Pheasants in the garden

When Lyn and I first started "walking out" nearly ten years ago, gosh, her interest in birds was largely restricted to their use as a solution to crossword clues.

However, after years of indoctrination into the dark arts of bird recognition, she is now a pretty nifty garden birdwatcher. It's no longer safe to leave the house confident that she will not, as birders say, grip me off with an undeniably good find. Especially when her camera is to hand.

Yesterday it was a Wren perched on flower pots a few feet from the window, and today she surpassed herself with these two characters.

Where's the field gone?

Mind the Hellebores

These female Pheasants pranced around the garden for ages, but had gone by the time I got home. Not quite a garden tick, but fantastic for all that.

I await the call about a Hoopoe with some trepidation.