A few friends dropped in for a drink and a dip in the pool

One of the best things about having a garden is that you can attract wildlife to within a few feet of where you're having breakfast. The bird bath has been in place for over a year, but only in the last few months have the birds really taken to it. I get a real kick out of watching the blackbirds splashing about - there's something so joyous about the way they perform their ablutions.

The picture is a bit of a cheat - none of the birds were actually there at the same time. We do get pigeons and collared doves taking a drink together, but the blackbird (a juvenile) was in fact accompanied by a sibling when it was photographed - you can view a panorama of the two of them here. I had the camera set up for several days trying to get the shots I wanted - the pigeon and collared dove were photographed about 40 minutes apart on the 23rd of June - the blackbirds were more than two days later.

I'm stretching the truth a bit calling the wood pigeon a friend - they're not that friendly to anyone or anything in the garden - sitting in the pulmonaria, fighting in the clematis, and leaving their muck all over the place. In days gone by, people made fortunes and built vast mansions by collecting and selling guano for fertiliser, but I think I'd need a much bigger patio to join that club...

For those interested in the flora rather than the fauna, the tree is an Acer palmatum atropurpureum. Panning to the right you come to a date palm, a Cordyline, then a bay tree and a luxuriant rosemary bush. Finally, over by the fence are a Fatsia japonica (or Aralia Sieboldii if you prefer) and a Fuchsia.

---

Europe / UK-England

Lat: 51° 10' 9" N
Long: 0° 53' 16" E

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: Medium. Nearby, but not to the last decimal.

Canon EOS 350D with RC-1 remote control, Sigma 8mm fisheye lens, 360Precision tripod head. Processed with PTMac.