The eleventh Hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh Month 1918.

Today, as everyone is I am sure is aware, is Armistice Day. Ninety one years ago peace was declared and the first World War ended, well at least on the Western Front.

Six years before that, on that very day day Irene Buttress, daughter of Bert and Lillian Buttress was born. How it was that they named my mother Irene, which is derived from the Greek and means peace, six years in advance of that day I'll always wonder at. She's with Pete in the photo above.

For the first time for many many days I didn't press the button on a camera once today. After the nostalgia, brought about by the day, I thought I'd take a quick look at previous years. 2005, a Grey Wagtail in the garden.

2006 a Green Woodpecker, also on the lawn (grass, it doesn't deserve to be called a lawn really).

In 2007 I was in Queensland Australia, at Atherton. I found a small flock of Sarus Cranes in a field near the road and watched them dancing.

Near by was a Willie Wagtail, although not related to the old world Wagtails, it does have some similarities. They like perching on petrol station roofs , for instance.

Last year, it was a Pied Wagtail in the Bay. I obviously could find a wagtail in 2006!

Window Watch

I was just reading Warren's blog and saw that we were both in the same boat, but for different reasons. He was confined to window birding because of his "man flu" while I, having just about shaken off the virus I brought back from Clitheroe managed to tear a calf muscle getting into the car!

I would appear that Warren beat for species seem, especially as he managed a Moorhen, a bird that doesn't figure on my garden list. The increase in the common finches was maintained with Goldfinches on the feeder right be the window.

As I've said before, water is a guaranteed way of attracting birds and seed eaters like this Greenfinch are always ready for a drink.

One of the finches that still seems uneasy when using feeders is the Chaffinch. May of my feeders are a bit unconventional, because where the plastic perches have been broken (when the feeder blew down in the high winds) or have been victims of the grey Squirrel's vandalism, I've replaced them with 3" screws. I would think that this give a good surface to grip on, and the Green and Gold brigade manage alright. You can see from the amount that this Chaffinch is dropping, why the Pigeons are always on the lawn under the feeders.

I have moved one of the peanut feeders closer to the window and at one point a Great Spot was just above me. It didn't come on the peanuts close to the window and I was a while before I saw it.

It seemed to have found some natural food on the trunk of the Acer down the garden. It was too far the see what it was finding, I presume that there may still be some ants around. While I had the window open I was briefly joined by a large wasp, that I suspected was a queen. It seemed to be aware that I wasn't that happy with it settling by me and left as quickly as it came. I presume that at this time of year they are looking for somewhere to overwinter.

One of the pleasing things is the Starlings are back. I know that they are not everyone's favourites, but I'm always amused and entertained by their antics and with the window open the variety of their calls is always worth listening to. One species that seems to be pretty scarce in the garden at the moment is the House Sparrow. There are a few about, but far fewer that the 30-40 that were regular in the garden few years ago.

Heavy weight Volume

With the winds of the last few day the leaves that had been clinging on to their summer residence have suddenly begun to fall rapidly to the ground below, and then with the prevailing winds, into large heads against the back of the house.

This large Acer was still pretty well clothed last week, but now the majority are down. All I need is a nice rare warbler in it, now that it would be visible.

At this time the Ash out side my study sheds more than leaves, large twigs and even small, branches break off in to wind and litter the ground. Simon and Sam are visiting so I'm sure Sam will help with picking up the leaves! I was contemplating the clear up job when a large parcel arrived.

Volume 14 of the Handbook of Birds of the World, just two to go. 4.331 Kg of book, 893 pages, 17 Families, 120 Genera, 468 Species and 1176 Taxa. The largest family included is the Crows with 123 species. Many of these are the duller black birds that I've a habit of showing on here, but there are some dramatic looking Jays.

This photo of a Crested Jay was taken by Pete Morris, one of several photos he's got in this volume. It was taken on the Durango Road in Western Mexico. I was lucky enough to see them on a trip Pete led for Birdquest in March 2002. There are a lot of species of Jays in the southern part of the USA and Mexico, I think that this must be the area that they first evolved from as there is such a diversity.

Please show my best side!

A good while ago I had a rant about the rubbish left along Pond Lane. Mr Anonymous (which one I'm not allowed to know) admonished me for jumping to conclusions. He felt that they could accidentally have been dropped from a waste lorry.

So I suppose I'd better be careful about this piano, and alert everyone to the fact that they may have accidentally lost it off the back of their lorry.

I quite liked the fierce look the Rock Pipit had when I took the picture head on. It really showed how the character of the bird changes with the view you get. I think that the same is true with these two blackbirds.

He looks quite gentle when showing his profile.

This young female looks a fierce as it did when confronting the other Blackbird, shown above.

In fact it displaced the male that then went down to the large bath on the ground that is normally used by Wood Pigeons lounging about.

There was a sudden surge in the use of the feeders this afternoon, with a small group of Goldfinches brightening up the gloom.

Greenfinch and Chaffinch numbers were up a bit as well. I'll be needing to order more sunflower seeds next week.

A fishy Story

A recipe for attracting big, uncolourful, aggressive birds. Buy a nice large Halibut (first see bank manager for loan!). Do the necessary to get all the nice Halibut steaks out of it. Take the meat of the head etc for soup, and then put the bits out on the lawn and see what happens.

It won't be long before the local Carrion Crows realise that there is a free meal going. I don't know if it is by smell or sight that they pick up the information, but it doesn't take long.

Herring Gulls arrive quickly as well, but they are a bit cautious about landing at first. Because of this caution my pictures are through the glass, any attempt at opening the window left the garden birdless.

This Carrion Crow has an interesting pattern on the tips of its primaries. I have seen some with white wings, and as I showed, a completely white one in Lancashire. This ones is a bit more subtle in its aberration.

I often get two Crows down, but this was the first time that three came down to the feast. I wonder if one is a last seasons off-spring?

Last and I suppose least, the Magpies arrive to see if there are any pickings. They did make an attempt while the crows were there but go chased off.

Passing the radio pylons along Reach Road, I had a quick scan for anything sitting up there, and quite near the top noticed a Peregrine surveying the fields below.

Car Watch

I'm feeling sorry for myself at the moment. I did something I must have done about 100,000 times, got in my car, and somehow managed to tear my left calf muscle getting in. It's ridiculous, I can't tell why or how it happened, but I can't walk with out the aid a walking stick at the moment. So it's definitely p....ed of Friday today.

The car still makes a good hide and at high tide at this time of year there is ample opportunity to study British Rock Pipits at close quarters.

The good thing about Rock Pipits is they're normally not shy. In my limited experience, if you find a Water Pipit and it flushes it flies of and goes for miles in the air. It will often return not too far away, but it takes some following in the air because it stays up there for a long time. Rock Pipits generally fly short distances and then settle. Like all of these sort of subjective characters there will be exceptions but I think it is a clue if your not sure which you have. At this time of year both British and Scandinavian Rock Pipits are distinct from Water Pipits, but similar to each other. This changes after the new year and hopefully I'll get the opportunity to get some pictures of Water Pipit this year.

This is a pretty typical Rock Pipit, but a little brown job that I think is worth a second look.

"Who are you looking at then!"

There aren't many more common birds around here than Black Headed Gulls, but I still enjoy trying to get pictures of them "doing something".

This one is having a good scratch here.

And then having scratched used its beak to preen itself.

Although they seem to be always under pressure in the press, you know the lurid headlines in the daily rubbish, "Gulls terrify holiday makers by attacking them to steal their chips" etc, I still think that Herring Gulls are worth a look. They are an important starting point if you are going to sort out some of the less common gulls in this complex. We still haven't found a Caspian Gull at St Margaret's but there must surely be one in the near future. Meanwhile the fabulous pattern on this first winter Herring Gull is worth looking at.

I'm still waiting for the white head and honey iris, but today I had to be content with this bulk standard adult herring Gull.

The Autumn Leaves.........................

November Insects.

While I was in the garden, topping up the bird bath I noticed how man insects were around a flowering "Caster Oil" plant in the garden.

The Red Admiral, I suspect the same one as yesterday was perched on the plant but moved when my shadow spooked it, but not far.

There were quite a few of these flies, metallic and shining in the sun.

Wasps are still around, no longer able to make a nuisance of themselves in my moth traps, (I did run two last night but there were only four moths!) they are looking for other foods.

This Hoverfly is a Honey-bee mimic which I think is Eristalis interruptus. There were two or three around these flower heads.

The two Hoverflies, above and below look quite similar, but the eye shape and size are different. I think (Dean help!) that these are both in the genus Syrphus. The one above may be S. ribesii

This looks like S. Torvus, but there are others in this genus that are similar. (thanks to Dean for the ID),This is ribesii as well, but a female as the eyes don't meet.

On the arch above the flowers there were a couple of these bees, again I need help on the ID. Thanks Dean, again, a Common Carder Bee.

Other insects I saw today included a Common Darter (Dragonfly) and a Large White (butterfly)