My Garden - 24th February 2013

It's Sunday and it's a bitterly cold day! The wind is biting and the clouds are so thick that the light is awful! A very depressing Winters day!
  As a consequence, the birds are flocking to my little village garden on the Somerset Levels, to feast on the Sunflower hearts that are put out for them.
  During an hour of watching the birds, between 14.30 and 15.30, at any one time I saw;

2 Brambling (1 Male, 1 Female)
1 Reed Bunting (Female)
5 Long Tailed Tits
2 Blue Tits
1 Robin
2 Blackbirds
2 House Sparrows
2 Dunnocks
18+ Chaffinch
6+ Greenfinch
6+ Goldfinch
4 Woodpigeons
2 Collared Doves
2 Starling

Not a bad haul for such a little garden in the village centre! Especially nice to see the Bramblings. The first time I ever saw these birds was in my garden a couple of years ago!
   One of the Chaffinches was a Male and a lot 'fatter' than the others. It was obviously ill, when all the other birds flew for cover when there was a noise, this Chaffinch always stayed oblivious! Unfortunately, this is just the kind of bird that gets picked off by a passing Sparrowhawk or the local Cat!
   Some pictures below...... the light was horrible for photography so the shots are a little noisy and lacking in sharpness.

^ABOVE^  - Female Brambling

^ABOVE^  - Brambling (bottom) with Greenfinch and Chaffinches

^ABOVE^  - Reed Bunting (Female)

^ABOVE^  - Long Tailed Tit

^ABOVE^  - Collared Dove

^ABOVE^  - Blackbird (Female)

^ABOVE^  - Chaffinches and Greenfinch

^ABOVE^  - Chaffinch (Female)

^ABOVE^  - Chaffinch (The 'fat' Male!)