There has been a collection of pigeons and doves visiting the garden for some time. They used to sit on the neighbours roof and wait for the ground feeders to be filled late afternoon before coming to feed. The neighbours took objection to them and would make noise to scare them off. They have since decided that because the food is in our garden it is acceptable to sit on our roof instead. They are quite friendly now and will sit on the roof or washing line as we walk by. They still don’t like the neighbours when they are making noise!
Once they have had their fill of food it is a sign for the woodpigeons to come over and finish off any scraps.
photographing them, I was looking into the sun and there was a heat haze across the field – typical! I have never seen two hares together before and I was so surprised to see them. My attention was drawn away to the birds in the hedgerow, two robins that were hoping about having a slight territorial dispute and then to long-tailed tits in the top of the trees. Walking down the lower part of the copse towards the river I again spooked the roe deer. I hear them moving then normally see white bottoms bouncing off through the trees. I need to locate myself in the copse at some point to photograph them. My guess is there is normally two or three that run off. 
The river was full. It had obviously burst its banks recently as a patch of the field was a large puddle. I have never seen it that full before. It did look pretty with the sun shining and the neutral tones of the fields behind. Two swans flew over and later a cormorant. I heard a wren and a moorhen but didn’t see them. The holes that I have seen in the bank previously were fully submerged so if they were homes to any creature they were 100% flooded out. I was stood watching three goldfinch flitting between the trees, I turned round to find a hare metres from me. I slowly lifted the camera to take a photo but it was gone as soon as I moved a muscle, I hadn’t expected to see one right behind me! I estimate there were 3 to 4 hares in the field! As the river receded from its original flooded level it has dropped lots of plastic bottles along the rivers edge, I did think about trying to get them out, however, I was on my own and didn’t know how sturdy the bank was! I will take backup and fish them out next time I go. If the water level doesn’t rise again they look like they will remain wedged in the tree line.
Rather than walking round the field I walked back up the copse. Two wren were in the hedgerow and a blackbird was keeping a few meters ahead of me all the way along, I’d get close it would fly a little further along and the continued. I heard a bee, a queen buff-tailed bumble bee, it was buzzing along the side of the hedgerow.
January 30th – 31 mute swans were just on the other side of the fence, I didn’t have my camera so I took a quick photograph on my phone. I haven’t seen them that far up the field before. Hopefully they will be staying around for a little longer, I think they will still be there for as long as the crop is still sprouting. 
I made my way out into the field through the owners back garden as the road wasn’t a safe place to be! The mute swans are back 🙂 there were six feeding on the crop! I’m sure the farmer isn’t too pleased to see them but I was 🙂 Last April there were approximately 40 grazing so I am expecting the numbers to increase. I walked a different route to normal as I was trying to avoid the accident. I didn’t see a lot, a pheasant that ran away very quickly and a great tit in the trees. There were other small birds about but they were difficult to see as the sun was in my eyes and they were just shadows. As I got closer to the river I noticed a huge number of woodpigeon; I counted approximately 96, they were all feeding on the crop too! The river is so much easier to see into now its Winter. I can even sort of tell where the edge of the bank is! Today I only spotted a wren, grey heron and a moorhen.
On the walk back up I stuck to my normal route, I did however quickly realise it was the much muddier choice! There were three advantages though; I briefly glimpsed two roe deer in the copse, a brown hare ran out from the hedgerow in front of me and a buzzard flew over. I know there are brown hare in the copse and I have seen them in the next field along but but this is the first time on my patch 🙂
For a change of scenery on Boxing Day I headed to 
This visit though was about Squirrels, Red Squirrels. After I had paid the landing fee on entrance to the Island I was talking to one of the grounds keepers who told me he had seen Squirrels around the church the day before. Of course I headed straight to the wood behind the church and 5 minutes later I was watching the first Red Squirrel of the day 🙂 If you plan to go and take photographs then I found the light was much better in the morning in this area. While looking out for the Squirrels I also managed to spot my first Treecreeper 🙂
I was a little happier on the boat on the way back and even kept my camera out to take a few pictures of Poole Harbour. Seeing I was at the coast it was fish and chips for dinner which I ate surrounded by rather cute Black-headed Gulls, who patiently waited at my feet to see if I was going to feed them. They wanted chips though and not the bird food I went and got for them from the car!
