Well I'm off work today with a very heavy cold – but as the saying goes every cloud .....
The garden has about an inch of snow and that has really bought the birds in. Around midday the garden became unbelievably busy with the birds literally queuing for the feeders. I was sipping on a hot lemon when I noticed a great spotted woodpecker on the trunk of the apple tree. I’ve seen them up in the woods near here but never in the garden – so I was particularly chuffed when it flew up the garden and spent about 10 minutes on the coconut suet feeder (although the blue tits looked non too pleased - it's their feeder!!)
I was just thinking that this was the highlight of the day when I spotted something hopping around deep within a clump of mistletoe – it was with a mixed bunch of tits, but clearly wasn’t one of them. I spent a frustrating 15 minutes as I kept catching glances but not clear enough to i.d. and then finally it hopped out into the clear … a beautiful little goldcrest and a lifer for me. It stayed for about another 10 minutes before leaving with a flock of long tailed tits. :bounce:
I was watching for him to reappear for another 10 minutes, when a single female pheasant turned up (unusual – they normally appear in groups of at least 8 in the garden). It was busily pecking around under one of the seed feeders when a fox appeared at the bottom of the garden. Well, here’s trouble I thought. The fox stalked around at the back of the garden for a while as the blackbirds went berserk and then started heading down the garden towards the oblivious pheasant … I watched with my breath held waiting for the inevitable, when bizarrely, the pheasant looked up, stared the fox in the eye and then started walking towards it. The two eyed each other up for a few minutes and then the fox strolled past the pheasant and started eating some of the scraps I had put out for the ground feeders. The two strange companions spent around 10 minutes wandering around together, exchanging the odd glance, before the fox finally headed off into the fields behind leaving me somewhat ..... :h?:
I've attached a shot of this unlikely duo .....
The garden has about an inch of snow and that has really bought the birds in. Around midday the garden became unbelievably busy with the birds literally queuing for the feeders. I was sipping on a hot lemon when I noticed a great spotted woodpecker on the trunk of the apple tree. I’ve seen them up in the woods near here but never in the garden – so I was particularly chuffed when it flew up the garden and spent about 10 minutes on the coconut suet feeder (although the blue tits looked non too pleased - it's their feeder!!)
I was just thinking that this was the highlight of the day when I spotted something hopping around deep within a clump of mistletoe – it was with a mixed bunch of tits, but clearly wasn’t one of them. I spent a frustrating 15 minutes as I kept catching glances but not clear enough to i.d. and then finally it hopped out into the clear … a beautiful little goldcrest and a lifer for me. It stayed for about another 10 minutes before leaving with a flock of long tailed tits. :bounce:
I was watching for him to reappear for another 10 minutes, when a single female pheasant turned up (unusual – they normally appear in groups of at least 8 in the garden). It was busily pecking around under one of the seed feeders when a fox appeared at the bottom of the garden. Well, here’s trouble I thought. The fox stalked around at the back of the garden for a while as the blackbirds went berserk and then started heading down the garden towards the oblivious pheasant … I watched with my breath held waiting for the inevitable, when bizarrely, the pheasant looked up, stared the fox in the eye and then started walking towards it. The two eyed each other up for a few minutes and then the fox strolled past the pheasant and started eating some of the scraps I had put out for the ground feeders. The two strange companions spent around 10 minutes wandering around together, exchanging the odd glance, before the fox finally headed off into the fields behind leaving me somewhat ..... :h?:
I've attached a shot of this unlikely duo .....