A Chilly Saturday

A rather chilly -3°C here this morning with a hard frost, but we did start off with some sunshine, and I managed to get a few pics before going shopping...

Our Nuthatch - he's currently visiting us several times a day. He always flies off with his sunflower hearts to eat them elsewhere...

Starling

Pied Wagtail - they love grated cheese but the Starlings usually get there first...

Blue Tit. Still no birds using the nest box overnight. There was another visit this week but he or she again went no further than the entrance.



Blackbird

We had a bright morning today - the first one in over a week...

As is quite normal, a Blackbird was busy in the garden before the sun was up. I scatter a pint of sunflower hearts around the shrub borders each evening and throw out some apples when I have them. The Blackbirds always arrive first, closely followed by a Robin.

The Siskins have been AWOL since mid-September. Hoping for a return visit soon.

Male Chaffinch

Pied Wagtail



And this little chap, a Blue Tit...

Wonder what happened to him...

Even using my binoculars I couldn't make out his left eye.

Chaffinch

Just a couple of pics...

Chaffinch

Thought I'd better do a blog before the month runs out!

It's still very quiet in the garden, but with House Sparrows in great numbers (average flock size of 50).

Our Nuthatch has been a bit of a regular over the past few weeks, and yesterday he (or she?) ignored me while I was in the garden - he fed just six feet away from me, but unfortunately it was a hoe in my hand rather than the camera!

We've had a hedgehog using the Hog Hotel for about three weeks - perhaps he's claiming it ready for the winter. It has been cleaned and restocked with fresh bedding but I'll be leaving some extras outside so he can make it as cosy as he needs it.

Took some pics of the Chaffinches today. All of these were taken through the window, as normal.

And a female House Sparrow

Chaffinch and Goldfinch

Blimey!! What an imaginative title!

The garden was very busy today following the winter-long lull. Most of the activity was in the form of our Greenfinches and Chaffinches, but amongst that little lot were two Siskins (one male, one female). It's nice to see them slowly returning to the feeders since they have been absent from the garden all season.

The sun revealed itself for a nanosecond this afternoon, too! Bit more of that and I might actually see something in the nest box! I am religiously turning the lights on in the box each morning but I don't think I'll see anything inspecting it until the weather picks up a bit. That's if we get anything in it at all, of course ...

Facing the wrong way, but nice colours: Goldfinch
Female Chaffinch

Chaffinch

Time for a bit of Chaffinch overkill!

The weather has been terribly dull and windy recently with a mixture of rain and a tiny bit of sun, - we even found some snow at the weekend while on a drive down to Newcastle: A light covering of snow in Powburn - a small village in north Northumberland.

The garden has been quite quiet, with the majority of activity coming just before dusk. It has been so dull lately that I haven't even been able to take any photographs - the above Chaffinch shots are the best I've been able to get. I took them this morning during a short burst of sun.

The male Sparrowhawk has been at least twice this week. To the best of my knowledge he is still yet to catch anything in the garden.

Our hedgehog is still out and about. The last lot of bedding I left for him ended up all over the garden because of the wind but I've put some more out tonight - he must have enough soon, surely?!

Chaffinch

A male Chaffinch on top of the table (all taken through the kitchen window, as usual)


And a female

Chaffinch

Photo taken today: A lone male Chaffinch selects sunflower hearts from the top of the steps by the kitchen door.