The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the NewsHummingbird migration 2026: when they’ll reach your garden and how to get ready
Margaret J. LowBlue Tit versus Bee. A Blue Tit exploring our nesting box had an unpleasant surprise and made an emergency exit when they encountered a large bee that has taken up residence.
#Spring2026 #GardenWildlife #BirdsOfMastodon #SpringWatch #BlueTit #Birds
Artists GardenWe also have rabbits again. So far, relatively well behaved, sticking to the grass for culinary needs. Apart, that is, from one of the daylilies, which looks rather sorry for itself. And the primrose, which one of them ‘deadheaded’ whilst I was watching.
#rabbits #wildlife #GardenWildlife #WildlifePhotography #ArtistsGarden #ImperfectGarden #garden #GardenPhotography #Artist #wolfkettler #Photography #GardenWiltshire #WiltshireGarden #Wiltshire #natural #NaturalGarden #WildlifeFriendly
elbowcrookerIt must be Spring! We have some froggy action in the garden pond....
#gardening #wildlife #gardenwildlife #frogs #amphibians #gardenpond #spring #urbanwildlife
#gardening #wildlife #gardenwildlife #frogs #amphibians #gardenpond #spring #urbanwildlife
First sighting of a pair of ducks this year.
I had seen the male and the female earlier but today is the first time that I saw them together. I approached carefully to say 'hello' and supply a little more breakfast, expecting them to be shy initially. They weren't - both were supremely relaxed with me and confident.
They are also used to me pointing the camera at them.
We know each other well from previous years.
#ducks #mallard #MallardDucks #wildlife #GardenWildlife #WildlifePhotography #ArtistsGarden #ImperfectGarden #garden #gardener #gardening #GardenPhotography #Artist #wolfkettler #Photography #GardenWiltshire #WiltshireGarden #Wiltshire #spring #natural #NaturalGarden
A very small squirrel contemplates ascending a very large evergreen oak, Quercus lucombeana. Sheffield Botanical Gardens. Photo taken earlier today, 24th February 2026.
#ThickTrunkTuesday #squirrels #wildlife #trees #oaktree #botanicalgardens #Sheffield #nature #garden #gardenwildlife
Maikel de BakkerThe garden falls silent.
A few weeks ago, a Sparrowhawk turned our garden upside down in a storm of panic and wings. Yesterday, he returned. This time, there was no chaos — only anticipation. Every bird seemed to know what was coming. Long before I noticed him, the garden emptied itself. Not in panic, but with experience.
Only two House Sparrows (Passer domesticus — Huismus — House Sparrow) made a mistake. They chose low cover beneath the bird feeder house. When the Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus — Sperwer — Eurasian Sparrowhawk) landed on top of it, right above them, they froze. Perfectly still. Camouflage doing what evolution designed it to do.
The garden was silent. Too silent.
The sparrowhawk scanned the area, clearly disappointed. Then the two sparrows shifted… and briefly quarrelled. A fatal error. In a flash of muscle and feathers, the hawk launched himself downward. The sparrows reacted instantly — nimble, desperate, alive. They fled with the hawk right on their tail, vanishing beyond the garden.
I don’t know how it ended. That’s nature.
Predators like the Sparrowhawk don’t hunt for sport. They take what they need, removing weakness and maintaining balance. Without them, ecosystems collapse quietly and invisibly. Watching this unfold from my lunch table was a reminder that even the smallest garden is part of a much larger system.
Photographed handheld with my Canon 5D Mark IV and Sigma 100–400mm at f/6.3, 1/250 sec, ISO 3200 — overcast, calm, and deceptively peaceful.
Nature rarely announces itself loudly. Sometimes, it simply holds its breath.
#AccipiterNisus #Sperwer #EurasianSparrowhawk
#PasserDomesticus #Huismus #HouseSparrow
#BirdPhotography #GardenWildlife #UrbanNature
#NatureObservation #EcologicalBalance #Predation
#WildlifeBehavior #BirdsInTheGarden #NatureStory
#HandheldPhotography #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400
#WinterWildlife #OvercastDays #NaturalSelection
#FoodChain #Ecosystem #BackyardNature
#PixelfedPhotography #WildlifeMoments
A few weeks ago, a Sparrowhawk turned our garden upside down in a storm of panic and wings. Yesterday, he returned. This time, there was no chaos — only anticipation. Every bird seemed to know what was coming. Long before I noticed him, the garden emptied itself. Not in panic, but with experience.
Only two House Sparrows (Passer domesticus — Huismus — House Sparrow) made a mistake. They chose low cover beneath the bird feeder house. When the Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus — Sperwer — Eurasian Sparrowhawk) landed on top of it, right above them, they froze. Perfectly still. Camouflage doing what evolution designed it to do.
The garden was silent. Too silent.
The sparrowhawk scanned the area, clearly disappointed. Then the two sparrows shifted… and briefly quarrelled. A fatal error. In a flash of muscle and feathers, the hawk launched himself downward. The sparrows reacted instantly — nimble, desperate, alive. They fled with the hawk right on their tail, vanishing beyond the garden.
I don’t know how it ended. That’s nature.
Predators like the Sparrowhawk don’t hunt for sport. They take what they need, removing weakness and maintaining balance. Without them, ecosystems collapse quietly and invisibly. Watching this unfold from my lunch table was a reminder that even the smallest garden is part of a much larger system.
Photographed handheld with my Canon 5D Mark IV and Sigma 100–400mm at f/6.3, 1/250 sec, ISO 3200 — overcast, calm, and deceptively peaceful.
Nature rarely announces itself loudly. Sometimes, it simply holds its breath.
#AccipiterNisus #Sperwer #EurasianSparrowhawk
#PasserDomesticus #Huismus #HouseSparrow
#BirdPhotography #GardenWildlife #UrbanNature
#NatureObservation #EcologicalBalance #Predation
#WildlifeBehavior #BirdsInTheGarden #NatureStory
#HandheldPhotography #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400
#WinterWildlife #OvercastDays #NaturalSelection
#FoodChain #Ecosystem #BackyardNature
#PixelfedPhotography #WildlifeMoments
steveA painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) delicately perched on a white flower. I still really miss this lens! (EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM)
#AltText #butterfly #butterfliesOfMastodon #butterfliesOfPixelfed #butterflyPhotography #closeUp #eyespots #fediverse #feeding #flower #garden #gardenWildlife #macro #macroPhotography #mastodonPhotography #myPhoto #myWork #nature #naturePhotography #nectar #NoAI #No2AI #OC #orange #paintedLady #photography #pixelfed #pollinator #UK #vanessaCardui #white #wildlife #wildlifePhotography #wings
#AltText #butterfly #butterfliesOfMastodon #butterfliesOfPixelfed #butterflyPhotography #closeUp #eyespots #fediverse #feeding #flower #garden #gardenWildlife #macro #macroPhotography #mastodonPhotography #myPhoto #myWork #nature #naturePhotography #nectar #NoAI #No2AI #OC #orange #paintedLady #photography #pixelfed #pollinator #UK #vanessaCardui #white #wildlife #wildlifePhotography #wings
Early this morning, before sunrise, our garden briefly turned into chaos. House sparrows vanished into the firethorn (Pyracantha), blue tits and great tits scattered in all directions, pigeons took off, magpies protested loudly. Even the blackbirds dove for cover. Something was clearly wrong.
Then I saw it — a fast, agile silhouette cutting through the air, turning sharply mid-flight. A predator. Moments later it landed on the fence, right in front of us. A Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus).
A Sparrowhawk on the fence
This small raptor is built for surprise and speed. Short wings, long tail, and razor-sharp focus — evolution’s answer to hunting in cluttered spaces like gardens and hedgerows. The firethorn, dense and armed with thorns, offered the sparrows temporary safety, much to the visible frustration of the hawk.
It was still very dark. No sunrise yet, only moody pre-dawn light. Technically, this was a challenge. I didn’t want motion blur from a slow shutter, but pushing ISO too far would destroy the fine feather detail. I settled on 1/250s (the slowest I trust handheld), f/6.3, ISO 3200, fully zoomed to 400mm on the Sigma, mounted on my Canon 5D Mark IV.
The Sparrowhawk scanned the garden, alert and tense, then eventually flew off — leaving silence behind. Moments like this are a reminder: even in our back gardens, wild systems are constantly at work. We just don’t always notice them.
#EurasianSparrowhawk #AccipiterNisus #UrbanWildlife #GardenWildlife #BirdsOfPrey #NatureObservation #WildlifePhotography
#Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400 #HandheldPhotography #LowLightPhotography #BirdBehavior #UrbanEcology
#MorningLight #PreDawn #NaturalHistory #FieldObservation #BackyardNature #PixelfedPhotography #NatureLovers #BirdWatching #ScientificCuriosity
#ByMaikeldeBakker #WonderingLens #wonderinglens
Then I saw it — a fast, agile silhouette cutting through the air, turning sharply mid-flight. A predator. Moments later it landed on the fence, right in front of us. A Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus).
A Sparrowhawk on the fence
This small raptor is built for surprise and speed. Short wings, long tail, and razor-sharp focus — evolution’s answer to hunting in cluttered spaces like gardens and hedgerows. The firethorn, dense and armed with thorns, offered the sparrows temporary safety, much to the visible frustration of the hawk.
It was still very dark. No sunrise yet, only moody pre-dawn light. Technically, this was a challenge. I didn’t want motion blur from a slow shutter, but pushing ISO too far would destroy the fine feather detail. I settled on 1/250s (the slowest I trust handheld), f/6.3, ISO 3200, fully zoomed to 400mm on the Sigma, mounted on my Canon 5D Mark IV.
The Sparrowhawk scanned the garden, alert and tense, then eventually flew off — leaving silence behind. Moments like this are a reminder: even in our back gardens, wild systems are constantly at work. We just don’t always notice them.
#EurasianSparrowhawk #AccipiterNisus #UrbanWildlife #GardenWildlife #BirdsOfPrey #NatureObservation #WildlifePhotography
#Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400 #HandheldPhotography #LowLightPhotography #BirdBehavior #UrbanEcology
#MorningLight #PreDawn #NaturalHistory #FieldObservation #BackyardNature #PixelfedPhotography #NatureLovers #BirdWatching #ScientificCuriosity
#ByMaikeldeBakker #WonderingLens #wonderinglens
4-legged goth masterclass! A peacock butterfly (Aglais io) in dark mode feeding on a bright pink clover flower.
#myWork #myPhoto #wildlife #wildlifePhotography #butterfly #butterflyPhotography #peacockButterfly #aglaisIo #nature #naturePhotography #macro #macroPhotography #pollinator #clover #pinkFlower #bokeh #shallowDepthOfField #naturalHabitat #wildlifePortrait #insect #entomology #outdoorPhotography #naturalBeauty #wildlifeWatching #gardenWildlife #lepidoptera #eyespots #wings #feeding #nectar #photography #pixelfed #mastodonPhotography #fediverse #OC #UK
#myWork #myPhoto #wildlife #wildlifePhotography #butterfly #butterflyPhotography #peacockButterfly #aglaisIo #nature #naturePhotography #macro #macroPhotography #pollinator #clover #pinkFlower #bokeh #shallowDepthOfField #naturalHabitat #wildlifePortrait #insect #entomology #outdoorPhotography #naturalBeauty #wildlifeWatching #gardenWildlife #lepidoptera #eyespots #wings #feeding #nectar #photography #pixelfed #mastodonPhotography #fediverse #OC #UK
