In my last post I wrote that I would try to make a more varied post and have managed to do just that, practically without moving from the balcony. Nearly all these photos were taken on and from my balcony. The weather continues to be hot, up to 30 degrees in the afternoon, but is a very pleasant temperature in the mornings when I take all my photos, mostly from a sitting position on the three seater swing.
I have my lunch outside and have my camera handy by my side just in case a photo opportunity occurs, other times I capture something of interest through the window or during a short walk.
Large Wasp in the shade.
Two interesting captures of the same species.
Geranium flower, one of many on my balcony
For some reason, this tiny butterfly likes to alight on the Geranium leaves. Several of them at a time flit around.
Coal Tit in the sun, captured during lunch time
Two captures of an early morning Squirrel visitor.
A Shell Moth resting in the shade.
A large Red Underwing Moth on the ceiling of my balcony.
Two captures of the same Coal Tit.
I have seen this Woodpecker several times on the same tree in the same place. I saw it yesterday, but it's too far away to get good shots.
The same applies to the Common Buzzard which flies too high, and I'm too slow to capture it in flight as it whizzes past.
Male and female Grasshoppers near the wood pile in the garden.
Two images of the Great Tit.
Pyracantha or Firethorn in the garden and a Lang's Short-tailed Blue.
The Crested Tit.
These Morning Glory blooms caught my eye as they had grown in the middle of a low hedge, and looked stunning amongst the leaves.
A brown Shield Bug
Leaves hanging over the garage door
A Red Admiral butterfly.
Another Shield Bug.
37 comments:
Such a wonderful assortment of lovely creatures, Sonjia. I am quite sure that they hold a weekly, possibly even daily, conference and all decide to come and visit you, knowing full well that your wrist has not been cooperating fully, and understanding that a little pleasant company would be very welcome. How kind is the world of nature! Such good friends always, and never a hint of the kind of deceit and treachery displayed so easily by humans. I hope that you will continue to enjoy each other’s company. Be sure to say hi from David! hugs and kisses all the way from Ontario.
Hello Sonjia,
Your balcony is the place to be to view all kinds of wildlife. Great captures of the insects and the pretty butterflies. Pretty flowers and berries. The birds are always a favorite of mine, I love your cute Coal Tit, The Great Tit and the Crested Tit. Great sightings of the Woodpecker and the Common Buzzard.
Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great weekend.
Dear Sonja,
As always, you take the most beautiful photos from your balcony. It must be lovely to sit there and wait for visitors. The squirrel is a pretty animal and you have taken beautiful pictures of it.
All the best, and many hugs to you.
Hi Sonjia,
A lovely selection of pictures there.
I am a little worried your large wasp may be an Asian Hornet. I am not an expert, but from what I see I think that may be the case.
The first Lang's Short-tailed Blue that is so fond of Geraniums looks like a worn Geranium Bronze. They lay eggs on Geraniums. They originate from southern Africa and it is thought they made their way to Europe on imported plants.
Variety is the spice of LIFE! and you sure have almost everything today. LOVE the coal tits. so cute and sweet. even your bugs are very interesting. I like the grasshoppers, they are so different than ours. the wasp on the rose it really interesting too... great job from your balcony...
...you have so many wonderful captures. The Red Admiral is my favorite, I rarely see them here. Take care and be well!
Your balcony yields beautiful creatures and fabulous photos. Isn't it nice to know that you don't HAVE to go anywhere to see wonderful things?
The squirrel wanted to be part of the photo shoot. It's amazing how much you can see if you sit and observe! Well done!
Your balcony seems like a little slice of nature's paradise! 🌿 These photos are a wonderful! It's a joy to see the diversity of wildlife that visits your space.
Hi Sonjia. I can't imagine breaking my wrist and it then restricting or worse still entirely stopping my birding and photography. However, you seem to have coped remarkably well in coming up with a lovely relaxing set of pictures. Enjoy your Sunday on the sunny balcony.
Very pretty images!
You sure got a nice variety of photos from your balcony. I love that brown squirrel, never seen one of those before. It looks so soft and cute. Take care and thanks for sharing your beautiful photos.
Patience is the key! i have trouble sitting still for long but last week early one morning sat for just 30 mins and saw a large assortment of birds within a few feet of me! I had always assumed 'they are in the woods' not coming over here' but birds/creatures don't see our boundaries or understand that our square patch of garden is our territory - to them it's all to be explored, I am now trying to sit still for longer and observe more often :) You are a very good photographer, some lovely pics.
Hi Sonjia,
If you check on the underside of the Geranium flowers you may see little light green eggs on the sepals. The caterpillars of the Geranium Bronze burrows into the buds when it is small. As it grows larger you may see the pinkish green caterpillar on the buds.
Isn't it nice that the creatures come to you when you can't get out & about! A really nice post.
Super shots from your balcony! The squirrel shots are my favorite. Have a great weekend!
love the shield bug!
These are beautiful captures. Each is a feast for the eyes. Thank you for sharing,
Wonderful critters captured beautifully.
Ohhhhh. Thank you for the reminder! I need to feed our Peanuts!
(I give them walnuts after I learned peanuts are no good for squirrels, but the name stuck).
Here, balcony-time is sadly over, it´s too cold. Keep on sharing yours :-)
BTW... I have backpain often, also.
I have a training-machine where you can hang upside down (was only €98) and a massage-"thing" from ALDI that really helps! (I have minor scoliosis and an uneven hip - both not visible, thankfully).
I have a friend who lives in Perth, Western Australia - she is from Portugal, too :-)
What beautiful photos you took from your balcony, wonderful to have such a place.
The squirrel is so much fun and, together with the great tit and the crested tit, my favorite.
Greetings Irma
Such beautiful creatures.
www.rsrue.blogspot.com
Your balcony is a very special place, Sonjia, when it attracts such wonderful creatures for you to photograph. I am so very pleased that you are able to use your camera again, and with beautiful results too. I love the variety of subjects that you show us here - and some of them are making me more than a little jealous!
Please take good care and stay safe. I hope that you have a wonderful week ahead of you - - - Richard
Hello Sonjia 😊
First of all, great to hear from you on my blog and thank you for all the kind words. We have both been through a blogging break and they have both been related to physical breaks … your right wrist and my wife’s right arm. We were walking in early April when Barb tripped and fell on her arm on the edge of a walkway. April, May, and June, we were focused on her recovery, and honestly, I just didn’t have the time to devote to blogging. I managed to get posts up on April 7, May 5 and 20, and June 21. At that point I just decided to take some time off and did … not to return until September 26. While on break I did a lot of think about what I wanted to accomplish with my blog and now have a new routine. Much shorter posts, yet a little more frequently. Now, let me get around to Breathtaking. 😊 I just reviewed your post of September 5 and love your photos of the Great Spotted Woodpecker! September 29, The Robin Red Breast … love those photos and admire your ability to take photos while the birds visit your balcony. Lastly, yesterday, October 7 … delightful variety of photos taken on and from your balcony! I definitely admire your ability to get such neat photos while enjoying lunch at the same time. 😊 As is often the case regarding your blog, it is hard for me to pick a favorite, but I’ll go with the Coal Tit in the sun (image #6). Sonjia, it’s always a pleasure to visit your blog and thank you for your kind comments on mine. Hope your wrist is much, much better! Happy week ahead to you! John
Great post. You found a lot of wildlife in a small area.
lovely pictures, the red admiral is beautiful - I saw one yesterday on my ivy which is flowering - I can't see why it kept coming back all day - im sure there was only one. We have woodpeckers but rarely see them, only hear, and no red squirrels - they are a very rare thing in our part of the country, you captured them well on camera.
Such fabulous photos from your balcony, Sonjia.
I especially love the brown squirrel.
Hugs and blessings
Lovely post.
Un precioso reportaje, todo me gusta menos la mariposa del geranio, en mi jardín se ven bastantes y terminan con mis plantas de geranio. La primera vez que la vi, hace muchos años me gustó pero no sabía que destrozaba todos los geranios, seguro que tus plantas ya están llenas de huevos y luego empezaran a secarse, los tallos se ponen negros y se secan. Me encantan los pájaros. Un abrazo.
Querida amiga es un pots realmente variado y precioso, las fotos son geniales.
La avispa velutina es una amenaza para nuestras abejas y veo que ahí también hay. Y la preciosa mariposa del geranio me temo que querrán poner sus huevecillos en tus geranios, sus larvas los devoran hasta secarlos. Buena suerte y un enorme abrazo.
Great blog
Dear Sonjia,
I find it breathtaking enough that you can observe and photograph so many animals directly on your balcony or very close to it!
What I find particularly adorable (of course - these animals are simply "cuter" than insects ;-) ...) are the squirrels, the great tits and the crested tit. Because of the large wasp, I asked my identification program - it says it's an Asian hornet... Size-wise it might fit, but I've never observed hornets crawling into flowers. (But the program is never 100% reliable.)
As for the shield bugs - we had an invasion of Asian rice bugs this year... I hope this is an exception, because they are sucking on my tomatoes...
Thank you very much for the kind words you left me on my blog - it's great that you're back in the blogging world. I missed you and I know I wasn't the only one! I'm sorry that you had Covid in the summer - it can sometimes be severe and last an awfully long time. Hopefully you have now fully recovered from this illness!
All the best, dear friend, and happy October days!
Hugs, Traude
🍁🌻🍂 🌻🍁
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2023/10/straenkunst-und-gartenlust.html
lovely collection. My favourite is the Coad tit. I hope to see it this season.
So fun to see the different critters you have. Love the squirrel and the Big Tit, we have nothing like those around here.
Hi Sonjia,
The butterfly on the Pyracantha is a Lang's Short-tailed Blue!!
I am not sure how much damage a Geranium Bronze will do to a Geranium! They are really common around the Mediterranean these days and still I see a lot of Geraniums growing in window boxes and gardens.
I hope it doesn't cause much damage on your Geraniums!
Nick
Dear Sonjia, Your balcony is becoming as popular as my bedroom window. I feed my animals at the same time every night and they are there waiting for me, and they always seem to bring a friend so the numbers are growing. Keep it up and it will only improve. Take care.
Mike.
I'm sure I've told you this in the past Sonjia, but I will say it again. I would love to join you on your balcony (perhaps for lunch?).... I read many nature blogs and I think you see as much from your window and balcony as anyone else in the world. Thank you for sharing. (Also I'm pretty sure I've told you that the coal tit looks very much like our chickadee, which is one of my favorite birds. Thank you for sharing all of your wonderful nature.
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