Hours on and around our patch.
First capture on Camera is on the Concrete access track.
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The Night of the Roe Deer 2 of 4
Less than 10 minutes later at the Woodland site - MUCH too
big to be more than partially in frame.
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The Night of the Roe Deer 3 of 4
Hours later we assume the same visitor is at the hedge bottom for the
best portrait that we got.
Roe Deer moult twice a year, and we seem to have caught a peak of 'fur distress'.
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The Night of the Roe Deer 4 of 4
Another 10 minutes on the Roe Deer is grooming near the East Hedge Gap.
We guess the loss the clumps of fur is really itchy.
Whether the hedge gap here is big enough for them we don't know - but
this was the last sighting.
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This brutalic concrete-like Blue Tit box is mounted on the Ash tree on the island of the main pond. Wooden boxes are quickly demolished here by Great Spotted Woodpeckers. From the house we see birds visiting this box and at last managed to get the tell-tale moment of a grub being taken into the nest.
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Our various walks get serenaded or threatened by bird territory holders.
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This Blackbird contented himself by try to out-stare us.
He won!
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The Reeves' Muntjac Deer Fawn examining the log at the Woodland site.
One of our weekly email recipients calls these 'Smiling Deer' and it shows why here.
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Our little Reeves' Muntjac Deer 'family near round Pond.
Top to Bottom: Mum, Fawn & Dad.
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This Gawky Reeves Muntjac Fawn visits the hedge bottom an hour after sunrise.
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One of our Horse Chestnut trees, just inside the south hedge, is best seen from outside our patch
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The huge Horse Chestnut tree across the adjacent field to our west has been delighting us with its show of candles for the last 35 years
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A single large Horse Chestnut candle behind the Duck Pond offers
itself for photos.
As usual the branches we chose hoping for sticky buds to become flowers
all get either hidden, eaten, or emerge as leaves!
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The Hawthorn Blossom (called 'May') is this year wildly exuberant. Here is just one and of twig showing all the stages from tightly bound white bobbles to fully open flowers.
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This male Orange-tip Butterfly sucks nectar from a Forget-me-not flower.
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The same male Orange-tip Butterfly sucks nectar from a Lady's Smock (Cuckoo Flower) flower.
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This Orange-tip Butterfly is feeding on one of the recently flowering Red Campion.
Garlic Mustard is used by Orange-tip females for egg laying, and both species for
nectar, and has finally arrived rather late for the Orange-tips this year.
Climate change screws up long established timings for so many creatures all
using different 'cues' (e.g. day length, temperature, and probably other things)
about when to start their new years activities.
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This Grey Squirrel carries away another conker from their cache ...
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... but several hours later seems to be making the same trip with a fragment of stone.
We all make mistakes!
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Rooks really are rather wonderful creatures.
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Rook nests need maintenance until the end of use.
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The Chick in the 'photograph-able' nest shows us and the adult his bright Red FEED ME gape.
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"FEED ME - more"
The parents go on feeding the chick once fledged until they can feed themselves.
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This Rook arrives at the nest, and immediately broadcasts his call centre + left + right, before moving down to the nest cup to greet their partner.
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In the afternoon sunshine this Rook opens the beak a little so we can see their tongue.
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