A morning in the garden

With Bev's parents still sharing our bungalow, awaiting the Canterbury social services to do something - anything? - to find them more suitable accommodation. They presently live in a second storey flat, except they aren't because they're staying with us and therefore their predicament is not much of a priority for the authorities? Not quite the same perspective as Bev and I view it from, only having the one bedroom! Catch twenty-two, if ever there is such a thing, and something which we are going to have to deal with for the next eight to ten weeks! (That's the outcome from the meeting with the council today - bloody brilliant!)
So whilst Bev and parents got themselves ready for the showdown, I had to await my turn for the bathroom, before starting my shift, so the garden seemed the best option. Not a bad choice as it turned out, there being plenty to look at - the feeding station being at the centre of the action, but not a monopoly by any means. A juvenile Robin, just moulting into adult plumage, has taken to feeding under the feeders on scraps from above and provided the first subject for the camera this morning.

Young Robin which has been around for some while now.

House Sparrow numbers remain buoyant, but there seems to have been some dispersion and my guess is a maximum probably closer to sixty than one hundred. It's quite interesting to see the young males starting to display patches of their new plumage, all rich and rufous, rather than dishwater dull brown. Blue Tits have also returned to the garden after an absence of several weeks, two today.

Blue Tit at the feeding station

Young male House Sparrow

Other bits were a bit more interesting. A lone Swift drifted south with a bunch of Black-headed Gulls, there were four yesterday and I don't think I'll see many more in 2017? Best of all were seven Common Buzzards, which drifted south between 11.45 - 12. 05 hrs, six of which were far to the west, but the final bird came straight over the garden, although at quite an altitude, accompanied by several rather agitated Herring Gulls.

Common Buzzard over the garden

The other sighting which, I feel, is worthy of mention was that of a Common Hawker which spent some time around the patio. I managed this image using the 500mm lens at minimum focal distance. Not too shabby?