Speed-birding on a Saturday morning...

...otherwise known as having just over an hour to kill before having to go to work, spotting a goldfinch and loads of other birds in the garden, and thus deciding to spend that hour birding!

This particular Goldfinch was part of the charm (I was apparently wrong to call them a "flock" the other day) of Goldies which has been feeding from the ash tree in the garden for the past week or so.  Perhaps it was the group scout, as it was the first and only of the group to come and investigate the new Niger seed feeder we've introduced for their delectation.  Hope it liked them and reported back to that effect!

Managed to get one crappish shot just to prove it was there :)

After this individual flew off, I glanced around the rest of the garden and noticed an unusually high amount of bird activity - including a first for this garden: not just one, but a pair of stunning Bullfinches!  Sadly in my over-excited haste to run back to the window with my bins, I scared them both off.  Yep, I'm a crap birder!  Gutted, as I've never seen a pair together anywhere, and have never seen a Bullfinch anywhere near the garden.  They did seem to be eyeing up the feeders though, so I'm hoping they'll return...

So this is why I spent my spare hour yesterday morning watching the garden - I was hoping the Bullfinches would return.  However, as I said there were loads of other birds around, so I decided to try and get a shot of every species I could see.  And here they are (again no great shots in this bunch - too far away, poor light, etc etc...):

Wood Pigeon

Great Tits on a wire

Blue Tit

Coal Tit

Robin

Housesparrow (female) chillin with Blackbird

Dunnock with Blackbird

Female Housesparrow (L) and Dunnock (R) - spot the difference!

Housesparrow pair

That's nine species captured on one garden in a short space of time - nature rocks :)  And of course there were the Bullfinches, as well as a Magpie, a Collared Dove and a Rook which I didn't manage to shoot.  Looking forward to next time I have an hour to kill!

Wild New Year

I'm not talking NYE shenanigans...  instead, to welcome in 2010 (how futuristic does that sound?!), Nature provided both more snow AND a reminder of her beauty and diversity - and that was without leaving my back garden!

My first view of the world in 2010 was of this grey squirrel eating the chestnuts I'd left out for the birds.  Hard to get too annoyed at something so cute though:

Next day, a whole lot more snow fell - and a hiatus from wildlife photography as I spent the afternoon sledging :)

Today however, 3rd Jan, glorious blue sky, sunshine and snow on the ground.  Perfect combo!

I spent 45 minutes in the garden photographing the different birds that came to visit and feed.  First up (of course), Robin:

It managed to find something to nibble in the tree - not sure what:

Moments after the Robin flew off, a female sparrow landed in the same tree:

Next up, the shy Dunnock.  Often mistaken for a sparrow at first glance, I hope this shot will illustrate how distinct from each other the two species are:

Though I admit there are similarities! 

Plenty of tit action to be seen also, as usual...  Here's one of our resident Blue Tits eating fat balls:

And finally, a really pleasant surprise - a Coal Tit, which I don't see that often in the garden, as they are generally pretty shy.  This one made several trips to and from our new bird table, quickly grabbing a seed each time and flying off to eat it in safety:

So, that's five different bird species photographed, plus one grey squirrel.  In addition, the following birds were spotted but not captured: Great Tit, Blackbird, Wood Pigeon, Magpie, Carrion Crow, and a lone Starling. 

That, my friends, is 11 different bird species in 45 minutes in one little garden on this little island of ours.  Other visitors/residents to this particular garden include Wren, Goldcrest, Long-Tailed Tit, Collared Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Barn Owl.  And they're just the ones I've seen (or heard, in the case of the Barn Owl).

I think that's pretty amazing.  And, I reckon, pretty commonplace in most UK gardens.  So much wildlife literally on our doorsteps :)

Bring on 2010!