Sing loud and proud!

While I was out on a short and very cold trot today, I was stopped short by the lovely oak tree near the village. Its crown was alive with birdsong! It was the singing-ringing tree! I could only just make out a few birds, but the melodies were magical.

There's a lot of singing at the moment. I really do think that the robins are courting. And I think that one female, I assume Tapdance, is attracting both Tane and Chestnut.... or Tane is after Tapdance but Chestnut wants in.

In any case, I feel blessed by the music.

Though, well, recall that post where I mocked Chestnut's singing? These days, I have to admit that Tane sounds the least proficient of the singing robins I hear. He shows so much more variety in his subsong.

It's not only the robins: when the goldfinches are around, the very air sparkles with sound.

However lovely it is to see the azure on clear days, I do rather like these images with the background/sky washed out.

Today, I have been working on a slideshow for my attention talk. It is a selection of my favourite pictures. Because of the way the image selection works, the recent ones (which come up first) and hugely over-represented. But I started going back in time and found some lovely shots I had forgotten. For ages, I have failed to get even a half-way decent photo of the blue tits, but in the early spring last year, I managed a fair few. I suppose that it doesn't help that I am so very focused on the robins.