Today the sun is shining brightly but the wind is very cold. The ground still looks wet and uninviting so I guess I will just have to spend all my time with the birds instead. Have brought some of the perches closer to see just how close some of the bolder birds will get and of course for variation changed some of the perches around. Thankfully today the nuthatches didn’t keep my waiting very long and to my amazement one swooped in and landed on my closest perch a mere ten feet from where I was sitting. Such courageous birds they do not seem to fear me at all. Loaded up with nuts he flies off to his favourite tree and I can hear him tap tapping as he hammers his prize into an available crack on the branch. I have no idea just how much of these stashed nuts these birds actually eat but I do so hope that when the time comes that they really need it it is there for them.

Nuthatches move very fast and as yet they do not seem interested in the fat on the trunk. Before they fly in I usually see them in the trees at the back but knowing where they will land is an impossible task. The early morning sun on my plot can create some deep shadows but was lucky to catch the nuthatch in the light for the photo below.

Bluetit numbers as always is quite high. It is impossible to know how many there are as they are everywhere. Coal tits on the other hand are different. They tend to visit the station in pairs and because of that I am sure I have two pairs that visit regularly. Didnt see much of them though until later in the afternoon. Long tailed tits were also around but they didnt come in to feed.

Other birds to be heard around the plot include a pair of mistlethrush who are continuously fighting with the magpies and a particularly raucous jay. I can see this bird flitting through the trees, his blue wing feathers flashing blue, giving tantalizing glimpses of his beauty but he is not going to let me ever get close. The woodpeckers are sadly missing today. No calls and no sightings.

Another bird that has my heart beating faster and my teeth gnashing is the brambling. This morning there are large numbers of chaffinch on the plot and as I look around I notice several bramblings sitting on the fence that borders the wood. Several more are feeding on the floor on the other side just ten feet away! The males look stunning as they are starting to get their summer plumage. I hold my breath and pray that some of them will come over onto my plot as the chaffinches do but sadly they dont. So near and yet so far. Then something frightens them and they fly away and I do not see them again but lets hope they return before they are due to fly back north.