Out and About

This will likely be my last post before the holidays as life seems to have been overtaken by Christmas and crazy work busyness (not to mention the stinking cold that has struck, at the worst possible time as usual!!).

Even though the days are short at the moment i've managed to get in some garden watching and the birds and Squirrels are non stop all day long. We only get one or at the most two Squirrels but recently we've had four. We have an old hanging basket by the patio doors so have been putting nuts in there, it's been popular not just with the Squirrels but Coal Tits have been using it and sneaking in when the Squirrels aren't looking.

Not everyone's favourite but I love watching them

There is a good roost of Sparrows by the garden still and they spend the day by the bird bath and devouring sunflower hearts from the feeders.

There has been an increase in numbers of Goldfinch, Blue and Great Tits, they seem to be in the garden from dawn till dusk. We've had the odd Goldcrest, Wren and Dunnock too. Blackbird numbers have increased and they spend a long time picking at the lawn. A Sparrowhawk tried to grab one of the Blue Tits early one morning, it failed but gave some beautiful views as it sat on the fence for a minute.

Some of the Black-headed Gull flock that roost near the house

Down in the woods it's been a bit hit and miss with the birds, we've seen a Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk down by the Pit Hill fields, lots of Woodpigeon, one morning had both Song and Mistle Thrush in the woods

There's been some beautiful foggy mornings

The resident rats

We took a walk in Dartmouth park one morning and noticed one of the trees had lost one of its main branches, it was full of Blackbirds.

There's a tree nearby that is full every year of berries and if you time it right it's full of birds - Blackbirds, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, it's lovely to watch.

The walk to work has also been full of birds, the Gulls that roost near the house spread out and most seems to head to Morrisons spending their time hanging about the lamposts along with Crows, Rooks and Magpies. In the park there's often a large charm of Goldfinch, up to 40 at times. I finally saw my first Redwing back in the park last week though none since. Two more days of commuting and that's it till the New Year!

A couple of the photos taken on my new phone from the walk to work, believe it or not without any filter!