A Pheasant and a Feeder

I've never seen a Pheasant trying to take peanuts out of a 'Pheeder' before!   Rarely does a Pheasant come into the garden, and this one came much closer to the kitchen than I remember.    The head of the male Pheasant is spectacular in colour and composition.

The rest of today's posting is what was seen in the garden during the day - Song Thrush, Blue Tit and Carrion Crow - some bill-full!

 And a Peacock Butterfly and Damselfly or Dragonfly (unable to identify it whichever it is!)

Harsh cropping - garden flowers

The lovely morning light prompted some experimentation in the editing.

Skomer - other sea cliff birds

Although more photographs were taken of Puffins than any other cliff breeding bird, the other Auks and Gulls are perhaps not as comical but very elegant.   Nearer the top of the cliffs Fulmar will be breeding and lower down are the Auks, namely Razorbill and Guillemot.   It was somewhat unexpected but exciting to find this Short-eared Owl.

Skomer Puffins

I hadn't been as close to so many Puffins before and without trespassing it was a joy to photograph so many of them.    We saw only one Puffin carrying sand eels in its mouth so we assumed the rest were still incubating eggs - and thousands there are of them.

Skomer Island last year - the Island

Today I was to have crossed from Martin Haven in Pembrokeshire to spend a week on Skokholm Island, living in basic accommodation with other like-minded passengers.   Hopefully that trip will take place next year when there will be masses of breeding coastal seabirds to photograph - up close.

Instead here are photographs of birds seen when three of us visited Skomer Island for the day this time last year.   The colours, the scents, the bird call, the scapes (sea and land) and the summery weather made for a memorable trip.   We were hoping to have been on West Hook Campsite again this year - each with our VW T4 campervans - but Coronavirus put pay to that.

Early Roses in the Garden

It is a very long time since I've been as engaged with the garden as this year, and as each phase of blossom has come and gone, it continues to be a joy when the next phase shows itself.   Just a few roses are showing now, and at this stage they are from the more established plants in the garden.  Over the winter months I bought several new roses and am beginning to anticipate their displays.   The first three photographs are of Rosa Cantabridgienis Hugonis - and a spectacular display of this rose used to be in the churchyard of St Edward's Church in the centre of Cambridge.   Will check when I can!   The other rose is a florabunda called Keith Markham and new to this garden.   Do single flowers bloom first, I wonder.

Poppies

The first two images are of 'wild' poppies in that they came from a packet of wild flowers last year and they are just beginning to flower again this year.   The large 'blousy' orange one was a bought plant last year which has flowered this year when it hadn't last year.    There are more poppies to come I think.

St Brandon's Day

16 May is St Brandon's Day and our school flower was the Daisy.   We were to have had a school reunion in September but have stopped planning the event now, so instead I thought I would share with school friends an image of Daisies from this garden.

More Jays

Couldn't resist posting just a couple more - I think this is juvenile.

At least two Jays in the Garden

Although I'd seen two Jays in the garden in recent weeks, the two Jays in the garden yesterday and this morning are making me think one is a parent bird and one a juvenile.    The plummage on the juvenile, if that's what it is, is much smoother and less ruffled.   No doubt reflecting the role of parent and young!   In the first image the question occurs as to how many wings does one need?    And the question is answered voluably in the second.....