While the cat's away, the mice will play

Or in this case, while the sparrowhawk is away all the small birds will make the most of it.  The trail camera is set up to watch the new sparrowhawk perch in the kitchen garden but it records a lot of other birds while he is away.  Even when the coast is clear they are still very much on edge.  Here is a taste.

There is a surprising amount of activity after dark, including this rather indecisive wood mouse.

Merry Christmas

The under gardener

I have spent much of the past week or so in the garden so there hasn't been much opportunity to get out and take photos.  It's the sort of job that has to be done now otherwise I'll regret it later in the season.  I was assisted throughout by this fellow.  Every time he stopped singing I knew he'd spotted something tasty.  He helped me out by collecting all the caterpillars, etc that I'd missed.

One neat trick he showed me was how to pick up a millipede when you are already carrying a caterpillar.

It is a pity he's not quite so good at weeding.

My left hand

I am right-handed so if I am holding something to be photographed it is in my left hand.  As well as feeding the robin and the pheasant I seem often to be catching birds that have strayed into the house or greenhouse or, occasionally, been stunned by flying into the window and everything has to have its photo taken before release.  Over the last few years I have collected quite a few photos of my left hand and here are some of them.  I wonder what I'll catch this year? Whatever it is, it will have its photo taken.

I expect you'll recognise everything.  The only tricky one is after the pheasant and before the blackbird and is a juvenile whitethroat that got stuck in the greenhouse.

Merry Christmas

For the second year running I have made a photo book of some of my wildlife photos.  It had a print run of two(!) but is available online for anyone to look at for free here.  Just click on it and make it full screen.  You don't need to enter your email or subscribe.

In the next few days I'll also post some favourite images of the past 12 months on this blog.

Posing robins

One good thing about robins is that they will sit still for a portrait, unlike most other birds which are very fidgety.  This one was at Wallington in very poor light but I managed these at 1/50s with a 600mm lens.

These were at St Mary's, also at 1/50s and 600mm.  Modern digital cameras and stabilised lenses are pretty amazing.