Sunday 9 March 2014

Butterflies, Bugs and of Course Birds

Today I spent an enjoyable day at my feeding station in the woods; the sun was beaming hot and it was like a proper Spring's day. As usual all the birds were out, but the sun also brought some unexpected visitors including this Brimstone Butterfly below and also one or two other butterflies species as well (Tortoise Shell, Peacock and Meadow Brown). 


 Whilst walking along side the little stream flowing through the wood, I found lots of different species of fungi one of which included this Scarlet Elf Cup (thank you to Davey Man for the ID help), this is the first time I've ever seen this species.


 On the way down to the wood you have to walk past a bee hive, the bees had also been awoken by the sun. It was a hive of activity!


The main purpose of going down to the wood was to see if there was any activity in any of the 12 nest boxes we have put up. Me and my dad made a recording sheet and found that four of the boxes had a bit of activity. The one below had a Blue Tit investigating it, one of the open fronted had a Robin taking a look, one of the Nuthatch boxes had had something roosting in it i.e. it had a bit of poo and feathers in it, and finally another one of the Blue Tit ones had quite a bit of poo and feathers in it which to us was quite a good sign. 


We always keep the feeders filled up, and is always nice to photograph some of the attracted birds, my favorite attracted bird visitor has to be the couple of pairs of Nuthatches that keep on feeding on the nuts. 


 All together we have seven good big feeders at the station, all in the shelter of the trees. With the sun shining though the trees, the birds colours were even nicer to witness and enjoy.


Can't wait to get down there again next time!!!

18 comments:

  1. Spring has definitely sprung Findlay, the butterflies were out in force today.
    I love that fungi, one I've yet see!
    Those nest boxes are looking to be popular, a good job done there.
    Beautiful nuthatch...[;o)

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  2. the huthatch is so cute. love that scarlet fungi! wow! glad to see your nesting boxes are being checked out!

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  3. HI Finlay great to see the birds are interested in your nest boxes. Wonderful to see butterflies so early.

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  4. I like the nuthatch on the branch. It was good to see so many butterflies today.

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  5. Lovely nature scenes. The birds are all cute, especially the Nuthatch. Your bee shot is amazing, great capture. Have a happy week!

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  6. Lovely to see this happy Spring post! Those first warm days are a real gift aren't they? (I remember that from when we lived in Oregon... not much difference here in Florida). How lucky you are to live close enough to this wood to go there often... even to be able to keep the feeders filled.

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  7. It seems you had quite a day. I love how many little surprises you can find when out and about in nature. It's nice to see you've found such appreciation early in life.

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  8. I'm delighted to hear that your nest boxes look as if they're going to be 'bearing fruit', Findlay. Your feeding station looks rather productive too! Keep up the good work.

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  9. Great shots! I especially like the bird feeding upside down.

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  10. The nuthatch is very cute. Looks like you had a wonderful day with lots to see.

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  11. Interesting post Finlay, just shows you what a difference the sun makes, amazing to see the butterflies, and great shots of the Nuthatch.

    All the best Gordon.

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  12. love the bird feeder image! what food to you put in it? It is a great design.

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  13. Sounds like a great day Findlay. Hope some of that interest is productive and you have nesting birds in the near future.

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  14. lol, I too, found a Brimstone today. And got an image almost the same as yours :)

    Loved the nuthatch image in teh psot above this one. Your fried did a great job.

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  15. What a wonderful Spring post! That fungus is beautiful. I'm with you, the Nuthatch is splendid!

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  16. The nuthatch is one of my favourite birds - nice shots (even with the stick).

    If you get a chance have a look at how much the range of this bird has increased in the NW of England - I think you will see a big change

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  17. Nice captures of the nuthatch. Spring is in the air.....the bees always let us know:)

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