It's not The Serengeti Plain but out there in our suburban back garden I have seen plenty of wildlife over the years. Mammals have included hedgehogs, foxes, a badger, American grey squirrels, rats and field mice. However, as you can imagine, the real stars of the show are birds - those amazing flying creatures that live amongst us.
This Christmas Eve morning, I pulled back the curtains and saw a mischief of magpies - nine of them hopping around near the feeding station. I have also seen our native robins, thrushes, crows, rooks, blackbirds, wood pigeons, collared doves, hedge sparrows, a pheasant, blue tits, coal tits, long tailed tits, goldfinches, Eurasian jays, a sparrow hawk, swallows, house-martins and starlings and I am sure I have missed a couple out.
Yesterday, for the second time in a week, I was puzzled to see an unfamiliar bird in the garden. She was mostly black with white head markings and she was sitting near the top of a small sycamore tree watching the world go by.
I came downstairs and riffled through a drawer to find our binoculars. Invariably, it is at such a moment that target birds choose to depart but fortunately I was able to observe this one for a full minute before if flew away.
I will keep looking out for her and wishing her well. Her appearance was a welcome early Christmas present and a reminder that we should treasure our avian neighbours. Please don't let them go the way of the dodo.
🔘🔘🔘
Meanwhile, high in Yorkshire Pudding Towers, the jury is already in a huddle as they deliberate once again through the Christmas period over who will be prize winners at the annual Laughing Horse Blogging Awards Ceremony. Above all, they are considering who will be The Blogger of the Year for 2021. Watch this space and please have a HAPPY CHRISTMAS.
Don't faint. It's me.
ReplyDeleteJust popped in to say "A very happy Christmas,to you all"
All the best for the new year from our county to yours.
That's nice of you Christina. Happy Christmas and please say hello from me to AJ Odudu if you see her shopping in B&M. She is a great advert for Blackburn.
DeleteWhy are American squirrels in Yorkshire?
ReplyDeleteYou don't have the Bird Finder app on your phone?
Blogger of the year? Will you win?
A very Merry Christmas to you and Shirley.
American grey squirrels are all over this island. They were brought in to a few country estates in the nineteenth century and have spread like rabbits in Australia - driving away or infecting our native red squirrels.
DeleteI have never owned any kind of mobile phone.
I will not win Blogger of the Year because I have a murky past.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR "R"
What a thrill to see such a rare bird! A little Christmas present? You must have been very good this year, Mr. P.
ReplyDeleteI hope that all is merry and bright for you and for your yours. A little island of sweetness and of light in this strange year of so much murkiness.
I have been so good that it hurts! Merry Xmas to you, Glen and the young ones!
DeleteMerry Merry and Happy Happy!
ReplyDeleteLay off the pills Bob! Happy Christmas sir!
DeleteThe last time I saw one of these it was in our very large cemetery some years ago. As for the decline in our birds I think that the lack of hedges is one condsideration, I know around here most people have paved or chipped the front gardens but when I moved here in 1965 almost every front garden had a hedge.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your Christmas YP.
Briony
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I think you are right. So much of the countryside is like a pristine food factory with very few hedgerows or woods. Happy Xmas to you and your better half!
DeleteHappy Christmas to you and the rest of the Yorkshire Pudding clan. Hope that Sarah is not too badly impacted by the virus.
ReplyDeleteI just spoke to Ian and Sarah. She has no symptoms and her isolation will be done on Monday. Fingers crossed they will be able to drive up to Yorkshire then or soon after.
DeleteMerry Christmas Neil! Sending warm wishes to you, Shirley, and the rest of the Pudding clan!
ReplyDeleteThank you Jennifer. Did you receive my card yet? I posted it two weeks ago. Happy Christmas to Marco... and also to you, George and Gregg.
DeleteThat's an impressive bird visitor to your garden! Is there somewhere official you can report your siting?
ReplyDeleteI love birdwatching and our pond attracts many varieties we wouldn't necessarily see in our back yard. And to think I only believed "old people" were birdwatchers when I was a child.
Ha-ha! I have also become more fascinated with birds as I have grown older. Merry Christmas Kelly!
DeleteIt's good to see you can still attract birds to the garden YP. Have a great Christmas with your family in Sheffield.
ReplyDeleteI have never had any trouble pulling birds Dave! Have a lovely Christmas in the bosom of your family!
DeleteMerry Christmas Mr YP.
ReplyDeleteBTW, will there be an award for the most offensive comment of the year? If so it might be tempted to put in a few last minute entries.
Your mischievous and irreverent remark has been noted by the judging panel.
DeleteYou had me at American Grey Squirrel. That led me to do some googling of how they ended up eating tea and crumpets in England which led me to the 11th Duke of Bedford, Herbrand Russell.
ReplyDeleteTo me they are rats with bushy tails but many people love them. We should sue the American state!
DeleteSending the very best of wishes to you, Shirley and the family for a joyous Christmas tide. It will be so lovely for you all to see Phoebe enjoying the celebrations, and it's wonderful that Ian and Sarah may now be able to join you after all. Take the very best care of yourselves Neil, and thank you for bringing us such delightful posts and images throughout the year.
ReplyDeleteKind, caring words. Thank you Elizabeth! And I wish you and your family the best this Christmastide. The boys must be all grown up now!
DeleteMerry Christmas to you and yours Mr. Pudding 🍮
ReplyDeleteWhy thank you my good lady and may I echo your wishes? HAPPY CHRISTMAS to you, The Big Guy and The Little Guy!
DeleteIt's Christmas morning and a balmy 19 degrees here as we celebrate our "upside down Christmas". We'll be having a mix of northern and southern hemisphere food as we enjoy our first Christmas with Charlotte. Last night she put the special key under the doormat to allow Father Christmas to enter and leave presents as they don't have a chimney and had a nibble on the carrots left for the reindeer. Hope you have heaps of fun with Phoebe and the family. Merry Christmas, Adele
ReplyDeleteI guess your Christmas is almost over Adele while here we are still preparing the big turkey dinner. Phoebe will be here soon with her servants in tow. Happy Christmas Grandma!... Neil
DeleteYou certainly have a good number of birds and species. It's very cold here now so most birds are inactive and stay under cover.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't they put some warm clothes on?
DeleteMerry Christmas to you and yours, Mr. Pudding.
ReplyDeleteThank you Catalyst and Happy Xmas to Arizona too.
DeleteMerry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas Carol. Hope you didn't sup too much Sangria today!
DeleteHappy Christmas, YP! Your woodpecker sighting is exciting. We had a woodpecker on our bird feeder yesterday as well, but not that variety.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing to have woodpeckers in such built up locations. Hope you had a nice day Steve!
DeleteMay you and your lovely family have a peaceful and happy Christmas!
ReplyDeleteThanks Bonnie.
DeleteMerry Christmas to you and your lovely family, Neil!
ReplyDeleteSpotting this rare type of woodpecker was a special treat, wasn‘t it.
Yes it was a real treat indeed. Hope you had a great day Meike.
DeleteHope you all had a lovely Christmas, especially Phoebe and her grandpa.
ReplyDeletePhoebe had two grandpas! Actually the other one is called Granddad> I hope you are having a good day Nurse Lily.
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