Back To The Old Ways

How to get out of the habit? Every non-working daylight hour is an hour that could, nay should be spent looking for something. What can I get? What might be where? What do I need to be aware of?

Questions questions now without point.


I've tried the time-tested remedy of blatant apathy. It's worked pretty well.
Telling myself 'Chase only Ticks, and bird for fun. Numbers will see to themselves, it's not like you'll end up under 200, now is it?' is another one. That might take a bit more work.



Having started the year staying resolutely not just on-Patch but on-the-middle-of-Patch-and-nowhere-near-the-naughty-fringes, today I went off birding after work.

Back to a very long-standing place*, dear to my heart, and as soggy as it should be..

I speak of Yarner.


Short Fridays means the chance to take some rations to work and get straight out there. Weekday Yarners are far quieter than weekend Yarners [at least usually, but today there were 6 in the car park.. ::gasp::], and well, having it more or less to myself is always a treat.

I didn't stay for that long, and spent most of my time in the hide - the birds were insane! - but it was lovely just to be there.

Wet winter Yarner is different now that so much of the lower understory has been hacked cleared. You can see the mosses and Bilberry much more clearly [well, when it's sunny, anyway]. It changes the colour balance, but not for the worse. More bright greens and oranges low down make a stronger contrast with the blacks and grey-whites of the wet trunks.. It's still Art.


Ahem.

Anyways, there were plenty of birds about, especially around the hides as the feeders were both there and filled up [always helps, that].
Lookit;

Oooh, who's that bashful lady?

GSW and Coal Tits

The feeder was hung at an angle, btw [I think to let all the rain drain...]


The old hide was really hotching, with not only repeated GSW -  I got phonebinned shots - but at least 5 Nuthatches, 6 Marshies, and tons of other tits plus the odd Chaffinch [yes, on the feeders!] and a stonking male Bullfinch.
There was also a wonderful moment that I almost got on camera.. Imagine a small peanut feeder with one of those big guards on it. Now imagine 9 LTTs inside said guard, totally covering the feeder with black and pink fuzz, tails stuck out all over the place. And imagine said feeder is purple.

I nearly died...
:)



Toodles.


[[*Now in my fourth decade of looking up down and sideways at the same time..]]