Tag Archives: nature

Return of the jay?

Tuesday 31st May 2022, 1.55pm (day 3,932)

Jay, 31/5/22

Jays are very handsome birds and it’s a shame we don’t see more of them. I could say that this specimen is the second jay to appear on the blog, but it may be the same one as depicted just under four years ago — as this photo was taken only around 100 yards from that one; both in close proximity to the Ellen Wilkinson building on campus (a.k.a. ‘the office’). I can’t spot any obvious differences in plumage, and I have a feeling that corvids like this can happily live for a decade or more, so I think I will declare this to be only the third bird — after two herons (Humph and Maris Crane) — that might have appeared on here more than once.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Blackbird

Friday 27th May 2022, 11.30am (day 3,928)

Blackbird, 27/5/22

There has been a lot of movement around the country for me lately, but today marks the start of a longish stretch at home. As in other such periods I will have to hope that Hebden Bridge keeps me inspired. The local fauna and flora is often a good place to start: this blackbird posed somewhat impatiently, but did allow me to get in his close-ups.

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Fox, central London

Monday 16th May 2022, 9.55am (day 3,917)

London fox, 16/5/22

This is the second fox to appear on this blog. The first was depicted on the hills above Kentmere in the Lake District (on 4/3/2020) which one might think was an appopriate location to see one. However, I believe there are now more urban foxes in the UK than rural ones, and this one was seen less than five minutes’ walk from King’s Cross station, at roughly 10am on a Monday morning in central London.

It’s injured though. Whatever is up with its front left leg, it wasn’t putting any weight on it. Nothing I could do about it, sadly. I hope it is OK.

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Audrey III has landed

Tuesday 10th May 2022, 3.20pm (day 3,911)

Foxglove, 10/5/22

I’ve been suspicious before that certain flora depicted on here are in fact versions of ‘Audrey II’, the man-eating alien plant from Little Shop of Horrors. Here’s another one. Of course, the connection is made because the plant in the movie is so well-designed, and takes characteristics of real plants as the basis. But it still works. (It’s a foxglove by the way.)

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Making a break for it

Wednesday 27th April 2022, 4.30pm (day 3,898)

It’s always scary being the first one to make the break. But someone had to do it.

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Evening blossom

Sunday 17th April 2022, 8.35pm (day 3,888)

Evening blossom, 17/4/22

The cherry blossom in the courtyard at work had been and gone six weeks ago, but the more exposed trees outside the White Lion in Hebden Bridge require more lead-in time to reach full flower. Still, here they are — in time to make the place look good for the Easter daytrippers.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Keeping busy (unlike me)

Thursday 14th April 2022, 1.35pm (day 3,885)

Today was the first day of my Easter holiday, and I definitely did very little. This insect was far busier. I know that even without deeply entering into its lifestyle, or anything.

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Nesting

Friday 1st April 2022, 4.10pm (day 3,872)

Nesting duck, 1/4/22

Now, she’s on the nest. If it wasn’t for the presence of the nearby, and bright green, drake (unpictured), I would never have seen this nesting mother among the undergrowth. Seeing as ducks don’t have a great deal of offensive capacity, doubtless this camouflage is her only real protection against having the brood eaten by someone/thing or other. She was definitely keeping an eye on me, put it that way.

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Towpath life

Wednesday 30th March 2022, 3.55pm (day 3,870)

Geese and barge, 30/3/22

Sometimes in my more romantic fantasies of downsizing I wonder what it would be like to live on one of the barges on the Rochdale Canal — but these thoughts never last all that long before I think of the music and movie collections. If I really wanted to do it I’d probably already be doing it. The immediate neighbours would be Canada geese, too.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

On the wall

Monday 28th March 2022, 10.30am (day 3,868)

Blackbird on wall, 28/3/22

Less sunny that it has been, so the light wasn’t great today and I made only brief forays out of the house. At least, on this, one of the very few pictures I tried today, I got the focus right.

Tagged , , , , , , , ,