Baby birds

Yesterday, after visiting Dad to wish him a 'Happy Father's Day', I decided to go for a walk along the path at the side of the golf course. It's the same path I wrote about back in May but the vegetation has grown a lot since. There was masses of cow parsley frothing at the side of the path.

Looking very lovely against the darkening sky. Thankfully these clouds just wandered by and the sun came out as I carried on.

Armed with some small binoculars, I was hoping to see the long-tailed tits again but would have been happy to see any kind of feathers. There was a lot of bird song and the odd glimpse of something fluttering over on the far side of the field but nothing near the path. I'm sure birds wait for you to pass then quickly dash by behind your back.

Eventually, I headed up off the path into a wilder, grassier area with shrubs and trees and was rewarded with a blue tit dancing around.

These pretty clumps of comfrey were dotted amongst the grasses and buttercups. The bird song was also getting closer so I sat down and quietly waited. Before long I spotted a bird continually darting in and out of a small bush a few feet away.

I soon realised she was feeding a fledgling.

But no, not just one fledgling, a whole bush of them.

 

I sat for ages in the sunshine watching the mother feed her brood, smiling in delight as they huddled together, dozing off in the warmth. So cute! I really just couldn't believe my luck and only reluctantly dragged myself away to go home to make tea.

I wasn't sure what kind of birds they were but, after poring over a couple of fairly blurry shots of the mum, I  reckon they were willow warblers - I'm sure Louise will correct me if I'm wrong :)

The photo of the iris wasn't taken on the walk but down by the lake.

We had Chickpea's boyfriend staying with us all last week, so I have a mournful daughter this evening as he went home today. At the weekend they went out around town in the evening with some friends. Usually I go to collect them but decided to give them taxi money instead as I was really tired after a busy week at work and didn't want to stay up late. I needn't have bothered because I tossed and turned and couldn't settle. Of course, the moment I heard them come through the front door at 1.45 I immediately fell asleep.

In other news, we're going on holiday! Only for a couple of days but I'm so excited. Our destination is Whitby which lots of people tell me is a lovely place to visit. It will also be our first ever time on the east coast so I can hardly wait. This time next week we'll be there!

OK, time to go. I've started a new crochet project and want to make a little progress before bed. Thank you for all so much for your lovely comments about my quilts. Until next time. x