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I already have my own blog (accessible from my web site) which describes the walks that I go on - I generally walk 12-15 miles, two or three times a week, all over Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and the southern part of Oxfordshire. Here on my WAB blog I will just comment on the wildlife that I see on my walks. I love being out in the countryside and enjoy seeing all types of wildlife, but I am especially interested in birds and wildflowers.
Garden visitors
Posted 23-02-2008 at 08:04 PM by Pete Collins
Unfortunately I've been suffering with the 'dreaded lurgy' for the last few days (well, some tummmy bug really), so I've not been out and about. At least today I managed some bird watching from the comfort of home.
Great Spotted Woodpecker
The first of the irregular visitor's that arrived in my parent's garden was this Great Spotted Woodpecker. The photo's not too bad, considering it was taken from about 60ft away and from behind double-glazing.
Brambling
The next unusual sighting was this Brambling - a pair of them appeared in the garden for the first time ever only 3-4 weeks ago.
Pheasant (f)
Later on I got this shot of a pheasant - there up to nine that visit every day about breakfast, then one or two will occasionally re-visit later on. Again the photo is through the double-glazing of the patio window, but much closer than the previous two photos, this time from only 10-12 feet away as the bird was on the rockery beyhind the patio. I tend to think of female pheasants as dull brown birds, but really they are quite beautiful in their subtle markings.
Later on I saw some Long-tailed Tits. But the bird of the day for me was the Coal Tit that I saw in the front garden, flitting about between the Sycamore tree and some bushes. We usually see these fairly regularly in the winter, but haven't seen one for some time. It's nice to know they are still about.
Great Spotted WoodpeckerThe first of the irregular visitor's that arrived in my parent's garden was this Great Spotted Woodpecker. The photo's not too bad, considering it was taken from about 60ft away and from behind double-glazing.
BramblingThe next unusual sighting was this Brambling - a pair of them appeared in the garden for the first time ever only 3-4 weeks ago.
Pheasant (f)Later on I got this shot of a pheasant - there up to nine that visit every day about breakfast, then one or two will occasionally re-visit later on. Again the photo is through the double-glazing of the patio window, but much closer than the previous two photos, this time from only 10-12 feet away as the bird was on the rockery beyhind the patio. I tend to think of female pheasants as dull brown birds, but really they are quite beautiful in their subtle markings.
Later on I saw some Long-tailed Tits. But the bird of the day for me was the Coal Tit that I saw in the front garden, flitting about between the Sycamore tree and some bushes. We usually see these fairly regularly in the winter, but haven't seen one for some time. It's nice to know they are still about.
Total Comments 2
Comments
 |  I've only ever seen single Bramblings in the garden and I was excited enough by that, 2 must be amazing! |
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| |  Thanks, Guy. I'd only ever seen Bramblings half a dozen times or so before, so I was delighted when they turned up in the garden 3-4 weeks ago. Today was the first time I'd seen them for a week or so, so I was wondering if they'd gone. With Siskin, Stock Dove (in a neighbour's garden) and Red Kite (seen from the garden), I've been doing quite well for new birds seen in or from the garden recently. |
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Recent Blog Entries by Pete Collins
- College Lake (21-06-2009)
- Fowlmere (21-11-2008)
- Fallow deer at Ashridge (17-10-2008)
- A walk near Royston (10-09-2008)
- A very long Wildflower Walk! (04-07-2008)
