Feed The Birds...

This is a familiar sight to many Cheltonians - the pigeon lady. Every day she appears on her bike and feeds the pigeons. She puts down bread and seed in several different places and all the birds know her, and are there waiting for their lunch. I took the top photo but have cropped it (see below) but couldn't decided which one to post so you get the wide shot, the cropped shot and the close up shot. Which do you prefer?

And yes, that is a pigeon she is holding!

Henny Penny

I'll end the week with a real bird - a chicken at Pitville Park. I used to have a couple of chickens called Jennifer and Clarissa, named after the Two Fat Ladies (two women that had a cooking series on TV.) We used to get a dozen eggs a week off of them but they met an untimely end. They lived in a greenhouse, with the glass removed, and at night they got shut into an old rabbit hutch. One night I'd been out on the town and didn't shut them away. Next morning I went down the garden to feed them and they were gone. All that was left were a few white feathers and half a wing. A fox had his fill that night. Poor Jennifer and Clarissa.

On a lighter note, I'm off to the Cotswold Beer Festival tonight. Hangover tomorrow!

_

Big Bird

Continuing in the same vein as my previous posts here is another bird! This bird is made from wicker and is large, about ten feet wide. It is attached to the wall, next to the escalators, in the Regent Arcade. The point of it? To advertise the newly opened ByLocal shop, of course! It worked as well, I headed upwards to see what it was all about and found a shop selling paintings, pottery and all things arty created by local artists and crafts people. I hope the big bird does its job and leads shoppers up there too.

_

P...P...Pick Up A Penguin

Can you spot a mini-series unfolding? Yes, more birds today! I spotted this Sky satellite installation van in my street and was drawn to the unusual paint job, not because it is covered in penguins but because Sky vans are normally adorned with The Simpsons!

_

Newly Hatched

Some of you may remember the post I did last spring about my bosses ducklings Huey, Dewey & Louie or the post I did last July with them enjoying the summer weather, well now its time for an update. Huey, Dewey & Louie turned out to be girls and are now called Puddle, Daisy and Louise! They were joined by a drake named Alan, and he has been thoroughly enjoying his hareem! The result - Daisy has been sitting on five eggs, one of which hatched on Friday night. But Daisy didn't want to be a mummy and cast him out into the night (wipe the tears from your eyes.) Here he is though, fighting fit and being raised by hand. What a cutie!
_

Twit Twoo

These magnificent birds were on show in the High Street, helping raise money for The Barn Owl Centre. The charity, based on the edge of Gloucester, has the following aim - "To advance public education in Owl & Raptor welfare & husbandry."

The first owl is a Long Eared Owl, the second photo shows a Little Owl (original!) and the last owl is the most common in the UK, the Barn Owl.


The owl is a magnificently handsome bird of prey. Below are some interesting Owl Facts to impressive your friends and family with -

• Owls belong to the Order Strigiformes, which contains over 200 different species.
• Owls are nocturnal and hunt small mammals, small birds and some hunt fish.
• Their eyes are fixed in the sockets. They rotate their head 270 degrees to see back over there shoulders.
• Many breeds have special flight feathers for silent flying.
• They are long sighted and use feathers similar to whiskers to sense the prey in their beaks.
• The largest owl has a wing span of 2 meters.
• The Twit Twoo sound they make is actually Ke-wick Hoo-hoo-oooo.
  

Blue Tit

Another "at last" photo. Last week I managed the yellow taxi and this week the elusive Blue Tit! I mentioned quite a while back that a pair of these little birds were feeding in my garden but that I'd only seen them twice, and that I wasn't ready with my camera. Well this time I was, sort of. I saw one of them feeding and had to leg it into the lounge to get my camera and creep back, hoping not to disturb the little chap. I managed this one half decent photo through the window (I think the window needs cleaning!) Anyway, that's it today. Just thought I'd share.

_

Little Birdie

I'm back! Thanks to blogger for working its magic while I was away and thanks to everyone who has visited and commented too.

For a while now I've been trying to photograph a pair of Blue Tits (yes, we all know the jokes!) that have been feeding in my garden, but to no avail. The little buggers are too quick for me. I'll have to persevere...anyway, back to the photo. Instead I bring you a little House Sparrow. Notice that he is sat still in the spring sunshine, perfect for my photographic abilities! Anyone got any top tips on photographing birds?

_

Kitchen Magpie

The reason I first took this photo was because of the black and white window display matching the awning. But when I loaded it on to the computer I realised that the display was magpie themed - black and white and all things shiny. If you click to enlarge the photo you can make out the following written in the window - '1 for sorrow, 2 for joy, 3 for a girl, 4 for a boy, 5 for silver, 6 for gold and 7 for a secret never told.' This is a traditional children's nursery rhyme about magpies. According to an old superstition, the number of magpies one sees determines if one will have bad luck or not. I'm quite superstitious and if I see a loan magpie I salute and say "Morning Mr. Magpie." That does away with the bad luck (sorrow)! Anyway.... if you need something for your kitchen, this is the place to find it. They have everything - pots, pans, baking trays, knives, egg cups - the lot!

Do you have any superstitions?

_

Two Moorhens

Another photo from Pitville Park. These two are just a couple of the many moorhens that can be found around the lake. The habitat there is ideal for them - water, long grass and reeds, and plenty of insects, snails and seeds for them to eat. According to the RSPB (The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) website there are an estimated 270,000 breeding pairs in the UK. These breeding pairs are resident birds and they seldom travel far, so once you've got a pair they stick around!

_

Marley In London

Last week Phoebe and I went to London for a couple of days. I took loads of photos and I thought I'd share a few with you to start the week.

You wait for one bus and then three turn up at once! I like this one of St Paul's Cathedral with the red buses in front.

Jellyfish at the London Aquarium. They aren't really this colour, they are lit in their tanks with constantly changing colours. Very effective.

One of the fountains in Trafalgar Square.

Old and new. The Gherkin building from the Tower Of London.

The Ravens at the Tower Of London. If you want to know more about the birds at the Tower then go here.

Big Ben and the Palace Of Westminster at sunset.

The view at night from our hotel room (it was only a Travel Lodge!) St Paul's Cathedral and Canary Wharf.

Hope you enjoyed as much as we did!

_

Nice Weather For Ducks

At least Huey, Dewey and Louie are enjoying the Great British summer. They have a pond to splash about in, but yesterday they decided that a large puddle would be much more fun! Yesterday it rained non-stop, all day long. According to the news, the South West had a months worth of rain in just one day. And it felt like it too! This photo is also a good opportunity for a follow up, as these ducks were once the ducklings that I showed here. They are all grown up now and are such a funny little trio. They waddle around, each one taking a turn at leading the other two, and they get into everything. They also talk (well, quack) at the customers where I work and are getting quite a fan club!

I sent some of my 'ducks in a puddle' photos to Sky News and the BBC. And Sky News have put one of them on their website! Check it out here. Go on! Its the first time one of my photos has appeared anywhere other than this blog, so I'm quite pleased with myself!

Sky Watch Friday In Kefalonia - Day Three

This photo is still from my collection of holiday snaps from Kefalonia. The apartments that we stayed in for the week were brimming with bird life, mainly sparrows and, as shown, swallows. These guys were stopping on telephone wires for a rest from all the soaring and diving that they were doing. It was interesting to see them swooping down onto the swimming pool and snatching a mid-flight drink!

Check out all the other Sky Watchers here.


Come back tomorrow for 'Marley In Kefalonia - Day Four'

Which Way To The Sea?

Like most towns and cities in Britain, Cheltenham has a problem with Seagulls, not a huge problem though, not like neighbouring Gloucester. There the gulls dive bomb shoppers in the car parks and snatch food from hungry visitors! This Seagull was on the roof top car park at the Regent Arcade shopping centre. His mate had just flown off, looking for the sea!

Huey, Dewey & Louie

My boss has always wanted ducks for his pond and he has finally got these three little ducklings. They are just two weeks old and are so cute! At the moment they are living in a pen, in a greenhouse with a heat lamp over them.

They haven't been given names yet but I think they should be named after Donald Duck's nephews!

Birds Of A Feather...

...and a scorpion! While finishing off my Christmas shopping I came across this stall in the middle of Regent Arcade selling metal wildlife. The sculpted animals and birds are made from scrap metal and produce in Africa by local crafts people. The stall was surrounded by a crowd of shoppers barging each other out of the way to get a better look (hence the blurred photo!). Any creature you could imagine was represented in scrap, even an eight foot tall giraffe!

March Of Winter

This little chap will soon be reminded of home, as we've finally had some cold weather in and around Cheltenham over the last few nights. It feels like winter is coming. The Penguins at Birdland in Bourton on the Water, east of Cheltenham, are one of the most popular stars of the feathered show. The King Penguins here are the only group in England, and the only others in the UK are at Edinburgh Zoo. All the inhabitants of the Penguin enclosure have their own name and the keeper says they all have their own personality too, which just adds to the fun at feeding time! Feeding time is at 2.30pm daily except christmas day. I presume they feed the birds on christmas day, its just closed to the public. Its well worth a visit as you can get up close to the Penguins as they are only surrounded by a low wall. The park is also home to over 500 birds including Flamingos, Pelicans and Parrots. A good day out for kids of all ages.