Dinnertime!

When I say "dinner", I actually mean "all day" buffet! The garden has been a hive of activity this weekend. I was going to call this post "Tits Galore", but I thought better of it :-)
I've had Great Tits, Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Chaffinches, Magpies, Dunnocks, Robin, Wren, even the Long Tailed Tit paid a fleeting visit (of course my camera was nowhere near me!) and the Bullfinch has been lurking in the background.

I love this time of year!

Gotcha!

I knew I could hear the low, depressed sound of a Bullfinch! Spotted him rustling through the undergrowth, searching for berries I guess.
The photos not brilliant but its the best I could do through the upstairs window!

I wonder what food I can put out to attract him closer, maybe blueberries or something? I'm not sure if they eat the usual seed or nuts.
The garden has still been just as busy today with the regular "diners", it's a shame I miss all the activity during the week now being as its dark when I come home from work!

Told You!

I knew today was going to be good.............

Faithful Coal Tit.......

Faithful Robin.......

........And 2 new visitors - an adult & a juvenile (I think) Greenfinch, first time seen in our garden!

Busy, Busy!

I have a good feeling about this weekend! I've refilled the feeders this morning and already the garden is buzzing with activity - Great Tits, Coal Tits, Blue Tits, Robin, Chaffinches, Wren, Dunnock have all fed so far today and it's not even lunchtime yet!
And I've heard the depressing whistle of Bullfinches close by (can't see them yet though).
There is a definite wintry chill in the air which is probably why they've all come down for a feed and the trees are almost bare of leaves making it easier to spot (& photograph) the birds,.

Yes I definitely have high hopes for this weekend.......

Impatient So and So's!

I can tell the new feeder is working (or should I say the sunflower seeds are) as it was empty after 3 days! The Coal Tits have been busy. Decided to refill it this morning before going to work, mainly because it's dark when I get home now. Whilst I braved the strong winds trying to re-instate the full feeder, I was "moaned" at by 2 Blue Tits, 3 Coal Tits and a Robin all waiting impatiently in the ferns - anybody would think they hadn't eaten for weeks!!
Hopefully the weather might be calmer / drier this weekend so I can take some more photos..... fingers crossed Siskins might be around by then too!

Our Back Garden

This is our back garden - not very big at all and no room to put up proper bird tables etc so we improvised and bought an extendable pole which we fixed onto the fence (when I say we, I mean my other half!). We only rent the property so we can't make too many adjustments to the place!

As you can tell from the photos, we are almost surrounded by trees and undergrowth providing plenty of cover for birds, unfortunately it also provides plenty of hiding places for cats too. One down side of the trees is all the leaves which are constantly falling at the moment, making the garden look "untidy" (I prefer to use the term "wild"!).

But if we didn't have the trees / bushes then we probably wouldn't have the fox or the badger so I can't complain!

This is the hole that the badger has dug in order to sniff around our garden. We have tried scooping all the soil back but he just digs it again the next night so we just leave it now.

Business or Birdwatching?

How do you choose?
I'm trying to set up my own part time business but I'm easily distracted by the back garden "activities"! My problem is that our office/study overlooks our back garden so, while I'm trying to sort out my marketing strategy, all I can see out the corner of my eye are birds flitting back & forth (admittedly sometimes these are just leaves falling from the trees!).
I've tried closing the curtains but that's even worse, then I hear the birds but can't see them and I'm thinking what if it's a bird that hasn't visited me before?! I've even tried setting up the computer in a different room away from the garden, but then I'm thinking about whats in the garden - I can't win!
So I have a "break", make myself a cuppa and watch/photograph them for 10 minutes.....of course 2 hours pass by and I'm still watching!

The only motivation I have at the moment is that if i can get my act together and the business takes off, then I can work at home all day every day and watch the garden to my hearts content!