Feed the birds

Today’s pleasure is one which again is available all year around but it’s especially lovely in the winter and that’s the pleasure of just watching the birds.  I’ll come clean and say that I can’t take photos of birds – I’m just not fast enough – but I want to mention a few of my favourites.

 

First, the house sparrow.  I never thought I’d put spadgers in a list of favourites but these days I feel so lucky if I see one.  They used to be so common but not now.  A few bacon rinds thrown outside would have ensured a deluge of them but sadly their numbers have declined devastatingly.

 

Next, the blackbird.  I do get regular visits from these.  A little bit of dried fruit or an apple core on the bird table makes sure of that! 

Then the blue tit, almost the first bird I learnt to recognise.  When I was a child we used to thread peanuts in their shells on to lengths of strong thread and hang these for the blue tits but these days they seem quite happy with the fat balls I hang from the table.

One of the commonest birds to come to my garden is the goldfinch a bird which I hardly remember seeing as a child but which seems to like current living conditions here in the UK.  They like the Niger seeds I put out for them.  Did you know that a group of goldfinches is called a charm?

And a December blog post about birds wouldn’t be complete without the good old robin.  Robin Redbreast.  He’s quite fond of the dried mealworms and as far as I’m concerned he’s welcome to them!

I can’t finish without thanking a certain lady in the USA who had a Christmas card from me and commented on the cardinal bird on it.  I know she reads this blog and I have a guilty confession – I had thought the bird was a made-up one.   I made it with a stamp from America!