Thursday 4 December 2014

GOOD FENCES - Bird Group Outing and Walled Garden

Last Monday my Bird Group went birding finishing off having lunch at a restaurant called Daft Eddy’s near my old caravan.  The weather was very kind to us as were the tides enabling us to see many thousands of birds. More about that in tomorrow’s post.   For now, look at all the photos I have to show you.


We stopped on this narrow road when we saw Whooper Swans flying over.   These were the first I had seen this year.  then we noticed these 2 horses and Isa had some peppermint which they loved. 


There were 11 in our group that day and we had invited Mary, who is our U3A Chair Person and Jeff her husband to join us for this special day.  In fact it was Mary who spotted the Swans!


Please can I have one too!!


Although we only saw 6 Whooper fly over and at a distance, later on we saw 40 more flying over and then landing on Strangford Lough.


These next shots were taken the next day after I played badminton and then went into the Walled Garden.  I will be showing you more flowers from the garden next Monday however most of these shots have some kind of ‘fence’ in them.



Already they have planted up onion and garlic and 
due to the mild weather are doing very well.


These are broad beans and are already 7” high.  There were also peas however they didn’t look as far on because the Wood Pigeon love them.


The Hydrangea are still blooming.


 This beautiful gate leads from one Walled Garden to the another one.


Apart from quite a number Robin in the garden, there were some Tit, Wren, Blackbird, Rook and Wood Pigeon.  They have some bird feeders up for the birds in  the wintertime.


There was still some colour and below are Wallflowers which have still have to be planted out and really should not be blooming until the spring!



I think these are Lily bulbs having been lifted and 
are drying out in the greenhouse.


On my way home, I drove round by the coast road and saw these birds on the grass.  Someone had thrown down seed for them.  There were Rook, Herring Gull and Hooded Crow.


This is a 1st year winter Herring Gull.



This is a Black headed Gull on the grass and a Rook flying down.


There was a small party of Linnets that were always quite a distance from me, even though I was photographing all these birds from the car so I have cropped some shots so you could see them a bit better although the quality is not great then.




I hoped you enjoyed this post.  

I am linking this post with GOOD FENCES.

Thank you for visiting and also
 many thanks to all those who leave comments.

33 comments:

  1. Great series of pictures Margaret, loved the first shot of the horse getting his treat. Beautiful animals horses! Cute Robin also and Linnets.

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  2. Great pictures today. I don't usually correct IDs but I suspect your swan is a Robin.

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    1. Hi Adrian. I am not quite sure what you are talking about. I do not have a photo of a swan in this post just a mention that they flew over and Mary was the one to spot them. Can you explain?

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  3. Margaret, some great pictures. I love the gateway one. And I had to laugh at the horse face.

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  4. I didn't know horses like peppermint. I learn something new all the time when I visit you. Enjoy your day!

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  5. I like your horse beauty shots. And this might be my first good fences visit. I don't usually visit on Thursdays.

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  6. love that old garden wall, great bit of brickwork in that arch too


    peter

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  7. nice brick walls but i like the hedgerows containing the horses! nice! thanks, margaret!

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  8. Gosh such fun and exciting photos, pretty scenes, and the first one, I truly am looking forward to more of the story.

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  9. What lovely gardens. Nice that they think of our feathered friends in the winter.
    ~

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  10. Love the outings you take us on. Horses and peppermint? I had read about it, but wondered if it was true. And it seems it is.

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  11. Oh I loved seeing a real English Robin! Great photos, all and lovely outing. Do you know; although I love all domestic animals, I am petrified of horses. I could never offer one a peppermint as your friend did in the first photo. I love the walled garden: looks Roman... Have a great day. Jo

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  12. Lovely photos, Margaret. I love the adorable robins!

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  13. I especially like your unusual and cute photos of the sweet horse! Also the pretty filigreed gate that opens up to the unknown on the other side, and the shadow on the picture. The whole shot to me represents heading toward a beautiful future.

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  14. Hi Margaret,
    Beautiful photos of the countryside and the birds.
    I particularly like the little road, so charming.
    It might be great for a bike ride, just go for miles without seeing a car ever :)

    Have a Beautiful Day!

    Peace :)

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  15. I did enjoy your post. There is always something great to see and learn about here. I noted mention of the Whooper swans which someone else posted a photo of, I had never heard of them. Loved those little birds perched on pieces of fencing and seeing the pretty Wallflowers, so colorful. Made me long for spring with our dreary skies and icy roads today.

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  16. Great pics, as always Margaret

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  17. Hello Margaret, love the pretty horses. And the scenery is beautiful. Wonderful collection of birds too. The Robin is my favorite.. Enjoy your weekend!

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  18. I did enjoy this post very much! I love seeing all the birds.

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  19. I so enjoy seeing your bird pics, Margaret!

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  20. I always enjoy your posts! Very nice, Margaret. Loved seeing the horses. I'm a horse lover from way back.

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  21. Fabulous shots! My favorite is that brick entryway.

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  22. Beautiful horses and the other things, great photos.

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  23. You are not going to believe this, but I loved the green grass the best. It is so dry here in California that a little bit of green really cheers me up. Of course, the bird pictures are all just great.

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  24. You got some wonderful images today!! It's so since to have a group of peeps to enjoy birding and nature with!!

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  25. Great photos, wonderful and fantastic colors and frames!

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  26. Wonderful photos! It looks like you had a splendid day with friends.

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  27. The second horse shots is hilarious! I had no idea that horses like peppermint.
    I love your photos - I wish I could take pictures of so many birds as you do. You also discovered a wonderful gate.

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  28. Wonderful photos. I enjoyed seeing all the birds, the horses, gardens and many fences. Thank you for visiting. Pamela

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  29. That gate in the walled garden...such a stunning shot! Just adore the robin photos and that great horse! Looks like you had a fantastic outing!

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  30. A nice selection of birds again Margaret and I love the horse photos :) Lovely to see the walled garden again - there is something so very special about walled gardens :)

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