Today’s picture shows the large puddle which is now more or less permanent on the Scholar’s field and sums up our prevailing weather this year rather well.
It was a possible cycling day but for no good reason I felt very tired in the morning and the weather veered from sunny to rainy and windy so that every time I thought it might be OK for a pedal, black clouds loomed up and every time I sat down to read the papers, the sun came out. I gave up the unequal struggle in the end and settled down to some concentrated window staring in an effort to record all the different sorts of birds that visited the garden during the morning.
I was surprised by how many it came to. The resulting photos are not very great but have been put in for the record.
Break for coffee.
After lunch.
I caught the waxwing and redpoll on their only visit but all the rest could have been caught more than once. There may have been others but I didn’t see them. The only other bird that I thought that I might have seen today was the brambling but it has been an infrequent visitor recently.
I went out to check on the last flowers and was surprised to to see two resilient roses and the very last Japanese anemone.
After lunch, while Mrs Tootlepedal was at a meeting of the Embroiderers Guild, I ventured out for a short walk along the river.
The main purpose of the walk was to check up on a large cotoneaster bush at Clinthead to see if all the berries had been eaten and to check if there were waxwings or redwings there.
I visited an old acquaintance.
There a few trees about still showing a bit of colour.
Luckily there was a game of rugby on the the telly to entertain me when I got home so I was able to sit down and add to my already impressive total of resting time for the day.
I hope I feel a bit perkier tomorrow as I have a full day planned.
The flying bird of the day is a gull from my afternoon’s walk.
Tootlepedal's Blog 
Fantastic record photos
No woodpecker and no nuthatch though.
Wow-that’s a lot of different birds.
I quite surprised myself by how many there were. There were a few potential visitors absent as well.
Good bird shots Tom! 🙂
🙂
Heron pics are always my favourites.
A man of taste obviously.
Well that was a bird fancier’s delight! Hope the fatigue is better today.
well, you may not be blessed with good weather but goodness, you have the most wonderful selection of birds.
I wouldn’t have noticed half of them before I got a camera a couple of years ago and learned to look.
I love that Heron. I like to think it is always the same one, and he’s definitely got style (Seven!)
Come on Scotland.
We always knew what the result would be.
My season for watching them come and go from our feeders here here I am reminded by yours photos to GET READY!
Love you Heron too!
Mine will be back once river gets low enough once again
Eunice
I will keep an eye open for your definitive list.
🙂 I am going to try with this camera to catch some good ones 🙂
Perhaps you’ll have ice hockey on Scholar’s field this winter. Waste not want not.
The birds were a treat – my favorites oddly enough being the endearing lesser redpoll and the richly detailed hedge sparrow. Usually I go for acrobatics and dramatic plumage–I’m a fool for the heron–but sometimes I surprise myself.
I like the redpoll because it looks so ordinary when you first see it and it is not until it turns its head that it hits you.
Wonderful bird photos! I enjoyed every single one; thanks for sharing these.
It was a pleasure.