Snow = Birds

The snow may not be my favourite weather condition but the one benefit it does have is to bring the birds into the garden. (Pity they didn't turn up for the RSPB Big Garden Watch the other weekend!)

It is always a delight when the goldfinches come to visit. Have had twelve descend on the seedheads on one occasion but only four today, and unfortunately had to catch them this time, through the undesirable 'double glazing filter'.

Birdwatch Weekend

This weekend is the annual RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, so naturally I thought I should enter into the spirit of things with some garden bird images.

I would love it if someone could explain to me why it is, after years of having to fill the nut feeder on a daily basis, the very same nut feeder now hangs full for months on end? This is an observation made over the last couple of years. Either there just aren't the birds around any more or there is an outside factor (feline perchance?) that declares this particular avian cafe as a no-go area.

Thankfully, due to my thoughtfulness (or rather, laziness) in not stripping out all the expired flowers in the Autumn, one bird species does return to our cafe on a regular basis. Goldfinches choose the slightly damp days to flock to the teasle and evening primrose seed heads, when extraction is clearly much easier. On occasions, there have been over a dozen at any one time and it makes for a spectacular display, with flashes of red and gold at this moving feast. Hence my choice of images. Not the usual portraits, which have a merit of their own, but instead, an abstract interpretation that highlights the busy habit with the grace and beauty of these colourful little garden visitors.