A first on the table

Today i was a bit shocked to find a Bull Finch on the bird table when i opened the curtains this morning. Although i did spot it in the trees a few weeks ago i have never seen it down in the garden let alone on the bird table or on the floor just a few feet from the back door.
I scared it off with the movement of the curtains but within 5 minutes it was back. It didn’t stay long, maybe one minute in all, but as it happened it turned out to be a good day.

With my interest sparked i kept a close look out for it but it didn’t return. Then with a mass exodus of the smaller usual visitors a Greater Spotted Woodpecker landed . Again i have never seen it on the bird table although it spends many a happy hour up high in the trees across the way.

My usual visitors are Chaffinch, Blue and Great Tits, Robin, Dunnock, Blackbird, Starling, the odd Sparrow, the occasional Jay, many Goldfinches and a couple of Doves. So i was particularly pleased to see another first timer, the now rare Coal Tit.

I managed a few pictures but these were taken through the window and without a tripod so they do lose a bit of clarity.

 I wasn’t going to put this image of the Goldfinch in as i had the camera settings wrong but i actually quite like the contrast so i left it in.

Just a guess but i think i have been getting these visitors on the table because they have young to feed and its an easy food source.

A good hours enjoyment.

Standing in the garden, listening to the birdsong, watching the steam rise from my coffee. Not something i don’t do everyday but today was a calm, dry, post frost morning. The birds were busy leapfrogging from one garden to another picking the best offerings from the feeders and bird tables.
The usual culprits were on hand. Magpies acting like delinquents. Blue and Great Tits flitting from bush to bush. A lone crow standing on guard like he/she does every day.
Then a big commotion as the Magpies grouped together to harass a lone Jay that had decided the peanuts on the bird table would supplement his diet. I see the Jay occasionally, due mainly because of the racket the Magpies make when he is around. Only rarely does he come down to the garden.

I went indoors for the binoculars and my camera and i just managed a shot of him before he left. Jays don’t stay in one place very long. They always seem nervous. So i was lucky.

The Jay

 A fine Starling

As a rule i wouldn’t take a photo of a Starling, although i think they are underrated but they are common. They are intelligent and sometimes they can be very colourful as this one was.
I watched him for a few minutes and listened to the almost copy cat sounds he was making of a telephone. Then with the binoc’s i spotted a Long Tailed Tit. (2 images below). Again not a common visitor to the garden. I see them when i am doing our local walk so i knew they were in the area.

Another regular visitor to the garden trees is the Greater Spotted Woodpecker. He very rarely comes down into the garden but tends to strip the bark from the branches high up. He then drops like a stone to the floor to pick something up before flying off with that undulating grace and shrill call.

 You can just see him and his red underside. I will try and get a better shot soon.

Yesterday was a good day, i visited Silverdale with the LDWA (plodders section). We did 19.6km, led by Martin Banfield. Its a stunning area with lots of history. I will try and get the post written up asap.

Sorry Conrad couldn’t make it, it would have been great to catch up.

Todays Visitors.

I wasn’t paying much attention to our hedgerows today but a flash of red bouncing amongst the branches changed all that.
The day itself is dull and showery and not great for photography but its surprising what can appear. I watched for about 20 minutes before they flew off.
At times like this i wished i had a good telephoto SLR.

 The brightly coloured male Bullfinch. Always a pleasure to see.

The male Bullfinch along with the Reed Bunting.

The Female Bullfinch.

Unusual visitor

I noticed what i thought were a pair of sparrows sun bathing in the tree at the bottom of the garden, but looking at them through the binoculars realised they were Reed Buntings.
I have never seen them before in the garden and was even more surprised that they stayed long enough for me to dash round looking for my camera.
Here are a few shots i managed to get before they flew off.

I have checked everyday since but they havn’t returned.