My computer is extremely poorly and our techie support shop has taken an extended Christmas break – and why not? It explains my absence from the blogosphere and my somewhat cursory response to comments. Normal service may be resumed one day. Meanwhile – Happy New Year to all fellow-bloggers and all of you who read my blog. Thank you for being such a supportive community and great company.
Brian’s Last on the Card
My Monday Portrait is not of reindeer: but I hope this group of red deer stags will prove acceptable to Father Christmas as he packs up his deliveries on Wednesday evening.
It was William Blake who said that. And as this week’s Lens Artists Challenge, hosted by Beth is all about Wings, I thought I’d focus on birds.
And they’d better be flying, to illustrate William Blake’s thoughts. Here’s an Arctic Tern. There’s another as the featured photo.
Here’s an egret landing. It caught me unawares, so not the whole of its wings made it into the image.
But most of my shots will feature birds at rest – all the better to demonstrate their plumage. Although here is a cormorant with wings extended. Not flying though.
Here are some of the rest. These images were taken at a demonstration at Thorpe Perrow, and while I know the first one is a ferruginous hawk, I didn’t note the owl names. Can anybody help?
I thought this female mallard deserved a close-up of her wing feathers.
Just as I thought this peacock could afford to show off his wing feathers, and I could for once ignore his splendid tail display.
And finally – a pigeon with slightly OTT wing markings.
Also for Leanne’s Monochrome Madness.
... and I. J. Khanewala’s Bird of the Week – even though I have birds, plural.
Becky’s Post yesterday made me call to mind the many shots I have of birds fossicking about in the water. Today, it’s all about the herons (and just one egret). My featured photo comes from under a bridge over the River Aire in Leeds: hence the shadow. It’s not square. But the next lot are:
For Becky’s NovemberShadows.
Walking through the orchard at Fountains Abbey early yesterday, I came upon this heron, not 10 feet away. He was unconcerned about me, and spent his time alert for a breakfast meal. He found three courses during the time I watched him – about 20 minutes. This video shows him enjoying just one of them.
It’s my last (and first) video of the month. My last shot of the month is also one of the heron, and is my featured photo. I was quite fed up that I only had my bargain-basement phone with me, rather than my camera. Never mind.
For Brian’s Last on the Card
… and IJK’s Bird of the Week.
I thought it was about time I showed some geometry from the natural world. This fellow is from Premià de Mar, but from last summer, when he was taking a rest in Emily’s front garden. He’s beautifully symetrical, and his limbs show off angles to great advantage. Google Lens says he’s an Egyptian Grasshopper. Does anybody either agree or disagree?
I am sitting at the kitchen table and looking out of the window. This is where I measure the changes of season; decide on what the day’s weather will bring; enjoy the fuchsia, pink and grey tones of the winter sunrise and examine the spiders’ webs that lace our small window panes at this time of year.
In the middle distance is a line of trees. Now they’re newly stark for winter. A few weeks ago we observed them daily as the leaves turned first yellow, then tawny, chestnut and rust. Slowly the leaves started to fall. Then as November raged in, the wind snatched at them until finally last week, a storm bad-temperedly tore at the final tatters and flung them to the ground.
In Spring, it will all be reversed. At first, perhaps in earliest April, a citric haze on the trees will tell us that the buds are bursting, and will change daily, as the once-visible twigs and branches gradually leaf up, and disappear from view.
During that time though, while the branches are still visible, there’s plenty of action. Birds are home-hunting, prospecting for that perfect spot for a nest. Then there’s frenetic activity in the still-bareish trees as crows and wood pigeons flap back and forth, bringing twigs, feathers, moss, constructing untidy structures that despite their appearance are obviously sturdy enough – they’re still there now, high in the top branches. The smaller birds are more discreet, and though they build in the bushes and foliage nearer the house, we rarely see their nests. No, not even those of the sparrows, who cheep frenetically in the ivy below the window from the first moment they choose a site there, until the last fledgling has flown the nest.
Nearer is the brick wall of our landlord’s walled garden. This is where a line of pear trees grows, with, in early summer, pink clematis scrambling through.
Next to them are three lilac trees. One is purple, one mauve, and the third one white. For two weeks only – in May – they flower, riotously, casting bloom after scented bloom skywards. After that they die sulkily, and look quite ugly for weeks. It doesn’t pay to be away in May and return in June.
Glancing upwards, there are often skeins of geese on flying missions between one neighbourhood lake and another, or in the summer (though less and less frequently these days), swooping and shrieking patrols of swifts.
So many sights and sounds to enjoy, so much action in the scenes just beyond our window panes. Never a week goes by without one of us saying to the other ‘Aren’t we lucky to be here? How could we ever move away?’
For Tina’s Lens-Artists Challenge #325: Gratitude
And Georgina’s Nature Writing for November: Looking through a window.
For Becky’s Seven for September, and because I often post for Monday Portrait, I’m down at the local duckponds. Dedicated duck-and-geese-counters may notice the odd beak or rear-end tail feathers that don’t quite belong. Please ignore them. Unless they need after all to be included. Then please do not ignore.
Bird photography isn’t something I excel at. No long lenses, no patience. But today, just so I can join in three whole challenges listed below, I offer you seven images. Not seven birds, please note. Just seven images.
My feature photo is of an egret and a heron studiously ignoring one another at our local nature reserve.
And my next is of a herring gull. Doubtless it’s a mug shot of him taken at the police station, as he helps police with their enquiries over the matter of the fish and chips snatched from a blameless pensioner eating his take-away fish dinner on the seafront.
The next two are familiar local residents: a robin posing for a Christmas card: and a house sparrow in reflective mood.
Back to the seaside. To the Farne Islands. Here is a puffin stretching his wings: and an irritated Arctic tern objecting to my possibly disturbing his young.
We’ll end where we (nearly) began: with two birds – cormorants in this case, ignoring one another at another local nature reserve.
For Becky’s Seven for September.
And Leanne and Elke‘s Monochrome Madness #16.
And IJ Khanewala’s Bird of the Week.
Since several of you commented on that cheeky black-headed gull (In winter plumage – no black head) esconced on Neptune/Poseidon’s head on Saturday, I thought I’d give herring gulls a moment. The header photo is of a youngster, the rest are adults.
The featured photo is of a juvenile tidying up the beach.
Monday Portrait.
And IJ Khanewala’s Bird of the Week.
From Pyrenees to Pennines 
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