BIRDS AND PLANTS.

Another week has gone by and I seem to have done quite a lot of things that I had been putting off for ages. I did some sewing, and pruned  some plants, and although I have not finished yet, at least I made a start. I went to see how the men were doing pruning the old chestnut trees and they have almost finished but when Will did not appear up here I was afraid that Will had  been frightened and flown away, since he made his home in one of the many holes in those trees. How relieved I was to see him this morning, if only a fleeting view- :) I'm still going to the clinic every three days to have a change of dressing on the suborn scar which is not healing well, but afterwards Eva and I enjoy having tea in town and depending on her work load Sara my granddaughter joins us. She was 36 last Saturday and a good time was had by all the family. Every Saturday lunch and tea are at my house and all the family convene here. I'm always busy and that is why I rarely make visits until I'm free on Sunday. 

This is the only photo I managed to take but a reassuring one and I sighed with relief.

In compensation I got a very good view of a Eurasian Jay.

I was sorry I didn't have time to get the whole bird in the frame. Minus the tail the Jay loses a lot of his elegance.

Looking out of the other window in my bedroom I saw a small clump of moss growing on the roof tiles.and thought how pretty it looked, although it will have to be removed along with some ferns.

Not like my esteemed Hoya plant which I have staked to two very tall canes, and it is now 90 cm 

    

From base of plant to top.

    

Crudely tied to the canes, it stands tall, and perhaps will grow taller in spring.

You can check with the first photo that this is the top of the plant

Being optimistic there is still another meter of cane left. :)

These grey and rainy days  have carried on for weeks, so it's nice to see some colour in the garden

Also in my extended garden the red cedars look great amongst the greenery.

especially when the sun comes out they seem to glow in sun light.

Although the grey clouds dominate the sky and cast ominous shadows everywhere we have had some lovely sunsets, but now as I write, I can hear the rain outside coming down in torrents and it's so dark there will be no visible sunset this evening.

Linking up to ""Wild Bird Wednesday" and "Saturdays Critters". Click on the right sidebar on each icon and it will take you there, where you will see wonderful wildlife images from all over the globe.

THE CHAFFINCH

 In folklore the Chaffinch brings good luck to those who encounter it, true or not, it is always a lovely welcome visitor to my balcony. The correct pronunciation of Chaffinch is really chaff-finch, as this bird takes the name from the chaff that was used in the nosebags of working horses. The Chaffinch fed on the split chaff. They now enjoy a mixture of sunflower seeds, millet, and Niger seeds.

They eat their fill of the sunflower seeds I provide

They only have one brood a year, usually four young.

They are one of  the longest lived of our passerines, hence the relatively low production rate.

Although a common bird, seen in forests, parks, and urban places, it is a beautiful bird of some note.

I hear the males unmistakable song long before it comes into view.

The song of the male Chaffinch is one of the most distinctive of all bird songs and consists of a series of sharp quick notes, followed by a flourish at the end. When calling for a mate it will sing incessantly.

Linking up to ""Wild Bird Wednesday" and "Saturdays Critters". Click on the right sidebar on each icon and it will take you there, where you will see wonderful wildlife images from all over the globe.

WILL

Will has been visiting every day and I even managed to take a photo of him as he clung to the balcony ledge. The Chaffinch visits more often than it used to do, and a couple of Jays perched on the tree, and I got a few shots, but when they flew over, I didn't manage to take a photo, as they are quick to fly off once they have a peanut in their beak. Today I will just share photos of Will.

I have an appointment in April for my first Cataract surgery, I really need to get both eyes done and then my photos hopefully will be in focus, and much sharper than they are now. For some time now I have noticed that my images are poor, but I can't do any better. I will be linking up to "Saturday's Critters"

Click on the icon on the right sidebar to get there, where you will see many different animals from all over the world.

WILL IS BACK IN 2025

On opening the blinds, I could hardly believe the wind and rain had stopped and the sun was shining. The forecast was rain in a few days time so the men came to cut down the branches on the drive way trees near the house.This is what they look like now. Unfortunately the sun kept disappearing behind the clouds but the rain held off until the evening and thankfully the storms had passed.

The thought crossed my mind that now that the branches had been removed, would the birds still perch on the trees. There were still a few short branches left, but the birds would be more exposed than they had been before and more vulnerable.

The next day I waited to see what would happen No birds flew to perch on the trees, but flew directly to the balcony giving me a better view of them, but not in a natural setting. The railings are looking shabby and worn, but I haven't figured out how to spray paint them without the birds getting paint on their feet.

They all perched on the railings before going to the feeders

This little Blue-tit was so obliging, I managed to take these four photographs.

During the storm I felt very uneasy about the trees being so near to the house, for if they had been uprooted they would have fallen on to the house, as the branches were just as tall as the other trees low erdownthedriveway.

Imagine my surprise when I saw a flash of red and a Great Spotted Woodpecker appeared and timidly hid behind the tree trunk before exposing itself, enabling  me to get all the following captures.

 

The sun had disappeared and these images are rather dark but as I always do when I take a lot of photos I share them all. I hope it is Will, but of course have no way of knowing, but I'm just delighted to have seen it and if it is another woodpecker, there is no reason why it can't have the same name. :)

Will did not fly over to the balcony, even though I had laid out several peanuts, but when I happened to glance through the window later in the day, the peanuts had disappeared.

These images are all very similar, and not very sharp, so if you want to scroll down quickly, that's fine by me, but you can't deny Will has a most appealing look about him.

 

Handsome little guy.

I hope Will pays me another visit.

Because of the stormy weather and being indisposed, it has been over a month since my last post, I'm sorry if I have not visited as much as I would have liked to do but circumstances prevented me from doing so. I will be linking up to "Wild Bird Wednesday" and "Saturdays Critters" Click on the icons on the right sidebar and they will take you there so you can join in the fun, or see incredible images of wildlife.