Springtime

Although it has been a bit colder of late, it's springtime for sure with the garden coming to life with colour and the birds coming in flocks to feed in the garden!!  I just thought I'd share some recent photos taken around the garden.  This first one was taken in the waterfall part of the rockery playing with the star filter

Yellow tulips

These next ones were all taken looking through the livingroom window at the tree with the bird feeders where lots of birds are now coming to eat

Goldfinch waiting his turn

Goldfinch doing an impression of a woodpecker!!

'Punk Rocker' chaffinch!!

Bumble Bees

Although it's been a bit colder this week, the bees and insects are on the go, and this large Bumble Bee was flying about gathering nectar from the flowers today.  I think these are fairy lucky shots, but I'm quite pleased with them, so thought I'd just share!!

Bumble Bee in flight

Bumble Bee on flower

Bumble Bee in flight

Another Walk in Gosford Estate

As it was another nice day yesterday and knowing that the daffodils would be in full bloom, we went for another walk round the ponds in Gosford Estate.  Before that though, we popped into Redhouse Market Garden for some supplies.  As I had the camera with me, I took a couple of photos of the ruins

Redhouse

Redhouse

We then headed off to the estate and it was just so peaceful, although full of birdsong and geese fighting!!  The daffodils were just glorious and there were more birds than on our last visit.  We saw geese, ducks, swans and moorhens but, the highlight was seeing a heron and a woodpecker.  I could have spent hours just wandering round and round the pond taking photos!!  Here are a few that I did take

Daffodils at pond

Daffodils at pond

Reflections of a goose

Majestic swan

Looking through the boathouse

Heron on the hunt

He took off unexpectedly and almost got out of shot!!

Still hunting!

If you look very closely, there's a woodpecker hiding in the branches!!

More Bird Pictures

Just a wee note to post more bird pictures from a few days ago.  Now that spring is here, they are darting all over the place and costing me a fortune in supplying them with food!!

Male Chaffinch

Little Bluetit

Sparrows and Goldfinches, including a Goldfinch in flight

Goldfinch

"Skull-duggery"

As yesterday was quite a nice day I decided to do some tidying in the garden.  While clearing up leaves from under the shrubs directly under our livingroom window, I found the skeleton of a bird (probably either a starling or a blackbird).  I think the poor thing has flown into the window and been killed and I've never discovered it till now.  I found the skull pretty well intact so tried out the macro function of the camera to capture the image.  Look away now if you're a bit squeamish!!!

Hungry Birds

You've probably heard of the game 'Angry Birds' but in  my garden it's a game of 'hungry birds'!!!  They are positively eating me out of house and home at the moment!!  It's costing me an absolute fortune!  However, I don't really mind as I'm getting a nice mix of birds coming to the garden and I can see them beginning to pair up for the spring, so I'm hoping that they all bring their babies along once the eggs are laid and hatched.

It's been a bit windy today, but I caught quite a good shot of a chaffinch today getting it's feathers ruffled by the wind.

RIP Davy Jones

It's very sad to read of the sudden passing of Davy Jones from the Monkees.  He was my biggest heart-throb of the 1960s, and I had posters and pictures of him pinned up everywhere!!  I reckon he was probably my first celebrity crush - him and Clint Eastwood!!!

RIP Davy Jones