Saturday 26 November 2016

On a sunny Saturday there were plenty of birds to see, but none of them was unusual or doing anything dramatic, so you will have to settle for quantity rather than quality. At least this Egyptian Goose was having a wash, to provide a little action.


You can tell a female Gadwall from a Mallard when she raises her wings slightly, revealing a white patch rather than the blue of a Mallard.


A young Herring Gull played briefly with a stone. If they can find something unusual or brightly coloured it holds their attention for longer, but it was not one of those days.


The remaining fruit in one of the rowan trees on Buck Hill is in the lower branches, because birds start at the top of the tree. This forces them to come down lower, but also makes them more nervous of people than when they are safely at the top, and you have to approach carefully. There was a Song Thrush today ...


... as well as several more common Mistle Thrushes ...


... and Blackbirds.


A Magpie was looking smart in an oak tree near the bridge.


At the leaf yard, a Jay ...


... and a Jackdaw were expecting to be given peanuts.


A Nuthatch was coming down for food ...


... along with Great Tits ...


... Blue Tits ...


... and Coal Tits.


Long-Tailed Tits are not true tits, but got that name at a time when people were less exact. This was one of a flock going through the Rose Garden.


They won't come down to feed, but they are not at all shy. They simply find humans irrelevant.

To complete a very ordinary day, the patch of wood chippings under the plane trees near Physical Energy has produced a fungus that is found in every continent except Antarctica. It is a Stubble Rosegill, Volvopluteus gloiocephalus -- the last word means 'gluey head', because it has a sticky cap. You can see odd bits of stuff clinging to it.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Ralph, your photos and blog are always far from ordinary and I look forward to reading it each day (whether something exciting has happened or not). I love the blackbird eating berries.

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  2. Slow it may be, but the pictures are delightful as ever!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. Sometimes you get days when the most exciting thing is a mushroom.

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