CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE. THOSE IN GROUPS ACCESS GALLERIES THAT CAN BE VIEWED FULL SIZE WHEN SCROLLING DOWN THE PAGE AND CLICKING THE RELEVANT BOX.
I spent some time in the garden today observing avian activity.
Although some wood pigeons waited hopefully in the beech and in the weeping birch,
where one pair thought about it,
a loving pair petted each other in the as yet naked beech.
Flies were attracted to the hellebores;
two of them joined a dove threesome on the decking.
Bees plundered the pulmonaria,
and another insect I cannot name sunk its lengthy proboscis into a daffodil.
A cheerful robin trilled encouragement high up in the birch.
This evening we dined at Lal Quilla in Lymington. Before the meal we made a brief list to the quayside where
a young man manoeuvred a motor boat and dinghy around
the moored yachts, avoiding disturbing
reflections on the water.
Mallards mingled with black headed gulls,
both of which engaged in preening activities.
My choice of meal was Goan lamb with special fried rice. Jackie chose chicken biriani, and we shared onion bahjis. We both drank Kingfisher.
Today’s title was inspired by a recent comment from Mary Tang.
Wow lovely signs of Spring!
You do birds and bees so well, Derrick 🙂
Many thanks, Mary.
I was petted on a naked beech once , I mean beach. But that was a lifetime ago.
Happy Spring!
🙂 Many thanks, Pleasant
Lovely spring photos, Derrick. I particularly like the cuddling bird pair.
Many thanks, Merril. They were rather lovely
We have some very confused robins here. They came back, thinking it was spring, then we had wicked cold weather again. Poor birds!
Thanks a lot, Elizabeth
Do your wood pigeons mate for life like ours do? It’s one of the really endearing things about them, apart from their stoic natures and bumbling landings 🙂
They do, Pauline. Good description. Thanks very much.
A petrified, ménage à trois in the dovecote?
Well spring certainly seems to have sprung in England! Looking delightful XD
Thanks a lot, Brian.
I am fond the pretty doves! Your water pictures always enchant.
Thanks very much, Cynthia
Doves must have the softest mates to cuddle up with and they are darling. Derrick, it is nice the way we can enlarge the pictures and then scroll through. That is a good theme you are using. Perhaps the insect is, what we call here, a hummingbird moth. Maybe.
Ginene
I googled it Ginene. It certainly looks very similar, although the body colour is different. Last year the BBC reported its colonisation of UK. Thanks a lot.
Beautifully captured the beauty of nature.
Happy weekend. Will glad to have you at my site too
Thank you, Purva.
Spring is certainly in the air — and trees! Sweet petting birds.
Thanks a lot, Rose
Happy weekend! Beautiful photos, Derrick! Love spring!
Many thanks, Sofia. You too
This seems like Spring is in full swing with arrival of romance in the air, Derrick. I liked the bees and the long needle-nosed (proboscis) flying insects. It seemed fuzzy like a bee is. Can’t wait to find out if someone identifies it.
The colorful moored boats and their reflections upon the water were my favorite in this series. I really miss living close to the lakes but do like our dam and reservoir.
Heading backwards on your blog this sunny Saturday. Hope you have a lovely weekend!
Very many thanks, Robin. Ginene has suggested ‘humming bird moth’ which does look a possibility.
Well, it is still March and I have a few days to catch up with your Beautiful and Colorful posts! Yay for the ID of the insect and Ginene! Blogging friends are such great sources of info and comfort. 🙂 <3
They certainly are
I think these may be my favourite set of photos from you 🙂
Wow! Thanks, Alex
I am not fond of pigeons nor of flies; the former are my permanent enemy for all those nauseating droppings on my car, the latter are none the better for feeding on them. I like the mallards and gulls though, and yachts and motorboats and onion bhajias. I didn’t know you had Kingfisher over there. My favourite though is Budweiser Magnum.
We have Kingfisher, Cobra, and Bangla over here. Sorry about the pigeons and the flies 🙂 I’ll try your spelling of bhajias next time. Thanks a lot, Uma
Nothing wrong with calling them ‘bhaji’, except that bhaji is also a curried gravy accompanying soft bread as in ‘pav-bhaji’, another popular fare in Mumbai and thereabouts.
Thanks, Uma
We are now fully educated on how babies are made!
I do miss our robin. Possibly the cats cut short his aim of establishing a household.
Sad about the robin. But thanks, Leslie, for the smile
It’s spring! Lovely post and photos. 🙂
Many thanks, Amy
Great photos, Derrick. I particularly love the robin. 🙂
Thank you, Sylvia