(Entry copied from my WAB blog)
Unfortunately I’ve been suffering with the ‘dreaded lurgy’ for the last few days (well, some tummmy bug really), so I’ve not been out and about. At least today I managed some bird watching from the comfort of home.
Great Spotted Woodpecker
The first of the irregular visitor’s that arrived in my parent’s garden was this Great Spotted Woodpecker. The photo’s not too bad, considering it was taken from about 60ft away and from behind double-glazing.
Brambling
The next unusual sighting was this Brambling – a pair of them appeared in the garden for the first time ever only 3-4 weeks ago.
Pheasant (f)
Later on I got this shot of a pheasant – there up to nine that visit every day about breakfast, then one or two will occasionally re-visit later on. Again the photo is through the double-glazing of the patio window, but much closer than the previous two photos, this time from only 10-12 feet away as the bird was on the rockery beyhind the patio. I tend to think of female pheasants as dull brown birds, but really they are quite beautiful in their subtle markings.
Later on I saw some Long-tailed Tits. But the bird of the day for me was the Coal Tit that I saw in the front garden, flitting about between the Sycamore tree and some bushes. We usually see these fairly regularly in the winter, but haven’t seen one for some time. It’s nice to know they are still about.