Birds at the feeders

Sometimes I'm surprised at number of the birds that visit my feeders. Many are from the Tit family, but once in a while a Tree Creeper will come, the Jays are never away, the Robins and the Black birds are regular visitors, but this year a Firecrest came several time, and I'm only mentioning the birds that come to eat my wall-nut cake, not seeds or nuts. Here are a few images, taken recently on my bedroom balcony and in the garden.

The Coal Tit eats seeds as well as cake, but on the whole I think it eats more cake than seeds. It's looking upwards because there is another feeder higher up, with a Great Tit.

A Coal Tit with a Sunflower seed in it's mouth, These birds eat peanuts, seeds, and cake.

The Robin only comes for the wall nut cake. Most Robins eat from the ground, These have no problem eating from the wooden box, although there's not much left in this one. I only fill them in the morning. For the rest of the day, the birds have to find their own food. I will refill them in the morning if the Squirrel comes first, and eats everything.

      

The Great Tit, is the bird that comes most often to eat both peanuts and cake. it  rarely eat the seeds.

The Firecrest, was so difficult to photograph, It seemed to hover over the box, It didn't linger, and only came at certain times of the day, when there were no other birds around. It was just lucky that I was looking outside the window, when it came. I fell instantly in love with this delicate petite beauty, and was on constant alert afterwards.

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This Blue Tit is unusual, as it has a patch of yellow feathers on the head, above the beak. I have never seen this on any Blue Tit before. It looks very pretty.  Has anyone seen this before?

Usually the Blue Tit looks like this, a pretty bird, without the addition of the yellow patch. Whenever another bird is at the feeder overhead, they are either curious or uneasy. 

The Robin is a welcome sight, any time. It must already have chicks, as it has been taking more cake than usual, returning again and again,  and leaving with a full beak.

Knowing that the Firecrest came late in the afternoon, when most of the cake had been eaten, I started to put a little more so that if it did come, it would have something to eat. I waited each day, and most times it never appeared, or had already been. I was determined to see it again, so repeatedly filled the feeder and waited until on two consecutive days it came, and I was rewarded with a few successful captures.

Another Coal Tit. They are a little braver than the other Tits, and less likely to fly away if they see me, and one has even eaten from my hand. A wonderful experience.

At last it came back, my hand was shaking, this was the moment I had been waiting for.

   With a piece of Wall-nut in it's beak, it flew away immediately, but I got it on camera.       

Sometimes you are so used to seeing things like watering cans and hose pipes, that you don't notice they are there when you take a photo. Like this old hose pipe. It would have been a better shot without it, but I'm happy it was in focus.

I see the Jays every day, either in the garden or on my balcony. They are extremely shy birds. and are easily spooked by the slightest movement. I take great care not to be seen.

This shot makes me smile. The Black cap is all eyes. It looks like a young male bird.

Garden Birds

Today I am sharing some of the birds I see in the garden. The first photo is the female Black Redstart. Phoenicurus ochruros. The following photo is a juvenile Black Redstart.

                                                        The Juvenile Black Redstart 

                                                        The Greenfinch Chloris chloris 

                                                        The Jay   Garrulus glandarius.

                                                    The Woodpigeon  Columba palumbus

                                                      The Male Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla 

                                                            The Blue Tit  Cyanistes caerulleus

                                                    The Crested Tit  Lophophanes  cristatus

                                                The Collared Dove  Streptopelia  decaocto.

        Our Lookout,  where I captured the Collared Dove perched on the right hand side of the top stone.

                                            The above photo and this one, were taken yesterday.