A Christmas dozen

JANUARY A murmuration of Black-tailed Godwits over Pulborough Brooks
FEBRUARY The basis for a future painting - male Reed Bunting and buds at Holmethorpe
MARCH The early promise of the summer to come in the form of a Small Tortoiseshell at Canons Farm
APRIL Lilliputian flora at Dungeness - Early Forget-me-not
MAY Green Hairstreak warming up in the morning sun, Chipstead Bottom
JUNE A day at Box Hill with the DSLR camera capturing Sainfoin on the southern slopes
JULY The Boquer Valley spills into the Med, with Balearic Warblers and Eleonora's Falcons to ease the journey
AUGUST Perennial Sow-thistles at Langley Vale Farm - the commonplace becomes art form
SEPTEMBER An orthopteran snacking Stonechat, Canons Farm
OCTOBER Adult Caspian Gull at Dungeness
NOVEMBER Golden dawn at Dungeness
DECEMBER It's either a Robin or a clump of Mistletoe...

Comments

Gavin Haig said…
Nice. I think May and October are my favourite two, though June and August run them close. Your final photo reminded me that I once came across a flock of Waxwings feeding on mistletoe in Windsor Great Park; now that would have made a nice December pic!
23 December 2016 at 14:48
Steve Gale said…
I've Photoshopped the Waxwings out Gav...have a peaceful holiday my friend.
23 December 2016 at 14:50
Factor said…
July for me - it brings back happy memories -and August because it is a great photo. November's great too.
23 December 2016 at 22:44
Steve Gale said…
You cannot beat a bit of Boquer Valley action, can you Neil...
23 December 2016 at 22:50
Derek Faulkner said…
March for me, not so much for the lovely shot of the butterfly but for the fact that you can feel the exciting warmth of that early Spring day coming back out of the photograph. Also love the fact that you're often prepared to make the ordinary look good, as in August.
24 December 2016 at 05:42
Steve Gale said…
There is beauty in the ordinary Derek - I doubt my wife would have married me otherwise!!!
24 December 2016 at 08:29
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Goldfinches and Lavender

Image
We have three medium-sized Lavender bushes in our back garden. Throughout the summer the flowers (which last for several months) are a magnet for insects and give off a most restful aroma. As tempting as it is to cut the dead stems in the autumn, we always leave them, as we know that during the late winter we will get visitors to feed on the seed heads... This video was taken from the kitchen window this morning. We will normally see one or two birds over a few days, but have had up to 14 at once. We never tire of watching them. Lavender is a wonderful plant to have in the garden, with year round natural history benefits. So what are you waiting for? They are readily available at a garden centre close to you right now! There is an historic association with Lavender in this part of northern Surrey and south London. Lavender fields have been harvested for many years, with one particular field close to Woodmansterne being very popular with day trippers. A significant proportion o
Read more

To tell it like it is, or not...

Image
I am grateful to Gavin Haig (Not Quite Scilly) who drew my attention to an opinion piece, penned by Matt Phelps, which appeared in the November issue of 'Birdwatch' magazine, entitled 'Positive Approach', which I have now read. In it, he suggests that there is too much negativity being posted on social media regarding the state of our birding world, which is then acting as a deterrent towards a younger generation in adopting conservation and wildlife study. He also suggests that a lot of this negativity is being generated by older birders, and that these old timers keep banging on about the 'good old days' which isn't helpful in encouraging the youth to pick up a pair of binoculars and get out into the field. Does he have a point? Now, I am undeniably an older birder, and I am also guilty of having posted, blogged, written and spoken about the slump in bird and invertebrate numbers. I also like nothing better than to revisit my notebooks and share in the hi
Read more

Time to reflect

I normally come up with the title for a post after I have written it. If I'm feeling creative it will be some sort of play on words, or if I'm not then an all-encompassing word or two will do. As for this particular post, and with a few things to discuss, I've written the title first, inspired by having just read a feature about musicians who have used the title of an album as the starting point for their creative exercise. Here goes... Firstly, blogs - yes, this very medium that I am writing in and you are reading from. - what content they derive, the reason that the content exists and what the writer should (or should not) expect from any reader that visits the blog. This was brought into sharp focus by a series of posts to be found here, at Jono Lethbridge's excellent 'Wansted Birder'.   His blogging output has recently included detailed and entertaining reports on his recent overseas trips which have received a bit of flak from certain quarters. None of us b
Read more