Whos keeping an eye on me....

Tuesday 3 January 2012

2011: The not so regular species of the garden

I think I have got to know personaly some of the birds that frequent my garden. For instance I can look out  of the kitchen window and know that the Housesparrows will be in the shrubs by the patio and that they will spend time fying back and to from there to the eaves under the roof of my house where they live, or the pair of collared Doves that preen each other on the very same branch day in and day out, or the Robin that bounds about under the feeders harrassing the Dunnocks .... of course you met all these in my last post. This post is about the birds that dont stay too long or only come as seasonal visitors. These following birds are the more seasonal or irregular visitors to my garden during 2011..... and those that I was lucky enough to get the camera on!

Bullfinch
only shows up a couple of times a year, sometimes with the partner in tow


Fieldfare
winter visitor, especially when the cold weather sets in and often whith heavy snow fall.... sometimes its just for the apples whartever the weather.


Greater Spotted Woodpecker
used to make regular family appearances even to the point of bringing the youngsters for play time on the lawn


Lesser Black Backed Gull
usually overhead but can be tempted down with a little bread


Long Tailed Tit
usually just passing through


Mistle Thrush
snow and apples... enough said!


Sparrowhawk
hmm.... my favourite species and the sign of a healthy bird population in and around the garden


Reed Bunting
again another winter visitor and a cool bird to get visit.... was lucky enough the get 3 males all feeding together


Lesser Redpoll
Novemeber through to April in large numbers and a fun bird to watch


Grey Heron
once sat on our roof!


Moorhen
what no water!! this fella stayed a few days


Redwing
snow and apples... a re-occuring theme



Siskin
small numbers duringthe winter months


and possibly the highlight.....

Mealy Redpoll
a scarce winter visitor anywhere in the UK.
To have this fella visit for 120+ straight days was very humbling



of course not everything makes it into the digital world... in October a Woodcock made a brief visit to the garden but it simply teased me with its appearance and flew off as I lent over to reach for the camera... alas all but a memory!

14 comments:

Brian King said...

Gorgeous photos, Dave! Lots of great color. I really like the Bullfinch and Sparrowhawk!

Unknown said...

I think your mealy Redpoll is our Commom Redpoll. Beautiful series!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

theconstantwalker said...

Lovely birds to see Dave...

eileeninmd said...

Lovely series of birds and photos. Thanks for sharing your world birds.

mick said...

The "irregular" visitors are all beautiful. Great photos.

Stewart M said...

Hi there - what a great set of garden birds - I have to make do with parrots!

Cheers - Stewart M - Australia

holdingmoments said...

That's some garden you have Dave.
An impressive selection.

Pat Ulrich said...

Lovely birds -- I especially like that bullfinch!

joo said...

Superb photos, Dave! I love Bullfinch - it's such a lovely bird and so rare here!

Mary Howell Cromer said...

These are all quite wonderful, but my favorite has to be the Sparrowhawk, though I am certain the songbird visitors would not agree. I love the Pied Flycatcher on the sidebar too! How sweet that is~

Arija said...

You have had a wonderfully busy year with so many visitors. From that superb Bullfinch, through your apple devouring song birds, the darling Long Tailed Tit, that gorgeous Sparrow Hawk and all the little finch relations, they are all gorgeous.

Hilke Breder said...

Congrats on a great variety of visitors, more than I get here! Beautiful shots! Do you put the apples out for the birds or are they from an apple tree? Putting out apples wouldn't work here - deer would soon find them.

Springman said...

Great post Dave. It just really hits me when you deal out a collection like this how diverse the size and shape of the bird population is, even in a small backyard setting. Brilliant shooting Sir! 2012, carry on!

Larry said...

A great collection of yard birds Dave! The Bullfinch, Greater Spotted Woodpecker and, of course, the Sparrowhawk are my favorites. But you have the luxury of so many species!Excellent photos of them all. Have a very healthy and prosperous New Year!