A few images.
Some other views of this unusually tame (or perhaps hungry) bird.
Concentrating hard.
A female Chaffinch.
And a male Chaffinch.
A female Reed Bunting.
And another.
As always Mrs. Angry Bird when viewed head-on.
Venus Pool - 4 Jan 25
A visit to Venus Pool on Saturday 4 January found much of the water iced-over and the few ducks present at long range. So it was to look at lesser-visited parts of the reserve area to see what was about.
Definite star of the day was this Marsh Tit. This bird was dashing in from place unknown, grabbing a seed out of the feeder and sprinting away often in a different direction. A photo at the feeder was the only option and here, for once, outside the cage. Separating this species from the very similar and also declining Willow Tit is not easy unless the bird calls or sings - this one didn't make a sound. The pale at the base of the bill is the best clue here. Willow Tit, which excavates its own nest hole, has a more bull-necked appearance: difficult to judge on a quick view of a lone individual.
This is a Fieldfare, a species more often seen on open ground than, as here, briefly in bushes. The warm upper breast is well-developed showing this bird is already coming in to breeding condition.
A Redwing was scrabbling about on the ground and tossing leaves about as it looked for morsels much in the manner of a Blackbird.
The jury is out as to whether birds in the thrush group adopt this pose to listen for movement or are merely looking. With eyes on the sides of their heads the view birds have is not easy to compare with our two forward-facing eyes.
The other side. This species is somewhat misnamed. The forward part of the under-wing is red-toned but rarely visible against the bright sky as the bird flies over and what we usually see, as here, are the red flanks. "Red-flanked Thrush" anyone?
Another "at feeder" shot of a female Greenfinch. The markings on the breast are often described as flammulations.
Somewhat obscured by twigs is a male Reed Bunting. The black-feathers on the head and throat still have white fringes that will wear away as he comes in to full breeding plumage when these parts become jet-black. Note that the back is a richer colour than shown by the female.