A lovely spring day ..for autumn.

brilliant blog...great pics..;-))

Great Blog BB, Love all the wildlife in your garden it really looks so peacefull, All Those ladybirds.. Im lucky if i see any in my garden, only one this year :( and i saw the Aphid... Its behind yoooo, LoL..

fantastic blog BB, and the photos are brilliant Jane.
was on the BBC that this week last yr there was snow, what a difference a year makes eh

Oh - that photo of the little mouse! How on earth did Jane get that? Let alone the others! I loved it - thanks to both of you! :-))

great blog jane/ray, lovely wildlife, mr froggy is so cool, saw the alphid to,, i got a pic of my little mouse today, its surprising how close you can get to them isnt it, enjoyed the pics very much thanx :o))

Thanks for comments apparently some areas of east coast been flooded with ladybirds of all shapes and sizes Dee..

Yes Eileen have pics from this time last year brr.. Jane pops out each evening Spritz she s home from school with nuts raisins and grapes little voles and mice pop out of the stone wall and visit she lies in wait for them as they approach this little table .

Yes Sandra if you sit they will pop out in front of you .

We had our first ever Green woodpecker visit today only seen the spotted ones before here ..this a good time to see the Green ones as they eat leatherjackets ..crane fly larvae that hatch from lawns at this time of year.

Loved the blog and the water lily its gorgeous aslo purple flowers, he he lovely photo of the little one poking his head out of the box and my favourite the robbin lovely photos Jane, was expecting to see you Bonkerbon shivering in your shorts to begin with lol

Great blog BB .... beautiful photos Jane

Wow Bonkers.....what a brilliant set of photo's....well done you....Glad to see that everything in the garden is enjoying this wonderful spell of warmth we are having........

He he Morgana if Jane did the blog she probably would have ! Seen what Milky gets up too and she keeps threatening .. I tell her its very complicated putting pics and blogs together so i get to edit them ! lol

You had me looking for purple water lillies that didn t realise I had .. if you mean the butterflies they are on asters lol

Thanks Janette .. getting a little clever with that camera isnt she ? Of course I keep giving advice think shes learning ..

Thanks Milky .. we all love the late sun but just a little worrying when plants and birds begin to behave like its spring ..

Another lovely blog, BB, and brilliant photos. I love that little mouse!

Hi Jane/Ray such Brill photos iv missed your wildlife / Insect up-dates :)

Smashing blog all that wildlife how lucky to be able to see them all .The birds both wanting all the food is a good photo and the robin.

Lol yes I was on about the Asters were not sure if they were or not. Nooooo don't let her read Milky's your days would be numbered he he it might give her ideas lol

A great Blog BB just love all your wildlife pictures and your witty comments, thats a gorgeous picture of the Asters and butterfly and the birds and mousie are so cute.

Thanks Jacque wish could do a night one as a few spooky noises out there ..thanks Gee one day might capture Dormouse have the evidence of nibbled nuts but never seen one ..

Thank you Mavis we had a little robin that would feed from our hand but seems to have been chased off by this fella ..

Oh yes Morgana ..Milkys blogs given Jane so many ideas i m in for real trouble if she works out how to do all this on her own .. and no you wicked ladies dont be sending pms with list of instructions .. lol

Thanks PP as winter progresses they get a bit bolder for food sadly so does the sparrowhawk ..

Oooooooooo No Not Nibbled Nuts Ray lol :) Its good to hear Janes up 2 Photography again :) x

Whoo will have to think about that, will discuss with Milky he he.

~ lovely blog Ray and Jane~do you not find that you get rats too though if any food is left out?

Oh Jacque lol aye enjoyed half term with this sun some plants just flowering now birds singing really like a spring day ..

Now why doesnt that surprise me Morgana ? lol

We bring food in trays in at night Arlene esp those with fat in .. yes had a rat problem when first moved in caught them in humane traps and released on moors .

One escaped whilst transporting ran round my feet whilst driving so stopped and let him out ..no problems since.

He he he ha ha

Rats in your car reminds me of a time when My Dads Ferret got out the Cardboard box he was inside in my Dads car & it got out so i picked him up & he bite hold of my finger & wouldnt let go :( LOL funny now but not@the Time lol :)

Once again your pictures are excellent, great close-ups and those different ladybirds, it would be really interesting to find out what the difference is in them, apart from the obvious colouring that is.

Lovely, lovely, BB & Jane! The birds are beautiful but that wee sleekit, cowerin' not-so-timourous beastie literally 'takes the biscuit'! What a little star!
Smashing blog, thank you!
;-)

Great blog Bb and lovely photos.

Those Harlequins are the ones that are reducing our native Ladybird population.
They're cannibalistic and generally not good news to us !

Lovely blog and photos. It's good to see that wildlife is flourishing n your garden

Stunning photos.and a lovely blog.

I really enjoyed all the great pics and well thought out text. The creatures are very welcome in our Autumn gardens aren't they?

What a lovely blog and great photos Bb. Some blogs/photos are just about works of art and this is one of them. The wildlife is wonderful. Ooh that little woodmouse, and the frog, oh and the robin and the bluetit.
They are all so lovely. The Harlequins though are intruders, so lets hope the long-term outcome isn't too bad. They appear to be a bit short-sighted though, cos it didn't spot the aphid did it?

Lovely blog on your wildlife its been such a lovely mild autumn.

lovely blog...love all your photos there great.......

Fantastic blog and photo's from Jane BB , it's always nice to see whats going on in your wildlife garden . :o)

Great blog and wonderful photo's BB :-))

BB... the way things are going, I might send the frog long before you receive the cutting...Lol.
Good blog... lovely pics. Jane...xxx

Great blog and pics BB. I especially like the photo of the butterflies on the Michaelmas Daisy. I havent seen any ladybirds around here for weeks, like like you've got some real Heinz 57's there.

agree with Dawn
some fantastic shots there. what would we do without wildlife.well done Jane and BB..guess which picture I like best??

Wonderful pics as usual, have never seen so many different ladybirds, we had about 6 this year? keep em coming.......

Thanks for kind comments as apparently have 25 types of british ladybird difficult to Id them all.Saw a strange black and orange larvae that unfamiliar with that when searching looks identical to harlequin ladybird larvae ..oh no .

Will try and post pic on this blog but not sure what can be done as really dont want native species threatened but no method of control without harming our own.

Guess that would be the robin Deida after your great pics and lovely collage ?

BB/Jane great blog & photos

Very enjoyable, great photos. Wish I had a night camera - I watched a fox at 2 am last night playing with a piece of paper, throwing it, then pouncing, jumping on the bench to throw it and then pouncing off, hiding underneath the seat and suddenly pouncing, great fun to watch.

That must have been an amazing sight Bamboo.

In the bad old days when I was at work, I worked shifts. At about 4am one very snowy morning in midwinter, I saw a vixen and 3 cubs playing in the snow in the middle of a city street. I watched them for nearly and hour, with the biggest smile in the world on my face ! Magical ! :-)))

Magical's the word, Sue - I saw a similar thing on West Croydon station, of all places, a mother and 4 cubs playing in the sun at 4 in the afternoon in late summer. they were in long grass over the back where there was a disused railway line. Fantastic.

Thanks Clarice .

Wonderful images Bamboo and Sue feel so priveledged to observe something so special thinking if they knew I were there ..

As for your resident kingfisher Dawn well thrills on tap ..my thrill would be snowy too and a barn owl following the fence line with the car .. thankfully road straight and nothing coming as he flew along side ...

We have a kingfisher which flies down the stream through the garden - my husband is sooooo lucky - he's seen it four times - and me? None at all. :-(( Who does the gardening? ME!!!

You dont forget those moments do you BB. The buzzards are familiar around here, I know they are naughty by nature but what a wonderful bird of prey.
But, the kingfisher is amazing.
Spritz: I know where your coming from. John would say, oh by the way, I saw the kingfisher today when you were at work, grrrr. I now see him often, he goes over the pond and then flies along the brook. Go online and listen to his call and then you will know when he's around. You often hear him before you see him, so you can be ready.

Husband said that he couldn't have got a photo - the kingfisher flew like an arrow!

I wouldn't get there in time, Dawn - I'm so often on hands and knees, or in the middle of a flower bed! :-((

Hi you two..Jane here.Hark at you taliking about kingfishers.How lucky you are to have them at such close proximity ! We have lots of sparrows though !

I'd be lucky if I ever got to see it, Jane! LOL.

I've only seen one once in my whole life....about 5 years ago, now, when we moved to Somerset. SUCH an experience! Now I'd really love to see one in my own garden! What a thrill that would be.......

Have seen one once Spritz..in an inlet leading to the sea in Scarborough. The flash of intense blue took me by surprise.Strangely,from distant childhood memories,and pictures in books,I always thought them to be much larger birds !

Oh to see a Kingfisher ! Not much chance here in Brum, have to reply on David Attenborough ! What does visit my garden from time to time though is a female Sparrow Hawk. Beautiful bird ! First time I saw it I went straight to the RSPB website to identify it as I couldn't quite believe what I'd seen in the middle of a city ! The next time I saw it, it was having a starling for dinner in the middle of my back lawn ! All that was left afterwards was a pile of feathers and a beak ! Nature in the raw perhaps, but I really did feel priviliged to have witnessed the scene.

I too would love to see a Kingfisher, but not much chance up here, alas. My Dad was a fisherman, and often saw them on his fishing trips round Yorkshire, they were his favourites.

Buzzards are well-recovered up here and doing very well, we see them practically every day. Lovely, haunting 'call', unmistakeable. A lot of people visiting Scotland for the first time genuinely think they've seen an eagle ( which is a much bigger raptor ) but what they've seen is a billy-buzzard ( sorry, that's just what I call them ).

We also get sparrowhawks, Sue, very handsome ( or pretty, depending...the female is bigger than the male I think ) and astonishing hunters. They fly through the hedges, picking off the little birds. I watched one from the window last year, plucking it's dinner...took ages, very meticulous...and there wasn't anything left except, as you say, a pile of feathers and a beak. Life's tough in the hedgerows.

If you want to see the kingfisher in the flesh, come and visit me :-) He's been visiting my pond regularly again these last few weeks, usually early in the morning. I've put a post in the pond for him to perch on which he uses, just a matter of being patient - I did a blog a few weeks ago, the photos are pretty rubbish though but now that I have my new camera - watch this space.

Look forward to the pic's Dawnsaunt ! :-))

OK Sue :-)

Hi Sue,Dawn and Bscott.Just to add to your comments regarding the sparrowhawk.We have a pair who regularly patrol the area and only the other day the female swooped in from nowhere onto the pond and plucked a baby goldfinch off a bullrush.As you say so quick....it was off and away without pausing,and I hardly had time to register what I had seen ! It also took a sparrow from right under my nose outside the kitchen window a couple of weeks ago,so goodness knows what it does when we are at work !
Dawn,looking forward to your photos too.Gale force winds and lashing rain here all day ! Funny to see the goldfinches at the feeders bieng rocked backwards and forwards and holding on for dear life !!

Oh dear Ray, those sparrow hawks are scarey, arent they. Your poor little birds didnt stand a chance.

Just accept it as natures way Dawn.Luckily both sparrows and goldfinches bred in such large numbers this year,so that compensates for losses.

That's right, we can't change their natural instincts.

~have seen a really samll fox cub chasing a butterfly in a small clearing over on the cliffs ~lovely to watch!

As you say BB, Nature's way. They're not BB's birds that are taken, neither were they mine Dawn, it's just the law of the jungle, they have to eat and feed their babies. Wonderful raptors ! :-)

Oh Arlene,what a wonderful sight that must have been ! Can picture it in my minds eye !!

Dawn /Sue...at least the birds of prey only take what they and chicks needs....not killing for killings sake.!

Very true BB :-)

Just wish he would nt visit quite so often have removed feeding perches from back of feeders as swoops down from behind them.At least they can scatter quicker ..

Bird table less than 10 feet from kitchen window and flies in bold as brass catch 22 admire their flying skills beautiful bird but dont want to encourage it.. We have a hebe directly under kitchen window and can hear the sparrows esp ..quivering for cover in it .

Yes BB, It's so easy for us as the top of our food chain isn't it ? As you say .. Catch 22 ! :-((

lovely blogs - really great pics

Thanks Gsy.

Amazing pics, pity about the Harlequin though!

I like the pic with the blue tit,so cute.Have you made the nest box..looks great

Oops sorry missed your enquiry Deida ..no didnt make it purchased from local garden centre for £5 . Idea a simple one though only a hollowed out birch log with a hole in.

Thanks BB ,my hubby is having a go at it,got plenty of logs in the garden..
how about you?? never mind visiting the garden centre...get going lol

You so right of course but it was Janes birthday ..got a little carried away she had a slice of cake with her coffee and was so pleased couldnt resist spoiling her .. I know big softie really ..