You may have noticed there have not been that many new posts lately. I have been tying up a few loose ends with my day job prior to leaving at the end of this year. The plan was alway to follow my heart and put wildlife photography at the centre of my schedule. So I can now announce that I have retired. No more daily commute to the office , or to be more accurate the hide at the wildflower meadow is now my new office. ( and the view out the window has improved 100% )

Speaking of which , today’s view has been dominated by the arrival of the squirrel clan. Now the squirrels at the hide have always been a little bit on the shy side and not keen on having their photo taken. Not anymore. One appeared by the fat ball feeder , followed by number two , three , four and five. It’s safe to say there was absolute mayhem everywhere. Squirrels hanging upside down from almost every feeder , squabbling and chasing each other around the paddling pool. Love or hate the Grey Squirrel , there’s no escaping the fact they’re very entertaining to watch ………..for a while .

Also present in large numbers today , the Blackbird family. The Blackbird is definitely my favourite birds, very underrated in my view. I really love the way they move around the ground and their beautiful song . Their expression just reminds me of the birds in the game Angry birds. Very hard to count the exact numbers but it was well  into double figures. Also on the list , the ever present Robin , everyone’s favourite Christmas bird trying to dominate the feeders and once again in good numbers , Blue tits and Great tits , Dunnock , Chaffinch , Crow , Pigeon , Magpie , Jay , Wren , Bullfinch , Great spotted woodpecker , Song thrush , Pheasant and a badly behaved Chocolate Labrador.

Safe to say I like my new office window !