Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus)

After a few days of doing flowers I was determined to have a change and post a bird.  The Great Spotted Woodpecker obliged by turning up at the feeders.  I managed a couple of shots before it took flight.  I thought "well there's today's blip.

Later while wandering round the garden I noticed this Cushat (sorry lapsing into the dialect of my youth) sitting half out of the Leyland Cypress (Chamaecyparis Leylandii).  Not as I usually see them and not only did it stay there as I wandered round it waited while I (and Clickychick) got cameras.

The Wood Pigeon is a species which has been bucking the trend.  Most species have been showing declines over the last half century or so, these have been steadily increasing.  There are approximately seven times as many now as there were in the late 60s.