Keeping an eye on the neighbours

Every so often we have the pleasure of looking after our neighbours’ cats while they’re on holiday. Cwtch and Sookie have gradually grown accustomed to us and I often use their more relaxed moments to catch some photos of them.

During my second visit they had come downstairs, ready for breakfast and a spot of sunbathing, although initially Sookie decided she would observe me from a chair beneath the dining room table!

Cwtch watching the garden intently for intruders….

Followed by a spot of unashamed lounging in the sun - not always in the most elegant way!

Eventually Sookie gained some more courage and came out into the sunshine.

Photos taken June 2023.

Introducing Dilly

I always enjoy photographing animals I meet on my travels and I recently had the pleasure of getting to know this little cutie. She’s called Dilly and she came along to the recorder I was teaching at in Wales with her owners.

On the final evening she’d lost some of her perpetual bounce (lots of walks in the Welsh countryside) and had settled beside the sofa while her owners, Sally and Stephen, enjoyed a quiet drink and conversation. This was too good an opportunity to miss so I grabbed my camera and laid down on the floor nearby to take a few photos of Dilly.

Photos taken 10 May 2023

Murmuration in training

At this time of year our garden is often invaded by a large flock of starlings. We see them murmurating over the road behind out house in the winter - just a few dozen birds - nothing like the huge displays you see by the coast. By late spring this year’s youngsters have fledged but are still happy to noisily demand food from their parents when they can get away with it.

I was doing some gardening when they arrived en-masse so I left what I was doing to top up the suet ball feeder and to throw a few handfuls of mealworms on the ground. This was enough to keep them happy and allowed me to quietly sneak closer with my camera and sit on the ground nearby.

This garrulous gathering were so focused on their food that they barely noticed me creeping down the garden path, allowing me to get within a couple of metres of them, sitting on the ground in plain sight.

Click on any of the images to see them enlarged.

This youngster was so oblivious to me that it landed on the edge of the bird bath about four feet from me!

Our unruly visitors were so noisy that many of our other garden visitors stayed away, but it didn’t take long for them to return when something spooked the starlings and sent them fleeing, however briefly.

Mrs Blackbird foraging among the wildflowers.

Judging by his threadbare tail I think our visiting robin has been busy raising a family and he or she is looking rather worse for wear!

Photos taken 29 May 2023.