Birds in the Garden ... and tales of other creatures

Nuthatch with a sunflower seed in his beak

There seem such a variety of birds here in Cornwall: and with the aid of my bird book I think I now can recognise quite a lot of them. But then every so often a new visitor arrives ...

I think of the blue tits as little masked heroes.

There is a woodpecker that I have not yet managed to photograph, and this morning I could see a pheasant in the far field. My husband spotted a roe deer last week. In the barn there are tawny owls and bats, which I have not even seen, but it is nice to hear the owls at night.  In the evening my husband feeds the owls with some chicks, which he has to defrost. The previous owners were very keen on the birds and left us a supply of food for them. My husband also bought some night vision glasses from Lidl (very reasonable price). I sat for a very long time the other night, waiting for the owls to swoop for their meal, but then left for a few minutes and missed them. 

Apart from the birds there are also, rabbits and badgers, and this morning a very cheeky rat was feasting under the bird feeders. So expect more nature photos as the year progresses. Last week my son saw from the kitchen window a stoat dragging a dead rabbit down the bank. Nature in the raw.

Coal tit

I am really looking forward to seeing what other birds arrive in the Spring. Water also flows down the hill to a pond, so there may be some life on or in the water. And there is lots of buddleia growning, so I am hoping for butterflies.

So I will finish off with my favourites, the long-tailed tits. They always seem to arrive together, and the most I have seen on the feeder at once is eight. I have been looking at some videos on how to take more natural looking photos, which involved hiding the bird food in carefully angled hollow branches. I may have a go at this, but for now I think you need to see at least some of the bird food we are getting through filling up the feeders.

Just a reminder that there is still a little bit of time left to join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for January. Click on the photo above or at the top of the page to find the party. I would love to see what you have been working on this month.