its hammer time....

Good news on the garden front this week, with two new birds for the list, and both a couple of crackers. First up, on Monday, my eye was drawn to a flash of sunflower yellow and peering out the window I was astonished and delighted to see a belting male yellowhammer under the feeders amongst the numerous chaffinch and sparrows - unfortunately Steffi was not around so a) she didnt see it and b) there was no photo of it.
Then today, tick 62 appeared in the shape of a brambling, which originally got my attention when it flew into the kitchen window, then sat composing itself in the ash tree, before dropping down to feed with the chaffinches under the seed feeders - luckily this time Steffi was around to see and photograph it, through the window (so not great quality).

Yesterday we headed off on a circuit of our patch, but things were quiet with only redwing, grey wagtail, teal and 11 snipe of any note, along with some inquisitive cows.
Just observed the local bats (pips) are still active and feeding over the garden. With a good crisp and sunny forecast for the next couple of days in store, we plan a few new walks to make the most of this good weather, so hopefully we can update the blog this weekend with tales of avian joy, and stunning scenic photos to look forward to.