grey wagtail and long tailed tits

confusingly yellow, the grey wagtail is distinguished from the yellow wagtail by being yellow and having pinkish legs (actually this could be a blue headed yellow wagtail (!) migrating through). By a stream in grounds of Duchy College

And below is a long tailed tit, one of a party of six of these characterful and enchanting birds.

sprung

Spring is.

rooks nest

I think the rooks cannot nest much higher without leaving the trees (especially the nests in the trees to the left of the bungalow). This is a much vaunted sign of fair weather but is it true? I will search the archives for earlier views of these nests and let you know

fine weather coming

the first fine sunset for a month or so, the harbinger of some fine weather perhaps.

bird life

we saw a lot of birds in the woods today; it is much easier to see them before the leaf canopy forms. Many of the small birds are very elusive and camera shy, but this robin was quite happy to perform for us.

wood anenomes

the first wood anemones are appearing by the stream between Latchley and Luckett about three weeks earlier than last year (see link). Along with plastic bottles, plastic bags, polystyrene containers and any other garbage worth chucking out of your car.

also singing yesterday

the sparrow and the blue tit, more like drowning today than singing.

simon and the wolf

two events took place last night, a concert of violin, cello and singing in the Old School by Sarah Trickey and Simon Wallfisch, and the lunar eclipse; which of these was more beautiful or spectacular is hard to say but they reflected well on one another and we heard the music of the spheres.

occasional visitors

wrens are normally seen on the ground but the male wren is beginning to mark out his territory by singing from a vantage point. The male bullfinch is a very infrequent visitor probably because they were much persecuted for the damage they do to fruit trees.

our home

there is nothing better than sprawling out in front of a nice warm fire after a hard day eating and walking

unidentified flying object

we saw this handsome bird gliding in front of us this morning for several hundred yards. I am not sure what it was, it might be a very pale buzzard but it did not act or fly like a buzzard, but more like an owl and paused briefly to attack something in the grass verge before flying on. It seemed completely unconcerned by our presence which is most un-buzzard like. It was not a juvenile herring gull.

reminders

the granite quartz and crocuses mark the spot where Sophie, one of our dogs, was buried two years ago. It has been very dreary for several weeks now but there are signs of some colour appearing in the hedgerows.

snowdrops

there are an amazing number of snowdrops around this February. These are a local variety with large flower heads and an upright god fearing habit.

Spot fishing

contemplating a death defying leap across this raging torrent

the meadows

Greenscombe meadows looking very green. Devon in the far background (still). This is one of Cornwall wildlife trust's reserves (see link). We will be back looking for orchids and butterflies.

Calstock Dog shows

the Calstock family dog show. This little lad got a special mention, as did Harriet in the crossbreeds. Poor judging in my opinion.

february evenings

a very fiery red sunset this evening and the buzzard flying lazily away.

evenings

the beautiful pastel colours of the evening sky are drawn out by the buzzard's rich browns

celandine

and here is the first celandine of the year, on a very sunny day with some warmth in the air. It seems very early for celandines, last year it was the first week in March before I saw any in the garden hedgerows ( see link), same cheerful flower. And there was a painted lady butterfly in the garden. This means that painted ladies are now out almost throughout the year as they are in the Tropics.

February mornings

at the end of our morning walk, Cassie bathed in sun and caked in mud.

an early bee

there were a lot of bees on the mahonia including several very large bumble bees. Early February? Or are we just seeing more because we are getting worried?

thumper

Normally grey squirrels in the woods are very shy. This big fat chap was making odd mewing noises, and didn't flinch until I was about 20 feet away. I have never heard a squirrel make such an odd noise. I guess he was marking out his territory or suffering from indigestion.

spring rising

a mistle thrush full of song

quicksilver

the river flowing like quicksilver this evening

flock shock

I am not sure whether this was a flock of starlings or skylarks, they look too small for starlings but what else flocks in these numbers? Skylarks around here tend to gather together on the ground. This lot squeak excitedly as they fly. Looking at an earlier photo of starlings (2001, see below) I think it must be a flock of starlings.

poseur

posing for posterity, this male chaffinch is displaying his Spring best against the gold euonymous

today's pheasant

keeping very still on the principle that if I can't see you, you can't see me

same as last year

same place, same snowdrop but it is so pretty it deserves another page.

drying off

after a refreshing dip there's nothing quite like a good shake of the feathers with one's mates. Three starlings at the bath house.

bird watch afternoon

it has been a busy afternoon with flocks of starlings, wood pigeons, collared doves, sparrows, blue tits, great tits, dunnocks, chaffinches, a cock pheasant, robins, blackbirds, rooks, jackdaws and this shy little coal tit.

puzzle tree

this is an image from the tangled woods, it is not quite what it seems.

stonechat

a stonechat (?) singing away, probably come down from Kit Hill for the winter. The warbling is very liquid and melodic.

Primrose

as my reference book says, the first primroses start to bloom in March ...., this looks like the bird's eye primrose, doomed to "die unmarried"

Tavistock

the road up to Kit Hill, with Tavistock and the gaunt hills of Dartmoor in the background, bathed in the rose pink evening light.

two sisters

drawing by Andreina Bertelli, and Hope by Alba Chapman












Hope

Here I am
at the end of the line

as I close the door
to the present
that is already past

I glance
at the future
that is today

and I wait
for Hope to come

Dunterton Church

This church tower sits on the hill in splendid isolation. I think it is near Dunterton (try the link on the title), on the way into Milton Abbot in Devon, but it is hard to be sure from the Cornish side of the Tamar.

Carthamartha

this is an ancient earthwork in Carthamartha woods in the bend of the Tamar where the Tamar and the Inny converge. It is very distinctive. Oil drum in foreground. I am not sure how Carthamartha came by its unusual name but the link goes to a site with a mine of useful information about Cornwall.

Uncle Max

Uncle Max is pleased to have found some snowdrops by the Tamar that have survived the recent flooding. We haven't been out much lately and it has been either very dull or very stormy.

aliens left behind

but it appears that some of the UFO's crew were left behind. Please take them back!

back to normality

the UFO has disappeared, one can understand why. This is the view from the bridge today.

UFO over Pensilva

a strange yellow object has appeared in the sky, low on the horizon. It has made no effort to contact us yet but we can feel the heat from its fusion engine. It casts so strong a light it is possible to take photographs without a flash light. What is it? Who should we inform? Should we be panic buying at Tescos? Has anyone else seen it?

ovine thoughts

There are lambs everywhere. Out of season, is this right? Down by the Inny, on a very mild day.

sunset over Stoke

this evening the sunset was full of opalescent colour