Herring gull mobbing buzzard

The herring gull chicks have taken to wandering around on the roof tops and some have even taken to the air. The adults are much less tolerant of potential intruders including the occasional buzzard that glides over our garden.

Several gulls wheel around with raucous cries while one herring gull repeatedly mobs the buzzard until it has been chased out of range.

magpie eating ice cystals

Another of those icy foggy days. Magpie back at the bird feeder early this morning but could not get a drink as the bird bath was frozen and I had not yet had the chance to defrost it.

The magpie flew up onto the roof of our neighbours shed and was using its beak to scratch off and 'eat' the frost that covered the roof of the shed.

Not long after I tipped boiling water into the two bird and separate water bowl to melt the ice and then refilled, tipping in a little of the boiling water to make the water a bit warmer and less likely to refreeze.

Although we have few actually snowy days, there are many days when standing water is frozen and limiting places where birds can get a  drink.

Comma butterfly sunbathing

A very warm Sunday afternoon and I spotted this comma butterfly sunning itself on our flint wall.

The reason its called a comma is the small white comma shaped mark on the underside of its wings, but it looks a bit like a tatty battered tortoiseshell.

This butterfly overwinters as an adult and must build up their fat reserves to survive the winter. Idea site includes underneath the bark or a tree truck, log pile or maybe a garden shed.
tree trunk, log piles.