Christmas and New Year

I had a break from my usual genre on Christmas Day.  In other words, I left my photographic comfort zone and went to the beach.  The beach was at Sandbanks, Dorset.  This is the tiny peninsula at the entrance to Poole Harbour and the beach is on the English Channel side.  The 'inland' side is filled with boathouses and private piers.  The peninsula itself is home to some of the most expensive real estate in Britain.  It was a windy, sunny day.

"Can we paddle?"

Bournemouth across the water

Breakers

 

Coastguard keeping an eye on things

Across to The Needles (Isle of Wight)

I wonder what they's talking about

Pine tree in car park

It's the pines that hold the peninsula together.

On Boxing Day I stayed local.

Robin at Stourhead

Great Tit

The Gothic Cottage

Mute Swan

New Year's Day saw me keeping warm with a hot drink in my conservatory as I nursed the cold I'd been brought for Christmas!

Bullfinch

This is the first Bullfinch that I've ever seen in my garden.  I was disappointed that it presented only ever with a face-full of sunflower hearts.  It seemed to be aware that I was there.  The regulars tend to ignore me.

Robin

I'll be sorry when that mound needs to be cleared.  It's doing a grand job anchoring the feeding station on windy days.

Greenfinch

Pied Wagtail

Starling

Note: All the garden images were taken through double-glazing panes.

The Coast and nearer home

Last month, a break in the poor weather gave me an opportunity to go down to Poole Harbour.  I was there more or less from sunrise to sunset.  I enjoyed the day, but it was tiring and, more to the point, it seemed that useful results were inversely proportional to the time spent.  Never mind, eh?

A Wren was performing noisily near to the Coombe Heath hide, but it wasn't showing well.  This is the best image I could manage.

Darting in the dapples

That was the only photograph I managed on the heath!  A morning's work!

After lunch I went into the woods and to the beach with some lighter equipment.

Yes.  It was a bit like watching paint dry.

But what's this?  Wildlife!

Herring Gull

This was just off the beach.  Just the one!

Further round the point I spotted a soliary Curlew in the salt marshes on the falling tide.

This must have been the 'duty poseur'.  I could make out a large flock about a quarter of a mile away on the grass.

There were Sika groups deep in the woods.  I wondered if I could get enough of them sufficiently interested in me to come nearer.

A self-conscious young male

Just before Christmas I went out again with a flash-gun.  The woodland edges here have been ever so gloomy.

"It's mine!" (Great Tit)

Change of plans (Great Tit)

Keeping the engine running (Blue Tit)

Robin performing the famous 'Levitating Mealworm' trick

The last one (and the posture is telling the world to stand back)

"I'm off!"  (No super-glue was involved in the creation of this image)

Cornucopian

Note:  I was not the provider of this feast.

The invitation

"Just let me put this wing away"

Out on a limb

♫ ... hold your head up high ...

... and don't be afraid of the dark ♫