Nature Chain Winsley

Bees Winter faithful flowers still giving! Adventurous Honeybees brave the cold and refuel on their reliable garden favourites. Not just one or two, but the small flowers packed with nectar come in multiples with Rosemary and Heather, making a big resource, much needed.  Meanwhile it is cosy in the open-sided barn packed with summer stuff, like hoses. (3) What are the leaves doing? Well, this illustrates ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’. Garden wildlife sees things differently to us, maybe you’d call it lateral thinking, very opportunist and practical for an individual’s immediate agenda. The leaves are part of a nest... looped soft hose = stable platform, appropriate lookout height ,in sheltered position away from prying predator eyes... a robin’s ‘des res’. The green hose is thick walled, less pliable, stiff tube... the occupants of this ‘des res’ had a nasty wakeup call as did my husband when he started siphoning with the hose. Out came what looked like wet dead bees. Then...

                                                       Wild Food for Birds & Photography Stopping the busy part of life and sitting counting birds for the RSPB’s Big Count brought home how much more one sees when just sitting still (with the luxury of a soothing cuppa in hand as opposed to the discomfort that the professional TV wildlife photographers often endure Concentrating on one place or shrub, one notices the obscure, hidden things happening in the background... a wren showing its eye stripe for just one moment, blue tits hanging upside down methodically pecking food as they progress along a holly twig... Shaking twigs and holly berry bunches reveal a Redwing, previously heard, but unseen. These are the moments one wants to capture to keep... All my pictures on posts are taken on an ordinary mobile, and through gl...

  Special sightings happen at unexpected moments. As I always say, trying to see animals doing the spectacular is the biggest gamble in the world. Like the big things in life, it happens when you least expect it, I was hanging out the washing... on a grey January day  and heard a familiar slow steady wingbeat, looked up... three swans flying low overhead! The sound of big wings evokes images of birds on long distance flights, organised groups in dynamic V flight formations, shining water, rivers... These three were in that energy conserving, flight-efficient V. They were steadily winging their way to Bradford, the river no doubt. Even more exciting was that it happened again, the next day! These big birds are amongst the heaviest flying birds in the world; mute swans can reach up to 23 kg (50lb), on the edge of weight/flying capability hence their wide wingspan, truly majestic. One often forgets to look up above... predators such as a buzzard (2) or sparrowhawk scouting or hov...