Sunday 16 September 2018

We've had some really nice warm weather for the past couple of days. Despite this, there wasn't much going on in the garden so I had to resort to taking photos like this one of an apple I've had my eye on for a few weeks now. It looked absolutely perfect through my camera, so we clipped it off this morning and will see what it tastes like. The other apples in the garden are usually inedibly sharp.

I don't usually take photos of chaffinches anymore as they're so commonplace, but this one was posing nicely and had an unusual moult going on.

Perfect apple, Christophstal September 2018

Perfect apple, Christophstal September 2018

Moulting chaffinch, Christophstal September 2018

Moulting chaffinch, Christophstal September 2018

Saturday 15 September 2018
Wall brown, Christophstal September 2018

Wall brown, Christophstal September 2018

We've seen a lot of wall brown butterflies this year, but I've given up trying to photograph them as they don't like the ultrasonic focus motor on my camera. As soon as I push the shutter button, they're off. As it's probably one of the last times I'll see one this year, I thought I'd have a go photographing this one as it was sitting on a verbena for a long time and didn't seem bothered by anything we did. Sure enough, it stayed still and I got a couple of half-decent photos. Pity it's got that damage to its wing.

Thursday 13 September 2018

There are still a few butterflies about. Today we had a pair of small coppers looking very fresh.

Pair of small coppers, Christophstal September 2018

Pair of small coppers, Christophstal September 2018

Wednesday 12 September 2018
Starlings, Christophstal September 2018

Starlings, Christophstal September 2018

A small flock of starlings showed up in the valley today. We don't usually see so many. They were quite well hidden in this conifer, but this photo shows two of them.

Sunday 2 September 2018

The terrible weather continues.

There wasn't much going on in the garden today as it was so cold and wet. I did see this young red-backed shrike lurking in the hawthorn. He really should have left by now. He wasn't finding much to eat. I hope he manages to get off to Africa soon.

The rain and cold didn't bother the kingfisher. He's visiting nearly every day at the moment.

Red-backed shrike, Christophstal September 2018

Red-backed shrike, Christophstal September 2018

Kingfisher, Christophstal September 2018

Kingfisher, Christophstal September 2018

Saturday 1 September 2018
Pied flycatcher, Christophstal August 2018

Pied flycatcher, Christophstal August 2018

Male blackcap, Christophstal August 2018

Male blackcap, Christophstal August 2018

Common redstart, Christophstal August 2018

Common redstart, Christophstal August 2018

Common redstart, Christophstal August 2018

Common redstart, Christophstal August 2018

Moulting robin, Christophstal August 2018

Moulting robin, Christophstal August 2018

Grey wagtail, Christophstal August 2018

Grey wagtail, Christophstal August 2018

House sparrow, Christophstal August 2018

House sparrow, Christophstal August 2018

White wagtail, Christophstal August 2018

White wagtail, Christophstal August 2018

Hawthorn berries, Christophstal August 2018

Hawthorn berries, Christophstal August 2018

Hummingbird hawk-moth, Christophstal August 2018

Hummingbird hawk-moth, Christophstal August 2018

The migrant birds are still about despite the appalling weather we had yesterday - it rained continuously all day and was dark and miserable.

The pied flycatcher was out hunting again along with a few black redstarts and common redstarts.

Both male and female blackcaps were enjoying the apples and plums in our trees.

I've been trying to take a photo of this moulting robin for a couple of weeks now. He looks a lot better now than he did two weeks ago.

There was a grey wagtail down by the pond and the white wagtails were still about too - including this slightly older juvenile.

Another house sparrow was on the bird table today. This is not the same one we saw a few days ago - this one has a much stronger eyestripe. I managed to get a photo from an open window this time, but the focus was on the bird's back - so not perfect.

The hawthorn berries are nearly ripe and we've seen a few more blackbirds than normal.

To finish, here's a photo of a hummingbird hawk-moth. They've had a good year - we've seen quite a few.