Monday 9 February 2009

Mum's patio birds - part 1

While Mum has been in hospital for a knee operation, I've been driving up and down to The Cotswolds from my home in Somerset to see her. When I was there last week during the snowy weather, I took the opportunity snap some shots from her patio.
This is the view from her living room down to the River Churn. You can't see the river from here as the garden slopes down steeply from those shrubs beyond the bird bath.Mum puts out nuts and apples and bread and mixed seed onto her patio and she gets quite a variety of birds. These two Red-legged Partridges are on their way up for a snack attack!They are bred around here for shooting as are Pheasants, but my Mum does her best to encourage as many as possible to take shelter in her garden!I love the pose of this one. Is it expecting more food???Wood Pigeons can become quite a pest in the countryside, flocking in their hundreds and probably thousands. They are quite smart looking birds when seen close up though.The snow underneath really shows up the red breast of our Robin.This Nuthatch saw off all the various Tits and Chaffinches to dominate the peanut feeder for a while.More of Mum's patio birds in my next post.

12 comments:

Shelley said...

Those partridges are such pretty, colorful little things! I love your Robin too - so different from the one I see in our backyard. I hope your mom has a speedy recovery!

Jenny said...

Hi Shelley. It's funny, when I first saw an American Robin, I couldn't get over how big there were compared to ours which is similar in size to your Eastern Phoebe I'd say. Mum had a funny spell after her op but is on the mend now I think. Digits crossed! (-: Thanks for your thoughts.

Quiet Paths said...

Truly delightful. Imagine the river down there below her garden. Is it big enough for a kayak? I love the partridges. My Mom has Hungarians in their yard.

PS The Pine tree on my post today is a big Ponderosa pine.

Jenny said...

Hi Christine, I don't think the River Churn would be big enough for a kayak, it's only about 8-10 feet across, but lovely all the same. My husband Chris once caught a small trout in that river when we were staying for a holiday once a few years ago. Tasty! (-: Thanks for the pine variety. Lovely long needles.

Celeste said...

That is quite a journey for you to undertake with the weather being as it is, drive carefully :)
Perfect picture of the robin, so much more handsome than the American ones and twice as fiesty!

Jenny said...

Hi Celeste, yes it has been interesting to drive up and back to my Mums this last week. I'm hoping the snow will be all but over by this Thursday when I go up again. Digits crossed! Fiesty is definitely the right word for our Robins! They are already getting territorial. (-:

Anonymous said...

Hi Jen,

Really nice shots of the Red legs, the Robin is absolutely perfect.

Anonymous said...

Mum has a nice place for birds to visit. I hope that they can keep her company while she mends. Thanks for sharing.

Mary said...

Your mum has great birds! I love those partridges....a little like the quail I see in Tucson. I'd probably be like your mom and try to protect and feed as many as I could :-) He does seem to be begging for more. I love your robins and understand that ours is actually a Thrush and they called it a robin because of the red breast like your Robin. Your nuthatch is so much like our red-breasted nuthatch. Tell you mom to get well soon and that we love her garden and birds :-)

Jenny said...

Hi Roy, thanks. Robins are so great for photographers as they will always pose so nicely, unlike those pesky Bullfinches! (-:

Hi Steve, it is a great garden for all wildlife, I love doing her gardening. I'm sure she is going to love seeing the birds again, she might get out of hospital tomorrow, digits crossed!

Hi Mary, thanks for those thoughts, I shall certainly pass on all thise lovely comments to her.

Adrian said...

Hey Wren

The long-tailled tits turned out nicely, of course. One of my favourites as you know. I will be doing my "Robin" blog soon!

Adgi

Eve said...

Hi Jenny!! I'm back and working through the posts. Now I have so much to do to catch up and have a splitting migrane!!! I hope your mom is doing much better...I'll probably find out as I read up. When I view my blog I don't see any of my posts but Julie says she sees them so I hope there is nothing major wrong there. I'm so glad to have the computer back and look forward to catching up on all my favorite blogs. I love all these birds and cant believe the snow you have!!!