Well the Christmas decs are down from the loft, along with the massive collection of 35mm slides which require my attention over the next few days. The bungalow, however, now looks like a car boot sale, with boxes and plastic containers scattered around the lounge and conservatory. We expect the chaos to be over before the end of the week, so will do a little bit every day opposed to having to undertake a massive effort within a condensed time slot. Once I'd got the loft stuff sorted out, it was time to take it easy, enjoy a cuppa whilst sat at my desk looking out into the back garden. A 1st yr male Blackbird quickly appeared and was quite a character with a number of white feathers on it's head. The 1.4x converter was fitted to the 100 - 400 mm lens and I grabbed a few shots of this individual whilst it shared the bird bath with a female House Sparrow which also had a white covert feather on display.
The Radio 5 football commentaries were well underway, in the 13.30 hrs Premier League games, when I spotted a Brambling at the feeders. It was away before I managed to grab the camera kit yet returned a few minutes later and allowed me to grab an image, or two, as it drank from the bird bath.
The garden Hedgehogs continue to remain very active around the food bowl and I got a really nice image of one of the hoglets a couple of nights ago. Obviously, I am having a great time watching these animals, at extremely close quarters, visiting my feeding station yet am fully understanding that other folk will have reservations about my observations? In an attempt to add clarity to my sightings, I am planning to place the food bowl upon a sheet of cardboard, on which I will write the result of a football match that has been played recently.
Just to demonstrate what I'm wanting to achieve, I'll get the Liverpool v's Man City score displayed tonight and use an image, tomorrow, just to counter those sceptics who think I'm making this Hedgehog stuff up!
Why wait?
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| A December Hedgehog! |
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| Straight off the back of the camera! |
Hi Dyl. Have you seriously had comments suggesting that your garden Hedgehog reports are some kind of make-believe fantasy??!! 🫤
ReplyDeleteHi Gav,
DeleteYes, sadly, there have been a couple of (anonymous) comments which questioned the authenticity of my Hedgehog sightings. I suppose it's to be expected in this world of social media hype? All I can do is offer the evidence to support my sightings and hope that the negativity is answered?
Loved the Pale Damsel Bug stuff - the natural world is capable of surprises way beyond anything we could envisage?
Take care and stay safe - Dyl