Yesterday was a day of strange occurrences. We were on the main road near Derby when the traffic started to back up - it looked like miles of traffic jam. We diverted down a slip road which was conveniently situated at the point at which we met the traffic problem, what luck.
A few miles down the road and the fields were yellow as far as the eye could see! Every field seemed to be full of flowering Rape. It reminded me of the Sunflower fields on the "Sunshine Route" across France. The traffic news came on the car radio and revealed that a flock of Swans had landed on the road about a mile from where we met the traffic jam. They had been encouraged off of the road and the traffic jam had been announced as cleared shortly after we had photographed the yellow fields.
A new visitor to our garden was also seen. This is a Rock Dove - often referred to as a City Pigeon. They are resident in each of the Six Towns of our City, but in 15 years I have not seen one in our garden. He was there again at the feeder today, and I suspect he will be a regular visitor for free food.
Just for comparison, we have other members of the Columbidae who are resident in the garden. This is a Wood Pigeon. The local pigeons have had quite a few young and, unlike last year, none of them have hit our windows - their survival rate is very good.
Another resident is the Collared Dove, a much smaller member of the family Columbidae. The pair of collared doves have been around for years and they are often seen side by side in all that they do. They have also raised young this year.
I have been trying out my new lens this week. This is a picture of a Roach in the River Trent at Stoke. It was take from 5 meters above the river and I am pleased with the results. (300 mm lens at ISO 500 with a UV filter attached.)
This is one of the regular visitors to our bird feeders. Quite a comic - the cats "mock chase" the squirrels with no intention of catching them. Clearly the squirrels know this and will come back for more.
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