Goldammer

Today we decided to go on one of our local walks into the upland hills above the golf course. Despite sunny and warmish weather it was fairly quiet on the bird front but a few highlights made the muddy trek worthwhile. Close to home on the Dulas we had 4 dipper and a grey wagtail. Further along, the steep ascent into the hills was sweetened by the sight and sound of two bullfinches. Unfortunately, all the berry trees in the area had already been stripped of berry and didn't produce any winter thrushes. Further along on the small lake we spotted two goldeneye who have hopefully taken up residence for the winter and a feeding flock with tits, goldcrest, treecreeper and two very handsome redpoll. The star of the walk was a beautiful bright golden yellowhammer just as we reached Mach again. A woman in her garden started talking to us and told us that they feed about 30 yellowhammer in the garden and that they breed somewhere just behind the house. We will definitely go back for our "little bit of bread and no cheese" in the spring.

Notable on the garden front on Friday was a treecreeper that Dave spotted casually making its way up on the sycamore just outside the kitchen window.