Managed to snap a few quickies off when this big bumble bee paid a visit to my Fuji Cherry. Focus not great but he just refused to sit still 🙂
Tag Archives: wildlife
Caught in the Act…
of taking a ….. photograph of course. Why, what did you think I was doing??!!
This was me last week whilst out tree hunting. Phil sneakily took this one while I was trying to get a shot of some fungi on a log. Now on his Facebook page under the title, ‘Mushroom Man’.
This was the result.
Eejits on Tour Part 3
The final instalment.
At one point on our day out, Phil took me to a river that he fishes on for Salmon. A beautiful spot. We lingered there longer than planned thanks to a show put on my 3 Dippers fighting over the same set of rocks. Must have been good fishing there 🙂
The water reminds me of a pint of Guinness getting poured. The colour comes from the peat in the area. The foam finishes it off 🙂
In the shot below you can see a branch that has been placed in the river as a perch for kingfishers. None on view today sadly.
What was sad to see was that some idiot was dumping into the river from the road side above! There was even the remains of a car in the pile. A strange pipe also drained into the river and nothing much wanted to grow below it 😦
Some nice beech trees along the riverside as well.
Some deadwood and a fallen Beech 🙂
We stopped for a Fish Supper on the way back at a lovely little Fish & Chip Shop beside a Harbour.
The fish was rather on the large size, but we both managed admirably.
That’s it! The day in photos that took 3 days to share with you. Hope you enjoyed viewing the images. You’ll have to wait for the yamadori photos 😉 but they’ll be on here in the Spring. I’ll leave you with a photo of a Heron winging it’s way along the coast.
Feed The Birds, It’s Christmas Time….
Just a reminder to feed those birds this Winter. I took a few shots of birds yesterday when I visited my parents farm just outside Belfast. Here’s what was on offer. Not very sharp as they were taken through glass.
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Coal Tit
Robin, shy one. Just managed to get a quick one before it disappeared.
Chaffinch, female and male.
Goldfinch
These were not outside 🙂 My Dad keeps a few more exotic birds about the place. All taken through a wire cage so again, a little blurry.
and lastly, the other side of Christmas 🙂 Life on the farm…
I was going to rotate this one 180 degrees and make it look like they are taking off, but that’s just sick 😉
Alfred Hitchcocks The Birds!!
Driving down a country road this week, I spotted a field full of crows. I don’t think I have ever seen so many in one place. Proper Black Crows in Ireland used to be quite a rare sight. You only ever saw small colonies up until about 15 years ago. Now…
A few trees on the same road.
A typical tree choked in ivy. The extra bulk from the ivy can cause trees like this to blow down in high winds due to the extra surface area. Most farmers will remove it from time to time. Note the sheep sheltering underneath.
Todays Walk in Pictures
Here is some from my usual Sunday walk. We revisited the Clandeboye Way. We haven’t done it for a while as it can get water logged but today was enjoyable even with the mud.
I didn’t think the sign meant cameras so I snapped away when I could. Nice to see the dog using the pedestrian gate instead of going through the main one 🙂
I spotted these Fungi on an old fallen Birch log. My brother Sam thought they looked like Octopus.
On old rotten stump with beautiful deadwood.
Some of the landscape we crossed. The sheep moved away when they saw the dogs appearing.
Old Gate pillars made from Scrabo Sandstone. No longer used as a gate as the gap isn’t wide enough any more for modern machinery. New gate beside it.
We saw many trees along the walk that had fallen since our last visit. This one blocked the path.
Stephen wondered why I stopped to take a photo of the ground. I found it beautiful in it’s own way. It captures the season well. Can’t wait to see what he snaps with his new camera from Santa 🙂
Loved this old gnarly tree trunk. It tells it’s own story of life in the wood.
A birch full of witches brooms.
Just as we left the wooded area to walk along the coast, this Jay appeared in a tree. I snapped a few quick shots thinking it would only sit a few seconds. It was close by the path and was working hard to get grubs from a rotted branch. I quickly changed the lens to get a closer shot. Just As I was ready, it buggered off! Never get a chance like that again 😦
Birds were the highlight for the rest of the walk. Here are a few we saw.
A few other feather free shots.
My 2 dogs loved the water and enjoyed drying out in front of the fire back at home too 🙂
When Birds Attack…… Moss
Sitting at the computer yesterday, I glanced out the window and saw that a family of Blackbirds had descended on my trees to assist with the removal of moss. A Great Tit also got in on the act but kept getting chased off. I managed to snap a few quick shots out of the window.
Odds & Sods
Rounding off my photos from Florida, I thought I would share a few more. These are just odd shots that I thought some of you might like.
This is a Bald Eagle spotted on the Air boat ride.
A few other birds snapped at Discovery Cove Aviary.
Some of my pool side friends. Lizards everywhere, great to watch.
Not as common, a blue tailed Skink. Wonder how it got the name??!!
These guys visited the trees behind our cabana.
Black Runner Snake came every day to look for lizards.
This was a beautiful little bird that I was just about able to snap. Would love to know what it is. Anybody know?
A noisy pool visitor.
Pond Cypress Seed I believe.
A few from Busch Gardens and Sea World.
Mmmm… Which One first?
Butterfly. Some amazing ones in Florida, but few will sit for the photo!
Pretty.
Water Lilies.
Japan and China @ Epcot.
My wife taking the piss about trees!! 🙂
My favourite T-Shirt 🙂 He’s probably leading that little girl away to eat her too!!
and the big Finale at Disney.
Not a dam thing to do with bonsai, but I hope you enjoyed them.
Guardians of the Poly Tunnel
This year I’ve had 3 frogs staying in my Poly Tunnel. Every time I water they jump around in the Shower.I have low wooden slatted benches and they seem to thrive on all the little slugs and bugs in there. I don’t think I’ve ever had so few insect problems in the tunnel. It’s been fun watching them grow from tiny little fellas to near adult size. I hope they stick around.
Normally when I see one and grab the camera he disappears. This time he just sat on the pot of a common juniper and looked at me.
When he didn’t move I decided to get a shot from a better angle.
I wondered how far he would let me get will the camera before jumping. I moved a little closer…
I then moved the camera so I could rest it on the other side of the pot from him. Still sat and giving me the look 🙂
I probably could have got it closer, but I was at full stretch and was unable to focus the camera any closer in. Eventually he turned, gave me a wink and hopped off.
Bonsai Eejit 