December 2011

Like November started warm but soon cooled down with the first dusting of snow on Monday (5th). Freezing rain over night and now gale force winds and still cold.
Birds are eating a feederful of sunflower seeds and one of buggy nibbles every day plus fat balls, nuts and ground food.
It's working though because yesterday we had a male bullfinch on a fly through, very handsome he was too. We have frequent visitor of a marshy-willow tit too but the long tails haven't really been back this year yet, I've heard them a few times but no visits to the feeding station.

Bullfinch again

He came back for more cotoneaster berries this afternoon.

Rarity for us

A bullfinch has just landed in the cotoneaster in the back hedge. He's one of this year's fledglings, not quite fully coloured up yet. We don't get many bullfinches in the garden, probably only half a dozen a year so for us this is an exciting sighting. The cold has obviously brought him in.