Today’s guest picture was taken by Dropscone when he was at the seaside at Dunbar for the recent Scottish Boys Golf Championship (where he was an official, not a boy).
It was back to being pretty chilly and very windy today but at least it was sunny, which both the flowers…
…and the few visiting birds in the garden enjoyed.
I had a gentle and uneventful morning, lending an occasional hand with decoration preparation and doing the crossword.
After lunch, Mrs Tootlepedal went off to an Embroiderers’ Guild meeting and Sandy took me up to the Moorland Bird Hide where we hid from the wind.
We spent about an hour up there and had plenty to look at. I took about 100 photographs, which is always a mistake as it means I have to spend ages throwing them away later on. Mostly I take so many because I keep on hoping that the next one will be better than the last but it never is.
These are the ones that I kept.
The glade where the feeders are hanging is just beginning to green up.
There were plenty of birds to watch.
Usually the pheasants are quite calm but today, they became quite excited.
Perhaps they were just fed up with the wind.
There was a plentiful supply of blue tits.
There was quite a lot of woodpecker action. One bird was very keen on getting seed from one feeder and hiding it in a crack in the pole.
Another stuck to a traditional tree…
…and hopped between the tree and a feeder with great zest.
There were plenty of great tits about but they spent their time chasing each other around (it is spring after all) and only rarely settled down.
For once, there weren’t many finches about but there were some greenfinches among the regular chaffinches…
…not too happy about sharing.
Among the usual suspects, we got just a glimpse of a wren.
We had a cup of tea when we got back and then Sandy left and pretty well the whole of the rest of the afternoon and evening was spent goggling at sport on the box.
The late afternoon held first the Grand National steeplechase and then the Boat Races between Oxford and Cambridge, the women first and the men afterwards. These were interspersed with lots of sevens rugby from Melrose. Finally the evening was filled with the golf from Augusta. Mrs Tootlepedal watches the golf for the flowers. I like the grass.
I don’t watch a lot of telly in general but this was a veritable feast and all on free to air channels too.
It accounts for the very brief post today.
One of the woodpeckers is the flying bird of the day. It was too quick for me but it was the best that I got.
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Glad that there was such a wealth of sport to watch. I loved that first pheasant and the wren in particular today.
It’s nice to see green anything, anywhere after seeing so much white.
That pheasant is a real show stopper; a really beautiful bird.
They are cutting a lot of the larches down to stop disease spreading and we will miss them in the spring.
The pheasant looks to be jumping for joy, great catch! I tossed my TV in the trash the last time I moved, I don’t miss it a bit.
The pheasant photo is wonderful! You have captured all the detail of the feathers.
They are very tame.
What a ridiculous bird is the pheasant!
You are right but very picturesque in the right light.
Indeed so, its salvation perhaps – though not from so-called ‘sportsmen’.
The pheasants are so colourful and humorous to look at. Great captures. Your glade picture looks very appealing. I’m going to really enjoy watching your spring and summer unfold via your pictures. I also take 100s of pictures. My reasoning though is that I need to in the hope that a few will be acceptable. For every nice picture I take there are many that are terrible! I am sure many of the ones that you reject I would be excited to have taken.
I don’t think so. I just snap away in hope.
The pheasants are quite the spectacular mix of colour and texture! I also quite enjoyed the poor scruffy blue tit – hanging on for dear life, from the looks of it. No television here either – and no loss at all.
The pheasants are glorious in a bit of sunshine.
That is quite a handsome pheasant. He looks a bit more colorful than the ones we see here.
We have two different sorts here.
A fine collection of oictures from the Hide.
Love that woodpecker!
One of my favourite birds.
Despite the wind, it looked like a great day of bird watching! I loved the pheasant, of course! 🙂 And the woodpecker shots.
I really smiled when you said you take 100 photos hoping the next will be better than the last, but it never is. I do that, too! And then have a lot of bad photos to sort through. I did that yesterday! Came home with 165 photos, dozens of a horned grebe and only one is blog-acceptable.
It makes going to bed very late all too usual.
Thank you for the picture of the wren – my favourite small bird.
I will try to get a better shot next time that I am up.
You have the most beautiful, colorful birds.
I always think that when I look at pictures of American birds. The other people’s grass is greener perhaps?
Isn’t it marvellous seeing that green sheen appearing down hedgerows and treetops at this time of year? You certainly kept a wonderful selection of birds.
Another week or two should make us properly green.
What a fabulous Pheasant! 🙂
🙂
I find the woodpecker absolutely fascinating – and rather dapper in a top hat and spats kind of way. I only caught the men’s boat race which gave us kiwi’s plenty to cheer about 🙂
I like the thought of top hat and spats. I shall have that in mind when I next see one.
Love your humour. My favourite photo this time is the scruffy blue tit.
I have seen it before so it must be surviving OK.
Pheasants are much underrated. I liked the woodpeckers too.
I like to get a non fatal shot of the pheasants