The birds are getting more and more used to us in the garden this year. Both Andrew and I are in and out of the house all day long (when the weather permits) and the birds seem to take little or no notice of us now. Other than George (jackdaw) the next most cheeky of visitors is Robbie (robin of course!). When he first started sharing George’s food he still had his fledgling feathers – however he/she is now a fully adult feathered robin and happily takes suet pellets out of our hands.
Yesterday, for the first time, he flew up to the kitchen window and tapped! However, by far the funniest thing happened this morning. Andrew got up to have a pee in the bathroom. Toilet is right next to a first floor window that looks out onto the garden and Robbie flew up to the window and sat on the windowsill watching him! A bit disconcerting… but very funny.
These pics show Robbie in his still fledgling feathers – I’ll try to get a grown up pic of him today as well.
Do many people have binoculars in their bathroom? I asked myself this question while sitting in the bath this morning. I’m watching every black bird that flies over the house with my binoculars. Looking for a special bird who hasn’t shown up today… and I’m worried.
Today has been the warmest day of the year so far with temps touching 17 degrees (well, that’s what it said in my car!). I decided to look a little further afield than my garden (that has very few flowering plants at the moment – something that needs rectifying) and visited the old churchyard in the village looking for bees.
Andrena flavipes or Yellow legged mining bee (female)
Having spent the whole weekend running in and out of the house hoping to see some insects in the garden, I’d just about given up. The sun wasn’t warm enough, the flowers in the garden weren’t smelly or showy enough and all signs of life had deserted me. At lunchtime I decided it was time for drastic measures. Grabbing the camera, car keys and credit card I made tracks to the nearest plant nursery.
I’ve been dreaming about Spring for what seems like months, and in the last two weeks it has been peeping out and tempting me with brief Spring-like days (or even just hours) but today was full-on proper Spring. It will probably disappear again tomorrow – so I charged round the garden lapping everything up!
I’ve had a bit of a rubbish week work-wise, but on a brighter note I have bought myself a new camera and managed to play with it a couple of times. Starting last Saturday I shot down to Kimmeridge to show the Dorset WT volunteers how to add their marine sightings to the website. On the way back to the car I managed a couple of snaps. The sea was really rough, which was strange cos it was such a beautiful day.
I love Simon’s Cat and have just realised that I missed one from last year! Simon’s cat reminds me so much of my childhood cat Tigger. At the point of him biting a chunk out of the box I laughed out loud – this man knows his cats!
Have just completed the Bird Watch, 12 species – missed some that are usually in the garden (such as the wren, treecreeper, house sparrow) but did see all the normal suspects, and I’m pleased that the bullfinches (male and female) and the song thrush (who woke me up this morning with it’s gorgeous song) turned up during the hour watch.
When I found this video today I just had to share it with you. Hoping to post soon on what I’ve been up to – but in the meantime, enjoy listening to David Attenborough and Jane Goodall singing about what we love most!
Those of you who stop by here regularly will know that I have a very soft spot for the Simon’s Cat videos. Well here is the newest one (make sure you have the sound turned on). Short but very sweet… Enjoy!
Are you thinking that there’s no wildlife worth looking for now that September is here? All the good stuff has migrated or is starting to hide itself away? Rubbish. There’s a very special little bee that you might like to look for right now…
“Are you a Hardy Woman?” the Dorset Wildlife Trust press release seemed like it was speaking to me “Can you survive on Brownsea Island for a weekend without your hairdryer and mobile phone?” Easy I thought. That was June when putting my name down for a sponsored weekend under the stars seemed like a good idea. Now it was September 11th and the day of the event had arrived. Why was I doing it? Had I been inflicted by some strange mid-life madness? Would anyone sponsor me? Who knows…
Autumnwatch 2009 will be spread over a longer period this year but just one hour per week. The first programme will be on Friday 2nd October and the last on Friday 20th November. Is this a good idea?
Sorry! I never seem to have time to blog at the moment. I’m either photographing wildlife, filming it, adding it to Flickr (see my stuff here), Tweeting about it (my Tweets are here) or adding stuff to Facebook. Far too many online thingys to deal with… my life used to be simple! Anyway, the other day I went for a very wildlife-y walk around my favourite part of Corfe Mullen.
The new Simon’s Cat film is here! I was worried that this one wouldn’t be as funny as the rest but I needn’t have worried! I especially like the bit after it has caught the fly (and then tears round the room and hides under the newspaper). Pure genius!
I was going to wait and see if the Spotted Flycatchers fledged and then write a post about them but I just couldn’t resist showing you a 30 second “taster” of what life is like in the nest at the moment.
Forgive me blogging-friend for I have sinned. It has been 40 days since my last blog. I seek forgiveness by giving you my “Top Six Bumbles” and promise to do many, many hours of penance in front of my computer in the coming months.
Buff Tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) photographed June 2009
When I woke up on Saturday morning, the morning of the Open Day, the sun was shining – but not for long. Soon the rain was pouring down and the wind was blowing like there was no tomorrow. “Better dig out my waterproofs” I thought
It’s Open Day at the Dorset Wildlife Trust, Urban Wildlife Centre in Corfe Mullen on Saturday 16 May! Come along if you live nearby. As a fully-signed up volunteer (I have the t-shirt as you can see below!) muggins here will be in the Education Room showing people small mammals and reptiles (and trying not to be bitten by them while in front of small children), there will be a BBQ and guided walks on the beautiful Upton Heath. Lets hope the sun shines and we have a great day. I will try to get some pictures!
