Kitchen Garden Forum

We rarely see parakeets, an odd one a couple of summers ago. It's probably too cold for them here.

Today's special is Red pol. They like the
Evening Primrose seed heads that I leave on.
Not seen any Brambling yet.
I've not seen the white headed blue tit again, I hope nothing has caught it. It did rather stand out among the others.

I'm not saying that pheasants are rare in an area like this. But for the first time ever I have a gang of mostly cock pheasants quartering my field in front of the house. They are not even eating the poultry feed which is out in the open. They seem perfectly happy foraging among the long grass and weeds.

Pheasants are a pest we used to have one down the plot it used to strut up and down the track with a proper threatening attitude any thing in spring and winter was ripped up and usually eaten then it just vanished we have not seen it for around 2 years thankfully

I was potting up some tulips in the greenhouse this afternoon, when i heard this banging and yelling coming from somewhere, but it had stopped by the time i got outside to try and make out where it was coming from. Then i heard the phone ringing in the house, so shot in to answer it. It was my wonderful neighbour, who lives just to the side of me, (she will be 90 next year), anyway, she had phoned to say there were pigeons a pheasant and earlier a deer, on my allotments. And went on to tell me she had just been hanging out of her bedroom window, yelling and banging a metal tray, to get rid of them. You can't ask for a better neighbour than that.

She does make me smile.....

I don't think I've seen a deer in the wild, I seen an elk I think it was it was nearly as big as a cart horse it was in the early hours just before Easter this year we where driving from Spain to France to meet up with our eldest daughter and her family for a few days we passed through a small village in the middle of the Pyrenees there it was on the opposite side of the road it just stirred at us and carried on doing what it was doing meanwhile I was trying to wake my navigator up to let her see it by the time she came too we where two miles away

I have been away for a considerable time and driving home from the airport in the mile and a half between the village and my home I saw a Kestrel, Peregrine, Buzzard, Red Kite and a Sparrow Hawk on my garage which was stripping the feathers off a pigeon which it dropped and scarpered in fright.
That was the best welcome home I could ever have expected. I have been an avid birdwatcher since my eighth birthday when I was given the newly published Observer's Book of Birds. (1938)
I suspect that this was the last time I will be travelling abroad but I have been in Canada and New England for the fall.
I have been told I missed a wonderful autumn here.
Very nice to be home.
JB.

Dear Johnboy

I'm sure I'll not be the only one saying how good it is to see you back

Good morning Johnboy, it is indeed good to have you back.....hope you had a good time on your travels, but also hope you settle straight back into home life.

Welcome back home, Johnboy - there is no place like home .....

I suppose this could be classified as jet-lag 'cos I simply cannot get to sleep although feeling really tired.
A very odd bird sighting on the plot earlier on was just a single Oyster Catcher and considering where I live it is quite remarkable.
The last viewing of an Oyster Catcher was getting on for thirty years ago. Don't think its the same bird though, do you!!
I am amazed that there where enough Autumn Bliss for a very good picking. Do not ever remember picking them quite as late in the season. I don't think we could have had any hard frost yet. There are still some more ready to pick in a few days.
A mug of tea with a good slug of the amber nectar and another attempt to sleep for me.
The annoying thing is I have to drive to East Sussex later on at 8am and then on to West Sussex and Dorset and back Sunday night.
JB.

We get oystercatchers on the plot and especially in the pastures surrounding it during the summer, but certainly not at this time of the year when they should be at the coast! Johnboy, yours has probably been blown in by the strong winds.

Just opened my back door to call my cat 'Alfie' in, and a sparrow hawk landed on the fence a couple of metres from me and glared at me..... Maybe, He was either called Alfie or had plans on making my cat his breakfast and I had disturbed him!

We live on the outskirts of a market town, so it's always nice to see different birds around.

A bullfinch appeared here today - a rare but welcome sight.

I should think he is eyeing up your fruit trees, ready for their blossom next year, Alan.

There have been some good birds this week, I think the bad weather must have brought them down from the moors and woods.

There was a good flock of Red pol, the first two Brambling two male Bull finches and a Tree Creeper here yesterday, and a Grey wagtail in my friend's garden. Plus huge flocks of Gold finches and lots of tits and Chaffinches, a few Greenfinch, five Blackbirds and the Sparrow hawk along with the usual. 17 species altogether while I was having my breakfast.

We've never had an Oyster catcher though Johnboy.

Just thought, we get eight or nine Bull finches earlier in the year but it doesn't seem to reduce our fruit crops. Perhaps they prefer sunflower hearts to fruit buds.