the wretched magpie!! AGAIN!!

I had the camera set up this evening. I was awaiting a magpie that keeps coming to the garden. I had laid out some bait (grapes) and so I waited. unfortunately the first time he came-the camera wasn't ready and I had just started my tea. the second time he came, he came in and out at light speed, so no pictures again!!

luckily to brighten the mood a stock dove came to keep me company, which is always a nice bird to see.

I have no idea why blogger have laid this picture sideways!!! its a pity too, as I thought it was a rather good picture of a seriously fat pigeon on a bird feeder

such a handsome bird

hardcastle craggs and the dippers

a nice day at the craggs in the sunshine

The dipper showed really well today, in its usual spot. I managed to get a few shots, the best ones I have put here. A lack of any other birds was really bugging me. I managed to spot 2 grey wagtails but besides that there were no birds. On the way back I managed to spy a magpie. Ha Ha, this was my chance to finally get that shot. I managed to creep up, get fairly close, Raise the camera..........

and some joggers came past, am I ever going to take a magpie photo

bempton-gannets, puffins and a few surprises

I Badly wanted to go to bempton today to test out all the new things I had learnt with my camera. my dad said that we might, but that it was weather permitting. when the day came the sun was shinning with brief periods of cloud. What i had not anticipated was that when we got there, that it would be really windy. It was so windy that the bird poo was being blown up the cliff. I managed to land 3 blobs on my camera. never-the-less, the wind created ideal conditions for holding the birds in place for photos. the gannets were just majestic as they always are...

but the other speices were also affected by the wind, -esspecially the kittywakes, who found it very hard to land on the cliff and resorted to hovering above the cliff held in place by the wind. It was quite commical to see but still special. other birds included puffins, guillemots, razorbills and herring gulls. plus a fulmar nest by the gannet arch.

But the wind also had something very special to bring in. As we wrapped up I tried the feeding station to see what was there. reports of lesser whitethroat and yellow wagatil had caught my attention that day so had half an eye open for them. I expected the yellow wagtail to be on the cliff top but to be frank the only yellow thing I saw the whole day were the vast fields of rapeseed that they grow nearby. as for the lesser whitethroat there was no showing. linnets and whitethroats were the main birds in the headgrows and gorse, but they are alsways special. when I got to the feeding station, another birdwatcher was beside me. One birder was watching the feeders. The guy coming in with me said "have you got the hawfinch". AAAAAAAA! a Hawfinch!?!. "Oh yes, "he replied "It is on the bottom branch of that tree". as You can probably imagine I was shaking a bit and was very excited. There it was, a stunning male hawfinch. sat there doing nothing. so ready for a photo!! I never expected it to be so big and so beautiful. a big crowd eventually gathered round but the bird seemed fearless. The guy who had walked in with me had a grenede launching camera lens balanced on a tripod which reeled off shots by the hundred. I felt put in place by that. Heres me with my little DSLR and theres him with his weapon off mass destruction. anyway its not about that. its all about the bird and what a cracker. words can not tell you dear blog just how much it meant to me to see it. That dodgy record at cragg vale which had me on the run has finally be avenged!!

tree sparrows

what more needs to be said!!

hardcastle craggs

At last! The dipper photos I have wanted for so long. Only one bird at the Craggs today but he was very bold and showed no shyness to the camera.

A lovely walk upo the river. at least two grey wagtails fighting at the stepping stones plus a heron which kept flying up and down the river. Overall a great day.

garden linnet action from the past three days!

Thursday night-the pair came by to stock up on birdseed but the light was too low for photos
Friday-regular linnet visits to the garden
today-still coming frequently

the pair on friday

a close up of the male

a close up of the female

the pair forageing today

Its so wonderful to have these special birds in our garden, and so regular too. I can only say that I wish they could stay all year. Still, next year we will have the privillage of having them again. These coulorful birds always add a bit off spark to the gardens birds.

old freinds return to the garden

Hooray!!
Our annual visit from the linnet pair has come around. This happens every year at around this time, but they soon disappear towards the summer. They are always a delight to have in the garden, only last year the camera was bust adn this year, so far, they have only come to the bottom of the garden. Still always a pleasure to see.

But, Oh dear,

Look what else returned to the garden on the same day. Its our old american buddy. Luckily he diddnt stay long and he was just traveling back thorugh the garden, back to wherever he came. I hope we shant be seeing him again

after church today

I went outside after church to play ball tig with some friends. Plenty of ladybirds around when I noticed this oversized monster on one of the graves. At first, I just assumed it was a harlequin but judging by its size I considered that it might have been an eyed-ladybird, the largest ladybird in Britain. I managed to borrow my mum and dad's seriously naf camera and take some record shots. I have just looked it up now on the internet and my bug does match those on the internet. hooray, my second eyed ladybird ever.

  

just a size comparison. on the right is a blurred 2-spot ladybird

what a beautiful animal

a garden catch-up

taken yesterday in the sunshine-the tadpoles dramatically rescued from soil hill. they seem to have settled in well and are flourishing. by the way, these are not all off them. the lest were in a clump of shape. there are about 100

my dad spotted this bird on the birdfeeder this morning. i grabbed the camera to take some photos but the code on its leg is still undeciferable.

there is some bad news for the garden inhabitants. this pest was in tyhe garden this moring. lcukily the monster didnt chase off any birds nor did he knock off any bird feeders. luckily he quickly moved on but still it could be trouble ahead