A Garden Update

Well I have not been out much of anywhere recently, Christmas has taken over and i've been shopping for England! On the birding front I did see a very lovely Pied Wagtail outside the entrance to the White Rose Shopping Centre.

The garden however has been bird central. Plenty of Starlings, Goldfinch and House Sparrows. Then in lesser numbers Dunnocks, Blue Tits, and Collared Doves. The Blue Tits have grown to three on a regular basis though the Coal Tit pair haven't been around much at all. There is a lone Great Tit visiting and a Robin, who is getting very brave and is happy in the garden when i'm out too.

Our squirrel has still been around and along with two Magpies has been polishing off the peanuts.

We've also had our first sighting of Long Tailed Tits since last winter when a pair flitted around the bushes for a while at the end of last week.

The posts may be a bit sparse over the next month or so as we have so much going on but I will try my best to get the family out for a brisk walk one lovely frosty morning!

Our Favourite Little Spot

Oakwell Hall has fast become our favourite place for a walk, it's so close by and just the right walk so my little one doesn't completely wipe out! Yesterday we took advantage of the sun and headed over there.

It's quite a difference now of course with most of the trees bare of their leaves.


This is the same shot of the photo at the top of this post - big difference!

The birds were a bit scarce but it was mid afternoon and quite busy. We did see Long Tailed Tits, Goldfinch, Robins, Blackbirds, Crows, Magpies and Blue Tits.

This Gorse bush was in full bloom and looked quite striking.


This walkway doesn't have quite the same impact with the bare branches.

We came across a fair bit of fungi, which is fast becoming a favourite to hunt out - weird I know, who'd have thought i'd have such a liking for fungus!! I was very excited when my stepson spotted these Fly Agaric, an iconic fungi, which i've never actually seen before in the 'flesh'.



Of course then we saw quite a few dotted about. There were plenty of others too including these tiny little ones on a lot of tree stumps - no idea what they are though. It's not the greatest picture but if anyone has ideas?

We saw plenty of others too and though I keep forgetting I will get a guide and try and id these - it will be nice to put a name to what we see!


Thought i'd end with this giant leaf we discovered, which is next to my hubby size ten foot for a guide. I'm ashamed to say that I only think it's a Sycamore leaf and really I should know exactly what it is!

Squirrel

Our squirrel has become quite a regular over the past couple of weeks. This week when I went out to top up the feeders I discovered he had not been happy at the lack of nuts on the tray!!

He's decided to have a go at the plastic instead! So now I'm making sure there are plenty of nuts on the tray, which is also pleasing the Blue Tits and a Magpie too. The Magpie fills his beak with a row of nuts and then flies off to elsewhere to eat them.

The garden is keeping busy with lots of birds and no sign of the Sparrowhawk again. The Coal Tits are visiting every day that I see my garden (don't always get to see it in daylight these days!), there have been up to three now and again. The regulars - Goldfinch, Blue Tits, Dunnocks, House Sparrows, Starlings, Blackbirds, Collared Doves - are being joined by the odd Great Tit and a Robin, which has started to appear a lot more too.

We had a Wren in the garden for a while last Sunday, it even managed to cling to the patio doors for a while so we had an amazing view of this beautiful little bird. I've had my first sighting in many months of Mistle Thrushes in the garden when a pair landed in the tree briefly last week.

So as usual with the weather getting worse, it gets better for seeing the garden birds!

Rain

What a day today, torrential rain and strong winds. We were going to pay a visit to Adel Dam today but decided against going anywhere! The rain has brought out many garden birds though and the garden has been non stop all morning.

There are 9 Collared Doves sat in the tree right now looking very bedraggled. We have had about a dozen Goldfinch too. House Sparrows, Starlings, Blackbirds, Blue Tits and a Dunnock have been around too. A lone Magpie has been sat in the tree but can't quite bring itself to come down for the bread. They often perch in the trees but i've rarely seen them in the garden.

Earlier in the week we went over to Blackpool - purely a touristy visit but I did manage to get a couple of pictures of the large flocks of Starlings flying about over the pier.

Garden

As we haven't been out much recently due to various other commitments (like the kids having a better social life than me - even the 3yr old!) I thought i'd give a bit of a garden update.

It had been very quiet here until the past couple of weeks. The Goldfinch have been constant visitors without a day going by when there is a least one on the feeders. We had one day 15 - including several on the floor picking up the dropped seed. That was quite something watch.

The Coal Tit has also become a bit more of a regular and sometimes brings along another two with him. I've never seen that many together before. Blue Tits and Great Tits are in and out most days. Plus we are finally getting Blackbirds back in the garden after not seeing a single one in a month or more.

House Sparrows, Starlings, Collared Doves and Dunnocks are in the garden often and just this morning I had my second sighting of a Wren in the garden this year when it came and sat on the fence near the window.

Last week we had a bit of excitement when a Sparrowhawk settled in the tree next door scaring off the birds on the feeders. They left very quickly altogether about a minute before it appeared. I don't know how they knew it was coming. It's only the second time i've seen one here since we moved in two years ago. I have mixed feelings about this bird, they are stunning to see and we saw one in action a few times at our previous house. I could live without that kind of bird activity in my garden again though.

Finally a few pictures from the garden in the rain, which after a long dry spell seems here to stay at the moment.

The best picture I could get before the rain destroyed it.

A walk in the park

Finally got out for a short walk at the weekend, it felt good to be out despite the cold! It was only to the local park and we weren't out long but I love being out in the autumn. The colours of the leaves are beautiful and there are so many different ones as the leaves change and fall.



My little one is trying to catch the leaves as it was windy and quite a few were falling. She missed them all!


It was pretty deserted too, we saw a few Blackbirds and that was it, not a squirrel in sight or even a Blue Tit, which are usually quite common around here.

Leaf carpets!

Quick Update

Well we are still plagued with illnesses here unfortunately. My stepson had a nasty cold and my little one has had ear infections and throat infections, finally she is on the mend and we are all fairly healthy - fingers crossed!

So I am determined to get us out for some fresh air at the weekend, even if it's just to the local park!

I had a very entertaining trip into work today watching the many squirrels in the gardens. Including one that was 'playing' with a Magpie. I've often seen them chasing each other but this pair actually seemed to be quite enjoying antagonising each other. Lot's of fun to watch and a shame more people on the bus don't notice what is going on right under their noses!

Hopefully I'll have something of substance to post over the weekend.