7 days – BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking

August 13th – I went up to Freda’s Grave via Chase Road, and noticed that near the shale parking area, someone had been feeding the birds on an old tree stump. Sat with the camera, me and a companion took loads of pictures as a variety of songbirds swooped in and out.

Photographing these busy little birds is actually hard – they’re so fast, it’s hard to focus and get a decent picture and better reactions than mine are clearly required.

A more willing subject was found at the the deserted picnic area near Birches Valley, where Mrs. Squirrel was hoovering up the day’s dropped morsels and helpfully giving some good camera face.

Not a bad entry for the seven days of wildlife challenge…

August 9th – Reader Susan Forster has challenged me to take a photo of wildlife every day for seven days.

The opportunities for animals are limited, obviously, but I’ll give it a go and start with the humble urban sparrow, one of my favourite birds. Sociable, gregarious and actually quite lovely if you look closely, these overlooked birds are a large part of our landscape, yet barely acknowledged as they’re so common.

This group were fussing around the steps of Bentley Bridge, preening, pecking for bugs and generally hanging out.