Some pictures

Just a few to go out of the weekend with.

 Pied Wagtail

 Grey Wagtail

 Common Gull

 Bullfinch

 Long Tailed Tit

 Robin

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

A mix

I was going to concentrate on just one bird; then I thought, ‘nah!’

So here’s a bit of a mix, taken over the last few weeks.

Some days the sun shone, (not many); and other days it was just plain dull.

If you click on the little picture at the end, it should take you to more posts about birds, from around the world, as part of World Bird Wednesday.

Male Mandarin Duck.

and with his partner, Mrs Mandarin.

Male Eurasian Wigeon.

Blue Tit

Siskin

Grey Wagtail

Great Tit

Female Blackbird

And the last one is a Black-headed Gull

Unfortunately I clipped his wing, but I just liked the way he was strutting his stuff.

More computer woes; but sorted now.

I think there's only one thing worse than having your hard drive pack up, and that's not being able to access your e-mail account.

Had both recently, and I'm wondering what else can possibly go wrong now.
The computer is gradually getting back to normal; I've got most of my stuff back on it now, but then a couple of days ago I couldn't access my e-mail account. What a nightmare. All sorted now, hopefully, so I'll start to try and catch up with everyone eventually.

A few pictures for now, work later, and maybe over the weekend I can begin catching up.

Nuthatch

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Marsh Tit

Coal Tit

Long Tailed Tit

Treecreeper

Mute Swan

Waxwing

Dunnock

Enjoy the upcoming weekend.

Summer Leys

A couple of Wednesdays ago, I met up with Trevor, of Three Counties Herald. It promised to be a sunny day; but was still dark when we set off to our destination; Summer Leys, in Northamptonshire.

As we got to the car park, and grabbed our cameras, it was slowly getting light; and the sky was clear. Perfect.

We sat in the first hide, as it gradually got lighter, and watched a large flock of Lapwing flying around. They’d briefly settle, then take to the air again.

A Redshank wandered along the edge of the small island, a few Black-headed Gulls flew around, and plenty of Tufted Duck were out on the water. Amongst them, a couple of Goldeneye, and on the far bank, Trevor picked out a Little Egret, picking his way through the reeds.

We moved on to the next hide, but not much to see on the water from there, so we walked round to the far side, and the next hide. A Pied Wagtail was making his way along the waters edge, but very little else about.

At the side of the hide, someone has hung some fat balls and seed feeders in the trees, and these were attracting groups of Reed Buntings, Blue Tits, Great Tits and Chaffinch.

Further along the lake, a group of Teal were feeding close to the edge; and a few were jumping into the air, and then settling again.

Maybe some sort of courtship; not sure.

The next hide along, has a few bird feeders, and is also famous for its population of Tree Sparrows.

We weren’t disappointed. Plenty of Tree Sparrows, Greenfinch,

Blue Tits,

Robins, a few Mallards taking advantage of the spilt seed; and a brown rat too.

We walked around the rest of the lake, and it was such a change to see some sun. A circuit done, and we settled back in the first hide, for another look, at what was about.

A Wren made a brief appearance, in a shaft of sunlight,

and some Wigeon were swimming about in the sunlight.

I even managed some video of a couple of male Goldeneye, throwing their heads back, as they displayed to some females.

A great morning, in great company.

Stockgrove Park

A short drive from me is an 80 acre parkland, comprising of a lake,

ancient woodland, conifer plantations, meadows and heath.

It's in Bedfordshire, and sits between Heath and Reach, Leighton Buzzard, and the A5, and was opened to the public in 1972. It’s managed by The Greensand Trust, who do a magnificent job, and is a popular place for dog walkers, joggers and people who just want to enjoy some countryside.

Stockgrove Country Park, to give it its full name, has a café, toilets and visitor information centre.

And it has birds.

A place where you can almost guarantee to see Marsh Tits, up close.

A small bridge over one end of the lake, is a magnet for small woodland birds, largely because so many people leave seed there for them, all year round.

I can’t think of many places where you can get within six feet of a Nuthatch,

a Coal Tit, or a Blue Tit.

And the other big draw, along with the more familiar Mallard and Moorhen,

is a good population of Mandarin Ducks.

Short video of some of the birds

A place that is always worth a visit.

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Click on the picture below, for more places worth a  visit, from around the world, on World Bird Wednesday

A brief post

World Bird Wednesday, and I didn't really want to miss it.

Anyone who follows my other blog will know I've got a problem with my computer.........it died over the weekend, so I'm down to my trusty snail of a laptop. I've searched through some previously posted pictures, and come up with this bunch.
By next week I should be back to some sort of normal.

Hope you enjoy them.

Pair of Red Crested Pochard

Wigeon

Mute Swan

Pied Wagtail

pie

Grey Wagtail

Male Goldeneye

Shoveler

More birds from around the world, by clicking the picture below.