It has to be said that one of the advantages of winter is being able to see the birds who flock down onto the bird feeders we have hanging in our garden. In summer months these are generally obscured by pesky leaves, but now, when branches are bare, we can get a clear view of the feathery feasters.
We find it hard to miss the wood pigeons which waddle around on the grass picking up the fallen food at all times of the year. In fact, they are so enormous we sometimes mistake them for a much larger animal, such as a rabbit or cat, when catching a movement out of the corner of the eye. They are far too corpulent to struggle up to the heights of the bird table; in fact, I'm not sure our bird table is sufficiently robust to support them, so that is just as well. Otherwise I expect we would wake up some mornings to find one wedged tight like
Pooh Bear in Rabbit's front door.
Plenty of starlings and sparrows drop by, along with a robin, various finches and other small birds. The village sparrowhawk has also been known to enjoy a snack from a kindly villager's bird table (in the form of one of the aforementioned species).
Today, however, included my personal favourites, the goldfinches. Goldfinches are especially fond of thistle seeds. Before the new houses were built behind us, the field was full of thistles, and therefore of goldfinches, as well as optimistic cats. Of course, when the thistles were seeding the village was engulfed in a floating seed heads like summer snow (or nuclear fallout in a second rate film with limited special effects budget - you know the sort I mean). This also meant that our gardens were all blessed with a full crop of thistles, unless we paid the price of eternal vigilance.
However, with the field now full of bricks in the forms of houses, the gradens are safer, and the goldfinches rely on us to feed their habit. And here they are, stuffing down the thistle seed. Enjoy.
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