WINTER FEEDING STATION

As the weather is so cold I put this video together of the birds visiting my garden feeding station back in January, but you could be fooled into thinking that I've taken it this week.

ENJOY:-

Hope your all still awake after that HAPPY EASTER 

SIBERIAN MARCH !

What the hell has happened to spring ? The worlds gone mad we're coming up to the Easter holidays and there's snow everywhere and the temperatures are below freezing even in the day time thanks to the raw biting easterly winds we've been having. Having said that we're better off than the poor souls who live in north Wales, northern England, Scotland and northern Ireland who have had the of the worst of the weather.
The migrating birds that have reached our shores by now must be wondering what's going on, and their inability to find food once they have arrived could spell disaster for them. Like I said in my last post this weather is going to knock this breeding season back a few weeks let's hope it starts to warms up soon.
Took some pic's of the harsh conditions my resident birds are fighting against at the moment:-

icey feeding station

garden looking more like January than March.

frozen view from our mountain

male Reed Bunting

our outside water pipe frozen solid

goldfinch



another frozen view

Brynithel

this is supposed to be late March!

This Reed Bunting is uncharacteristically trying to get food off this feeder.

Robin

jay



male Siskin



male Chaffinch



male Siskin

G.S Woodpecker

Here's two close ups and a squirrel I took before all that horrid white stuff came down

Pied Wagtail



G.S Woodpecker




squirrel



Here's hoping that the weather will soon change to something like spring so our resident and migrant birds can get on with their breeding season.



GREAT TO BE BACK!

Had my hip operation just over a fortnight ago and this is the first day I've been able to sit at my computer desk to do some blogging. I would like to thank my family and friends for all your good wishes and especially to my wife Tina whose been looking after me on my long road to recovery. Also to Thomas the oldest whose been a great help since Tina has gone back to work.  I still got to stay on crutches for another four weeks but at least now I can get on my computer to relieve some of the boredom of not being able to do nothing but sit and watch the goggle box all day.
I would also like to say a big hello and thank you to Malcolm, George and Derek who were in the same ward as myself and who also had hip operations their company and great humour made the four days I spent in hospital a lot more bearable I hope that you are are all recovering well.

Well when I made my last post I was hoping for, when I came back some decent weather and some breeding activity and a spring migrant or two (I know it is early yet), but what have we got snow rain and freezing temperatures. Seen on a few sites today that a few migrants have come into Britain in small numbers but I personally think that this latest cold snap might have knocked the early breeders back a few weeks.

I've managed to take a few bird pic's over the last week so here they are:-

This male Pied Wagtail is back up here to breed haven't seen any sight of it's mate yet!




Here's a Blue Tit  



  Not a very good pic of a great tit

A coal tit

This next one is a first photo for me of a Green Woodpecker (a male, red on his moustache) not a great pic but I was thrilled to get him.

Here's the normal Great Spotted Woodpeckers we usually have



A nice couple of Nuthatch's

Male and female Siskin

Male Chaffinch

Male Greenfinch

             A Goldfinch



    Male Reed Bunting

A Jay

A Collared dove to finish

That's it for the bird photo's for now, another 4 weeks on crutches and then I can start getting out and about and start living my life again it's been a very difficult 2 years, once again a big huge massive thank you to my wife and family.

BE BACK IN A MONTH OR SO.

This is my last post for a while, I'm having my hip operation this week so I won't be posting anything on here for a month or so, HOORAY I hear you shout.  The winter migrants that we've had with us over the last few months should be on their way back to their breeding grounds up north and east, while our summer visitors are already making their way north to us from their wintering grounds in Southern Europe and Africa. Hopefully I'll be well enough like I said in a month or so to get a few of their pictures on this blog. Until then here are some of our residents I've taken this weekend enjoy.

First some corvids:-

carrion crow

jackdaw

jackdaw close up (so you can see how ugly they are)

jay

magpie

Here's some finch's

female siskin

male siskin

male chaffinch

another male chaffinch

female chaffinch

male greenfinch

goldfinch

one of my better efforts of a male siskin not on the feeders

Two tits, of the feathered kind, tut tut I've been told it's the mind it goes into.

coal tit

great tit

Here's the rest:-

I put this nuthatch on birdguides check it out

another nuthatch

 robin

female reed bunting

big chief sitting jay

squirrel

See you all in a month or so when hopefully I'll be able to get about a lot better and help my mucker Steve Carter with his boxes and nest finding, take some more nice avian pictures in other locations as well as my feeders and go with my old friend Myrick to listen to and hopefully spot some Nightjar. Also to help and take out more my lovely wife Tina whose got the unenviable task of looking after me whilst I recover what would I do without her.