Friday 11th December 2020
Raise a Smile
Here you go, you’ll like this
Look at those beauties. I absolutely adore them and I don’t say that lightly.
Every time we spot them at the feeders, the cry goes up. *’The Long Tailed Tits ARE HEEEEEERE’* and our faces break out into huge grins.
Just look at the length of that top tail - I know what they’re called, but even so!
Those photos were from a brief and sunny spell the other day, but by lunchtime today they’d been here three times to feed. Here they are below. Photos taken with a different camera, the little pocket Canon Ixus 265HS. You can see how grey the garden looks by comparison. I think it had only just stopped raining.
Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit and Marsh Tit feeding together
Little and Large, a single Long Tailed Tit together with a Great Spotted Woodpecker
I want to follow them home and just erect a No Disturb Zone and bill and coo over them. Frankly, if you don’t feel exactly the same, I don’t even know you. Who are you?
Nuthatch at the feeder
Of course we have other favourites, as you well know.
Two Nuthatch together. One on the ‘Totem’ dead trunk and one of the RHS of the feeder
The Nuthatches are still coming in good numbers every day and the Robins are plentiful too and at this time of year, fairly harmonious.
And finally another little and large dining at the same time this morning
Female Pheasant at the tray while a tiny Dunnock bobs around under the feeder
December 11th Advent Door. Jenny Wren
The wren is very British – but is also spread across the world
The wren is our wren. It was on our farthing copper coin. In May 2017, it figured on the first-class stamp in a Royal Mail ‘Songbirds’ series and it came fourth behind the robin, kingfisher and barn owl in the 2016 public vote to choose a national bird. It’s one of our commonest birds and widely distributed, with breeding pairs estimated at 7–8.5 million, depending on which ornithological data you raid. The wren is definitely a very British bird.
Read more at Country Life (outside links in bold type above are not affiliated to this blog )
NOTES FROM THE KITCHEN:
We have some Cod fillet tonight and it’s going into a stew of steamed potato, tomatoes, red peppers, green olives, shallot and a little chorizo. I will dig out some green beans to go with.
