Redwings Galore!

I saw a new bird for the first time today!
And not just one, there was a huge flock of them mingling with the Redwings.
They were Fieldfares.

Most of you have probably seen these birds for years but this is the first time I've ever caught a glimpse of one so I'm very happy!
I only saw a Redwing for the first time last month and now I'm seeing them everywhere!

We were at a place called Blackditch which is a small nature reserve on the east coast and as soon as we got out of the car, all you heard were the calls of Redwings and Fieldfares in the trees/bushes lining the road.
Once inside the reserve we were amazed at how many there were in the marshy field, the photo below doesn't really do them justice.

They were very wary of people though, making them quite difficult to get close to in order to take decent photos.
There was also a mixed flock of 30+ finches (Goldfinch, Greenfinch & Chaffinch) feeding on the seed heads in the adjacent field - the sound of them 'chattering' non stop was quite something!

I've decided to make it my New Years Resolution to try to see a new species every month (which is actually harder than it sounds in Ireland!). I'm hoping my next one will be Brambling in with the flock of Chaffinches that visit our garden, fingers crossed!

Blackditch

Well, the peanut butter is still intact (untouched!) but the good news is that 5 Long Tailed Tits passed through the garden this morning, so at least I know they're still around AND there were 2 Goldcrests chasing each other through the bushes - things may be looking up!

I know this is a back garden blog but I went to our local nature reserve today (Blackditch) and saw a huge amount of dragonflies, I found them so pretty I just had to share! I admit I don't know what type they are or anything about them, I'm afraid.

There were also at least 30-40 Goldfinches in the trees eating the seeds from the pine cones, I've never seen so many before so it was a real treat!