Very early Winter Bits and Bobs.2016

[Johnboy]

Hi Geoff,
I can think of no finer subject after growing than birds. The bird here that is a rarity is the Starling. we get the annual flock of brown jobs the young Starlings that come in flocks of a couple of hundred they hang about for about a week until they have seriously reduced the population of Leather Jackets in my lawn and then we see none until the next year.This year it is the year of the Coal Tit and have had about three pairs nest in the vacinity judging by the amount of young birds at the nut and seed baskets. Upwards of twenty counted at the same time. Usually the Coal Tit has been an occaisional visitor.

[Monika]

Until last week when I started to put up our bird feeders (I only feed in winter and only sunflower hearts and home-made fat blocks), birds other than house sparrows and our very tame blackbirds, seemed to be in short supply, but they have suddenly all reappeared and are emptying the feeders at an alarming rate: blue, great, coal and long-tailed tit, chaffinch, goldfinch, bullfinch, nuthatch, house sparrow and great spotted woodpecker with the occasional gold crest and robin on the fat feeder.
Down the hawthorn-hedged lane, there are fieldfares and redwings and two mistle thrushes, but I have not seen any waxwings or bramblings yet though they have arrived in this country, I am told. Maybe when it gets colder ....

[Johnboy]

Hi Monika,
I have a great array of birds visiting my plot. The rarity of the year here is a pair of Tree Sparrows that obviously bred quite close-by
and there were four young for about a week and they disappeared never to be seem again. We have the Redwing which came in overnight for Sunday (fortunately the last of the Bramley Apples were picked on Saturday morning) but have yet to see any Fieldfare. We do not see the Waxwing here until generally after Chrismas. Brambling we see in good numbers about but they have yet to visit my actual plot. Many Greenfinches and we get the Marsh Tit which are to say the least very timid and we get the occaisional visit from the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and with the Great Spotted Woodpecker we have two distinct families and when it comes to feeding time the males fight whilst the females tuck-in. The rarest bird I have ever seen on the plot was a Wryneck but that was over thirty years ago never to be repeated. We also get the occaisional visit from the green Woodpecker but mainly hear rather than see them.
I keep the Magpies down because otherwise we would have no Blackbirs or Thrushes.
Have you ever been buzzed by a Mistle Trush? I was attacked a few years ago and it broke my glasses. The yard cats are really scared of them and flee for cover. Sadly the tree they favoured nesting in was an enormous Perry Pear tree which blew over in a gale a couple of years ago and I have planted a replacement but will not be big enough for nesting-in during my stay on the planet.
Theres a sobering thought !

[Pa Snip]

DISAPPEARING PHOTOGRAPHS


I have just noticed that most of the photographic attachments I have put on my own and other threads since June 9th 2016 until recently have disappeared off my posts, leaving just the file reference number on the post .

This was not something I have done intentionally so I can only apologise if other peoples threads have been affected.

I can only assume that having tidied up some individual folders from my desktop into another folder has meant the pictures cant be found by the forum, something I have experienced before, although they do still exist on the comp.

[Pa Snip]

PHOTOGRAPHS FOR WESTI

Westi,
I'm really sorry, I know I shouldn't pander to your fetish in public but here are some pictures of the delivery earlier this week.
It's different to previous deliveries, being a 75% topsoil / 25% composted manure mix, and just to complete the experience for you I covered it in PVC .

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[Westi]

Ah Pa!

You really shouldn't be feeding my addiction - I'm still in therapy! That looks lussshhhhhh.......!

Westi

[Pa Snip]

Ah Pa!
I'm still in therapy! That looks lussshhhhhh.......!
Westi

Made I laugh. .........topsoil / manure mix >>>>>> LUSH !!!! .....................................But actually it is,

I am enjoying digging into it, yesterday as I worked deeper in so heat was rising from it and the sweetest of smells emanated from it. And its only 25% manure content in this mix.

Don't know what those polo ponies & race horses that it comes from had been eating but I like working with it, its almost like ...... errrm



how can I describe it ...errr It's like a therapy

[Pa Snip]

GO FLY A KITE !!!!!!!!

Kites, of the red variety, were mentioned earlier in the thread.

Earlier this morning I was looking at just how few pictures I have taken of the plot this year when I came across these two pictures taken 2pm on 18th Nov 2012.

Kites congregating for daily feed given by a neighbouring household. This was what resulted in that house getting a official visit and request to stop.

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All are Red Kites

[Pawty]

Wow! We get one red kite where we are - which I get very excited at! Mr Pawty is always trying to get pictures of it.

Trying not to go off topic, but last year, I was digging the allotment and a fish finger landed on my head - yes I repeat a fish finger!!! It hurt! I looked up to see a very unhappy rook glaring at me. Not something that happens every day.......

Very frosty today (but lovely and sunny) so hope to get to the lotty to pick some kale or maybe some frilly sprouts .... It gets dark so early now that I can't get there after work.

Pawty

[Johnboy]

Hi Pawty,
No fish fingers here abouts but what astonished me was when picking plums up a ladder and I put my hand out to pick a plum and a Chiffchaff landed on my hand then hopped up my arm and then sat on my head and I went on picking plums and it didn't leave until I got down to the ground and it flew up into the plum tree about 2ft from me.

[robo]

Pawty, we were camping in midwales some years ago a place called rhayader we had just bought a brad new trailer tent it was our pride and joy ,the first morning a bloody big greasy sausage landed on the roof leaving a large grease mark I spent most of the weekend very carefully watching for anyone throwing food around all to no avail, on a return visit some weeks later the site warden warned us about leaving a anything unattended as they had a magpie that helped itself to everything it could even one campers wedding ring she left outside while she went for a wash

[oldherbaceous]

I remember years ago when i took my lovely Whippet, Cass, over the old Army camp, that is now used by the Scouts. It was about 6am and she came running back to me with a pack of sausages in her mouth...she looked very pleased with herself...

[Westi]

My first Springer Tazz, had a great party trick. At a BBQ she would follow the kids around and while they were watching something she would extract the sausage out of the roll of bread they were holding. Absolute stealth, they never even felt it. The look on their faces when they took a bite of empty bread was priceless!

The flying fish finger - now there's a rare breed indeed!

Westi

[Pa Snip]

Trying not to go off topic, but last year, I was digging the allotment and a fish finger landed on my head - yes I repeat a fish finger!!! It hurt! I looked up to see a very unhappy rook glaring at me. Not something that happens every day.......

Pawty

And that is why that bird was called "Captain" amongst his peers.

From a birds eye view he could drop a fish finger bang on target

[oldherbaceous]

Parsnip, that was awful, but it did make me smile, so thank you...


A wet old morning here, so a bit more bulb potting up in the greenhouse for me.