Sunday 15th Jul - and more rain....

As the deluge continues the last 4 water companies announced that they were removing the hosepipe ban... as many parts of the country were flooded and the ground was saturated I wonder how these people were feeling - relieved or a tad stupid ?

With all the rain, not much more to report. Today was the only dry day of the week and after picking the girls up from the scholl trip to Rome I had an attempt at mowing, although it was a bit boggy and the lawn ended up just mashed up. The parties of young birds around the garden are still being tended by the parents. A pair of Jays have one youngster they are continuing to fill on peanuts. Two young Great-spotted Woodpeckers are regulars and Siskins are starting to re-appear at the feeders. I've had a couple of glimpses of daytime Tawny Owls as they've been exposed by the neighbouring passerines as well as daytime vocalisations from them.

Trying his best to look like a Hoopoe, the Jay family haven't got rid of the youngster yet.

Large Dragonfly in the first field.

Monday 9th July - No trains...

 ..... were running this morning on arriving at the station - I actually didn't get as far as the station as the hoards of commuters heading back to their cars was enough with ' no trains -  they don't know when they'll be back on'. So back at home and having got connected sufficiently to see work out from back at base, I stood outside the back door about 8.30 and saw a bird of prey drifting over the houses to my left, I ran back inside and grabbed bins and camera and sure enough it was a Honey Buzzard again.  It circled off to the north pretty much over the village. It was still fairly distant, the camera wouldn't autofocus so I had to stick it in manual mode, the record shots below are just that,  the profile being the main distinctive feature, gliding on flat wings which are longer than Common Buzzard with a longer tail and protruding head a bit like a Cuckoo.

Honey Buzzard - heavily barred underneath.

distant and heavily cropped picture - Bars on tail just visible

I'm assuming it was the same bird I saw last week.

Sparrowhawk caught a Blackbird in the garden

Sparrowhawk having lunch

Young Robin - quite afew young birds around at the moment.

Saturday 7th July - One year on

We have been in the house a year this week and rather than celebrate in the balmy summer evening with a barbecue, the rain continues to pour.

The fight has begun against all those eating my vegetables. In picture order below the French Beans have been chewed by Deer, Broad Beans by black fly, the Peas, Beetroot, Chard all pulled up and munched down (guessing the Deer again) , and the pumpkins have been slugged. So far the Courgettes are surviving as are the Potatoes. So the Fencing is being replaced around the garden , to start with keeping the Deer out.

My bird tally in year 1 for the house is 70 species. The latest being added last Sunday when I went outside with my early morning coffee a Honey Buzzard drifted over. It was an adult dark phase bird and lots of barring on its chest was evident suggesting a female, I was quite lucky to
 have the scope to hand and it would have been close enough to get a record shot if my camera had been handy, I went in afterwards to get the camera then a Hobby was hawking over the trees at the end of the field. Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Grey Heron, Rooks, Jackdaw, Stock Doves,  House Martin lots of Swifts Magpie, Bullfinch, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Song Thrush, Goldcrest, Siskin, Chiffchaff, Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit were all picked up in the early morning coffee break before the clouds rolled in for the day.

reinforcements

A week old - 3 of 9 ducklings

Hobby