Thursday, November 8, 2018

08/11/2018 Autumn, starlings and sunset.

Maximum temperature today 15C, minimum 6C.  Dry, but 11mm of rain measured this morning; 15km/h South-Easterly winds with up to 30 km/h gusts. 

We had a club repas (luncheon) today and I ate too much, thankfully I did not really like the Bordeaux wine, so I was mostly drinking water which I am sure was much better for me.  On returning home at almost 5pm, I decided that I needed to walk some of the over-indulgence off so this is what I saw along the way.
Well, I presume they must be starlings (Sturnus vulgaris).  They were quite far and I only had Nigel's little Nikon with me but it has a reasonable zoom ...

A small murmuration...

Thirteen little starlings sitting in a row, one took to the air and then there were twelve.

The sun was quite low but it caught the colour of these trees on the hill perfectly.

Further along in the valley the sun only caught the top of the trees.

I just liked the tops of what I think are poplar trees, but they were sparkling in the sun which sadly the photo does not reflect.

Further along across a newly planted field, I stopped to watch the sun go down...

as above changing colour by the minute...

as above

getting darker in this direction...

 but walking back home and zooming on to the clouds.

and back nearer to the house.

I walked just on 5km and I still feel like I have eaten too much 😔!!!!

28 comments:

  1. What is not to love about an evening sky? Looks like a lovely walk. We’re having a rainy spell. I slip out each day to pull up a few brambles unwanted privet.

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    1. I do love skies, they can be beautiful, plain or angry. Brambles are the pain of our lives!! Take care Diane

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  2. Well you had a nice long walk and captured a beautiful sunset. You can at least feel virtuous about your walk even if you still feel full.

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    1. I have teken it very easy today, a very light oat breafast, an apple for lunch. Tonight will be a simple omlette! Take care Diane

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  3. A lovely walk Diane. Looks like the starlings are on the move, love the fall colors when the trees start turning and those skies are gorgeous!

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    1. I am hoping that over Christmas in the UK we will lots of Starlings, we saw a huge flocks of them last year. The sky was quite interesting last night. Keep well Diane

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  4. I love the shots of the birds all lined up in a row.

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    1. The starlings never cease to amaze me, but we seldom see many here in our area. Cheers Diane

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  5. Happy to see the birds but make sure you don't walk under them. Your sunset shots are stunning. Take care and keep warm.

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    1. Yes Nancy it was a good sky last night. Keeping warm is a problem for me in winter, I am just always cold!! Take care Diane

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  6. Gorgeous images Diane.. the birds look a little Hitchcock'y 😊 A five km walk would certainly have helped the digestion at least a wee bit. 'Returning home from lunch at 5pm' made me smile 😉 Happy weekend.

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    1. Typical French luncheon, arrive at 12 and get home close to 5pm!!! We have another one of these on Sunday after the Armistice Day service. It might end a little earlier than the club luncheon but it also may not!! Hope you also have a happy weekend, Diane

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  7. Your sunset images are wonderful, Diane. For some reason, I've not seen a good sunset for a while here. Recently, I've started to walk more than I have done over the past few years, in an effort to raise my fitness levels. I'm enjoying it, but I wish I had interesting places to walk that did not require a car journey to get to! I get the impression that you are surrounded by wonderful countryside.

    My very best wishes - - - Richard

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    1. You had better come and visit us Richard, we have 10 houses in our Hamlet and we are surrounded by forests and farmland. I can take my pick from 3 km walks, to 10 kms or more and mostly stay off the roads though the small roads around us are not busy. I used to cycle a lot, but after a bad fall in Spain a couple of years back I have hardly been near my bike!

      We will be in the UK for a longer period than usual at Christmas, other than walking along the canal there is no where to walk there except for in town, I will not enjoy it. Also we will have FIL to look after, at 97 he has Alzheimers so we will have very little time to ourselves.

      Have a good week and take care. Diane

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  8. So much beauty, Diane. Your photo's are always amazing! :)

    xoxo

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  9. Birds of a feather...

    The sky is intriguing!

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    1. LOL lots of birds of a feather. The sky was interesting to watch as it changed in the wind and the colour formation. Take care and enjoy your week Diane

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  10. Great captures of birds and a beautiful sky, Diana. Kisses, my friend.

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    1. Thanks Mia your comments are always welcome. Diane

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  11. Gorgeous sunset! We've been seeing huge flocks of starlings lately in Virginia.

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    1. I have seen huge murmurations of them in the UK but not so far in France. Have a good day Diane

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  12. Beautiful sunset. Definitely a nice evening for a walk!

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    1. It was very pleasant and I was lucky as it has been very wet over the past few days. Keep well Diane

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  13. Absolutely spectacular shots of the sky. I always like to see a flock (I hope this is what they are called) of starlings, especially when they fly together. The shot of them sitting along the telephone wire is great. I often take such shots of pigeons here. Have a wonderful weekend. Sunday (tomorrow) is Veterans' Day. I hope the glorious sunshine we are getting today will stay out for them. Sadly when it's sunny at this time of year it gets very cold too.

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    1. Hello Penny, starlings are actually called murmuration and not flock but I am not sure why. Murmuration refers to the phenomenon that results when hundreds, sometimes thousands, of starlings fly in swooping, intricately coordinated patterns through the sky. Maybe small numbers ar called flocks!! I certainly had more than a hundred in this lot.
      We were so lucky, it has been dismal weather recently and it was raining over most of France but we had blue skies here for our remembrance service, Paris was not so lucky, the expected crowds did not arrive it seens as it was pouring with rain.
      Hope you ae well, have a good week Diane

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  14. Wow! Those sunset photos are amazing!

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    1. Thanks Pam, interesting skies :-) Take care Diane

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