NOVEMBER and OCTOBER PHOTOS.

November weather has been unpleasantly cold, and we have had numerous thunderstorms and heavy rainfall since the beginning of this month, which is good for the garden after the draught. I have not been out, because Eva my daughter caught the Covid virus and kept her distance, until she was Covid free. Therefore, I have concentrated on nature in my garden, and what I can see from, and on, my balcony. I still have a few photos left from my visit to the nature reserve, but felt like a change, and can show them another time.

Early one morning, after the rain.

This is my favourite Camellia shrub. It is known as Camellia Sasanqua and is a lovely Autumn flowering shrub with flowers that have single soft delicate thin petals and leaves, very different than other Spring flowering Camelias in my garden. This one is planted just outside my bedroom window, in a sheltered location in acid soil.

I love these newly formed cones appearing on the conifers.

 

One day as I looked out of the window, I saw a flash of white

on that spindly tree in the background.

I knew whatever bird it turned out to be, would probably just be for reference, as my lens is not strong enough to capture a decent photo at that distance, but I'm sharing them anyway. 

It turned out to be a Flycatcher.

All these images are heavily cropped.

Perhaps you are wondering where the flash of white is. Unfortunately, it is not visible on these photos, as the white area is in the shade.

Midday cloud formation.

This is my simple bird bath / drinking station. It is just a plastic urn with a deepish plate on top, the kind you place under plant pots.:=) 

The birds don't mind, they go to drink and bathe regularly.

Coal Tit

This is one of the feeding stations, using the same idea, but with a heavy stone in the middle to stop the plates blowing away on windy days

The Coal Tit.

The little Firecrest keeps putting in an appearance.

Photos taken through the window

Variegated Ivy and Virginia Creeper

One day I took the plates away to wash and look what I found under the rim.

Blue Tits in the rainy weather.

The Crested Tit, stoically waiting it's turn at the feeder.

The Firecrest captured on another day.

Always a pleasure to see, the Red Squirrel

An interesting insect captured on my balcony.

Prehistoric looking insect on my balcony wall.

Raindrops on a spider's web in my garden.

It is usually whilst I'm having breakfast that I gaze out of the window, and I became most excited to see a bird in a distant tree which looked thrush size, but I knew it wasn't a thrush, and to my utter delight discovered it was a lone Redwing.

The Redwing Turdus iliacus It is a common bird, but I had never seen it before

I took lots of photos, none of which turned out very well but there again it was rather far away, but I just couldn't stop, because it was a "lifer" for me. :=))

The Redwing is in fact a bird in the thrush family.

Just three more, :=)

As the light fades, the Robin is always the last bird to visit my balcony, and the first bird I see in the early morning.

Good night, see you in the morning.

Paula sent me this sunset, so I will close this post with the setting sun.