Today’s guest picture is another from sunny East Wemyss. Tony took it yesterday and sent it to me to show that they have more than just sea views there to keep dog walkers happy.

We didn’t have anything here today to keep dog walkers or anyone else who wanted to go outside happy. Mrs Tootlepedal did manage to get some tulip bulbs planted in a light drizzle after breakfast but the rest of the day was a write off with either strong winds or rain, and mostly both.
I stayed indoors and occasionally peered through the gloom at passing birds. We must have blue and coal tits living nearby, if not actually in the garden somewhere, as they have become very frequent visitors to the feeder and are often among the earliest to arrive in the morning.

I wasn’t at all an early bird myself today and lingered over the crossword and the Saturday newspapers for a long time before getting properly dressed and facing the day.
I found a mini charm of goldfinches waiting for me at coffee time.

Some jackdaws flew in and found interesting things to peck at on the lawn (I think that Mrs Tootlepedal might have been putting little morsels of cheese rind out there). It was a day for subtle touches of white among the feathers…

…and some more obvious…

…and some downright implausible.

This last jackdaw is often to be seen in the neighbourhood. It is hard to believe that that white feather is not about to come free, but it has been there for a long time now.
I took this picture in March.

The light was generally awful, but from time to time it got slightly lighter so I kept looking out of the window in the hope of seeing a novel visitor, blown off course by the strong winds, at the feeder.
I was not to be so lucky, and regular customers were all that I saw today. An occasional greenfinch loomed up and tried to be unpleasant…

…but apart from the goldfinches, blue, coal and great tits were the busiest today.


When the goldfinches took over the feeder, they were occupied by eating rather than quarrelling for once.

I took my last bird picture just before lunch when it had got gloomier and wetter again.

The plan for the afternoon was to enjoy a great feast of sport with a very mountainous stage of the Vuelta competing with Scotland versus Wales on the rugby pitch for our attention. Sadly, just when our day needed a bit of interest, both of these events proved to be rather dull. The Vuelta has an even more mountainous stage tomorrow so the leading riders sensibly took things very easily today, while strong winds and rain and the lack of a baying crowd made the rugby match a comedy of errors rather than a heroic drama.
It is interesting to wonder whether the lack of the crowd made a difference in the way that the penalties were awarded in the rugby. Scotland got given a lot more penalties than one would normally expect when they are playing against Wales in Wales. Some reports of rough research into recent games of crowdless football seem to show that home advantage doesn’t count for nearly so much without the crowd kindly drawing the ref’s attention to every infringement by the visiting team.
After the lacklustre sport, the day dwindled away, partly spent waiting for an appearance by Boris Johnson, originally scheduled for four o’clock which finally arrived about three hours later. When it came, it didn’t brighten the day noticeably.
The forecast for tomorrow is another wet and windy day, so November is going to start much as October finished.
The (very, very nearly) flying bird of the day is a great tit.

Well, at least you don’t have to shovel rain.
That single white feather on the jackdaw is amazing. There must be a good reason for it if it happens to so many birds.
We do get quite a few jackdaws with spots and speckles of white in their plumage but it is not common.
At least the reservoirs will be full so we won’t suffer from a water shortage. 🙂
I agree with Allen, at least you don’t need to shovel rain. The single white feather on the jackdaw is interesting. I am surprised it hasn’t dropped off yet.
A cool day in the upper 50s here, and somewhat sunny. Mists have been rolling down over the hills all day, typical transitional weather.
I am glad about not shovelling but we would like to get things dried out a bit as everything is getting sodden.
So many wet, windy days. I hope the soon shines for you. Is Scotland in lockdown, too?
We are in a modified lockdown with quite a few restrictions at the moment.
At the rate we are going, we won’t be far behind.
I am sorry to hear that.
Splendid ‘almost flying bird’, you got its wings to perfection.
I enjoyed seeing the variety of blue,coal and great tits.
That white feather is fascinating. I agree with your assessment of the Scotland/Wales game, but the rugby got better as the day went on.
I didn’t watch the better games unfortunately.
A shame.
You did not really expect BJ to brighten up this rather dull day, did you? Try to make those jackdaws your friends – they will be more reliable.
Very wise advice. 🙂
I am so grateful to see all your flying bird photos. yesterday was a frightful day and not just because t was halloween – the weather was so wet and windy and didnt let up. Sunny now but still wild winds.
It was pretty windy here too and on top of that we only got about half an hour of sunshine before the clouds came over again.
its going to be a bit rough until midweek I think
Agreed.
Sorry about the rain – I guess it’s what you have to put up with instead of snow. The white-feathered jackdaw walking down the path made me chuckle! We had winds gusting to 89k yesterday – may have blown off that white feather!
That is a pretty strong wind. Ours stopped at about 45mph which was quite strong enough for us.
Weather …depressing, rugby…. depressing…thank goodness for East Wemyss and your birds! Forecast looks better for next week…drier but colder…we can all live with that!
A bit of cold will not come amiss after the warm weather has been so wet. At least we won the depressing rugby which helped a bit. 🙂
Yes but we lost! Well played Scotland!
You’re right, Tom. Sports are just not the same without crowd participation. The canned noise that they use just isn’t believable when you know the stands are empty. And the refs seem to find it hard to make a decision without a little help from the fans.
When I was younger I had a white hair that sprouted out from the generally mousy mop and used to be thicker and much quicker growing than all the erst. Then it disappeared. Your jackdaw seems to be alittle like that – not only white but a different shape and angle to the rest.
On another subject, I’m trying my hand at being a clairvoyant. I predict that tomorrow you will take some brilliant photos of dippers and someone will forget to comment on them.:-)
Mark my words…
Yes, no doubt about it, Saturday was a very big disappointment. Wales lost in a very disappointingly poor game to watch, congratulations to Scotland. I had to feel for Wales’ captain on the occasion of breaking the world record number of caps for one’s country (149 and counting). I feel his team mates let him down badly, failing to muster the “Hwyl” the occasion demanded of them for their captain and, currently, greatest player. I have had the priviledge of meeting Alun Wyn Jones at our rugby club a couple of years ago. A very humble man, considering his achievements, but very obviously a fantastic leader of men. Needless to say he played very well on Saturday. Long may he prevail. By the way those jackdaws on your lawn are fair game for your resident sparrow hawk, I have seen one take one. Cheers.
I have never seen a hawk take a jackdaw so it would be quite something if it happened in the garden. I am sorry for your captain but we will take any wins we get these days.