Thursday, December 22, 2011

Wild Friends

There are only three nights until Christmas Day.I cannot wait..the longer nights and colder days have drawn the local wildlife back into the garden.Watching and photographing them is quite therapeutic.I love the Robin.He is very cute,but extremely territorial.I have seen two in the garden but luckily on opposite sides of the garden.For me the Robin is always symbolic of Xmas.The furry raider that is the Squirrel has been in the garden.I watched as he nicked the peanuts I just put out.He grabbed them then tried burying them in our long grass!He is a natural born acrobat and peanut pirate!His tail is like some mad flag waving and quivering.The Blackbirds have made a welcome return to our garden.I love their songs,and their chattering alarm calls if you disturb them in the garden.These are probably Russian migrants who fly here for the winter.Olaf we called him last year.The Goldfinches are back with their beautiful colours,and amazing aerial acrobatics.I love how they can fly at each other in aggressive displays but not actually touch each other.They repel each other by invading their personal space.Their songs are quite sweet,and you can tell if they are hanging around in the trees before you see them.The local House Sparrows continue to amuse me as they line up on the fence.Waiting for the chance to fly down for some sunflower hearts or fat balls.They are gregarious,very noisy,and quite fun to watch.They have had lots of juvenile Sparrows this year,so they benefit from the all year round food supply.The Collared Doves are in the garden almost every day eating the seed in the tray feeders,and drinking from the bird bath.
For a bird that came from the Balkans it is very well adapted.It looks like it has a dog collar around its neck.They coo coo quite a lot on the fence and on the neighbours roofs watching the garden from high above.
The garden has about eight hours of daylight and it is noticeably more frenetic with the wildlife feeding.Its good to see all the winged friends come back for the Winter.

4 comments:

Vibe said...

What beautiful wildlife you have in your garden, lucky you. Merry cristmas.

Anonymous said...

Lovely shots, with a nice wintery feel to them.

KL said...

Beautiful pictures. You are lucky to capture them. They come to my garden but I can hardly capture them.

Silly Little Sheep said...

Such an amazing collection of wildlife in a single garden!! Wow! It must be great to wake up, look out of the window and see nature all around you!