Ringed Greenfinch

After almost a 5 month absence it was good to see  the Greenfinches return today. This ringed Greenfinch visited with one of this year's fledglings and seemed very partial to our sunflower hearts feeder.

Oddly, even the Goldfinches prefer Sunflower Hearts to their other favourite staple food - Nyjer seed. The moral of the story is to buy yourself a big bag of Sunflower Hearts and stay clear of the Nyjer. You'll keep your lawn free of Nyjer seedlings at the same time!

Sparrowhawk Kills Blue Tit

Seeing a Sparrowhawk kill makes you realise just how fast these birds are! One unfortunate Blue Tit had its last meal from our Sunflower Feeder today when it failed to spot a Male Sparrowhawk sat on the fence. The Sparrowhawk launched instantly and caught the Blue Tit in mid air with an impressive display of acrobatics - fanning and feathering its tail to get in just the right position to make a grab of the victim with its talons. It was a rapid end-of-life for one of this year's Blue Tits.