River Doon

After the rain we've had, the River Doon is running as high as I've ever seen it.



The building in the centre is the Brig o'Doon House Hotel with the main window of the function suite (I won't shock you with the minimum cost of a wedding there) showing.

The partial building you can see in the top right is the Burns Monument in Alloway.

Visitors

We don't get Siskins all that often, but they are welcome visitors when they do come. When I went out to fill the seeds this morning, obviously one was so intent on feeding it didn't notice me until I was within touching distance. The it took off at a high rate of knots shouting furiously!! As you can see from the bottom of the nut feeder, it's still wet!

Icing Sugar

Someone was very profligate with the icing sugar last night!!




I'll be moving my blog onto www.anhonestman.net in the near future, so keep your eyes open.

Mooning about

This morning as I went down to collect in my rubbish bin, the collection is very early in the morning, I saw the crescent moon through the bare trees and thought it worthy of a photograph.

Christmas Lights

Since it stopped raining for a bit, I managed to get the camera out and took a photograph of the Christmas decorations in Ayr High Street. These are repeated up and down the street. Quite restrained.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside - 3

This photograph is included because I like Pied Wagtails. They are such perky little birds and never stop moving about.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside - 2

Since Sorlil is happier with birds than dogs, here are three for the price of one. You've got, from left to right, starling, black-headed gull and a herring gull.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

No matter how cold, dogs just seem to love playing in and around the sea. Rather them than me at present.

Boxing Day Blues

Blue becase that was the colour of my hands!

Today has been fairly yukky - overcast, windy, cold and trying to rain. I did brave the climatic conditions on Ayr Esplanade to get a photograph of a black-headed gull. I know it doesn't have black head, but it will when it comes to the breeding season. They are a very elegant small gull - noisy, but elegant.

This shot is of one trying to fly past into the teeth of a gale.

Christmas bird 02

and I am talking about the Turkey this time!



Merry Christmas everyone, and a peaceful and healthy New Year to follow.

Christmas bird .....

.... and I'm not talking about the Turkey.

This little fellow has decorated our Christmas Tree for a few years now. It wouldn't be the same without him, even if he is a bit the worse for wear now.



To those who are already on Christmas Day and to those (like me) still awaiting its coming, best wishes for a peaceful and healthy year to come.

Christmas Lights

Having been less than polite yesterday of someone else's decorations, I thought I'd let you see the only decoration I have - inside the house; nothing outside. That is apart from the Christmas (or should that read Xmas) cards hanging on strips down the wall. I'm saying Xmas since there are virtually no religious cards this year.

Scrooge-like tendencies...

Excuse the blurring on these photos, but it was a cold night with a bitter wind; I was sitting in my car with the window down but with the engine running; I was using the big camera with a fairly high magnification!

I don't know if I'm being curmudgeonly or not, but for a private residence I find this 'show' excessive. Although, at least, it is not in glorious technicolour. Possibly the owner thinks Christ was a space traveller and is trying to provide landing lights for the next spacecraft! I don't think this has anything to do with Christmas, only with one-upmanship.

Full many a ..........

I'll leave you to complete the quote! It's not completely apposite, since it is in our garden and not a desert, but it's too cold to smell if there is any fragrance being wasted. I actually thought I'd got rid of this plant, but it won't give up so I've let it be.

I love birds too ....

..... but in a different way to you!



If you still haven't found me ........

Last birds...

....... for now anyway! This is one of the blue tits which also frequent the feeder.

Long-tailed tits

Long-tailed Tits are infrequent visitors to our feeders, but when they come, they tend to come mob-handed and block out all the other birds. I don't mind, they are beautiful birds.



Ignore the Chaffinch at the water!

Bird again

I don't know if it's true, but the Collared Doves look decidedly stupid.

More birds

I left the camera set up at the upstairs window and got some more photographs; in this case of a Greenfinch feeding away. No other bird can dislodge one when it starts feeding.

A bird in the hand ....

.... or in this case rather more than two in the bush! This tree is a favourite resting place for the Chaffinches before and after eating from the feeder.