Great Spotted Woodpecker

More usually any Great Spotted Woodpeckers in the garden are making use of the peanuts in the feeders so it was lovely to capture a male GSW taking a drink for the bird bath.  The second photograph shows how readily the bird uses its tail to provide stability while it is tipping water down its throat.

I was demonstrating to a friend how many shots per second the Canon 7D can take and captured this Grey Squirrel taking the casing off a peanut - put out for birds, you understand.

Dragonfly into the House

I found this Dragonfly struggling to find a way out of the house yesterday - which it did eventually but not before I'd photographed it.   I've failed to identify it and am wondering if it might recently have hatched.

UK Swift Awareness Week

Yesterday was the last day of a Week of Action for Swifts and I joined others in Landbeach to hear more about the bird, its migration routes from Africa, and its nesting needs.   All too many of their nesting sites in old buildings have been knocked down so it is very important we put up nesting boxes, internal and/or external.   I shall certainly ask Dick Newell to assess whether there is a suitable site(s) here at home for some external nest box(es).   One of the means of attracting Swifts is to play back their call on a recorder - but I haven't checked that out with neighbours yet.

Last Evening's Sunset

I was glad I spotted this sunset and took the image by stepping just a metre outside the garden last night, a little before 22.00.   Not everyone enjoys sunrises and sunsets but I expect I shall continue to photograph them.

Greeting Cards

I have recently ordered some more Greeting Cards and thought the images could appear here too.

Green Woodpecker

It was a delight to see a Green Woodpecker in the garden this morning.   I haven't seen one here for many months.

Bottisham Lock

A lovely windless, sunny morning and a few birds seen.   It was good to see the polo ponies being exercised and my being able to undertake a longer walk than when Boo and I were last there.   What delighted me was seeing some Swallows which have been so few in number this year.   They are presumably nesting at the pumping station but they didn't take kindly to a Kestrel sitting on the roof of 'their' building!   A Banded Demoiselle sat quietly for a while.   These cygnets are too large now to be thinking about taking a ride on a parent's back.  Not sure about the monochrome rendering of a Grey Heron.....

Research Park - Birds

Not that good a selection of birds this morning, but worthy of record.   I think it was a Grey Wagtail on potato plants, a Yellowhammer, an Oystercatcher and some adult Canada Geese among King Cups which would appear not to be breeding this year.

Research Park

There had been quite a lot of rain overnight which had damaged some of the large petalled flowers.   I was particularly taken with the different impressions it was possible to capture of Field Poppy.   The Dog Rose and Flag Iris had withstood the rain damage better.

Otto

I have a 4/5 month old puppy called Otto staying for the weekend and this morning we went off to Wicken Fen for a walk.   If the rest of the weekend goes well, I expect to have him staying for a little fortnight in August while his owners/my neighbours go away.   The fourth image has been edited from the third one.