Saturday 10 March 2012

Garden star

What a difference some sunshine makes. A warm sunny morning and I've been at the end of the garden tidying up around the shed. Or rather using the a bit of tidying as an excuse to get away from the house and enjoy some peace and quiet.
While I've been working I've been listening to the birdsong, breaking off to watch from time to time. And the magic moment of the morning came when a little group of bullfinches appeared, moving along the hedge that forms the boundaries of the properties along our road.
markmedcalfphotography.com
Over the last couple of seasons a pair of bullfinches have nested in the next-door but one garden and seeing them, and later the fledglings, has been a highlight of the year. They have been the stars of oour summer.
The property they've nested in has been standing empty for a couple of years and the garden had become a tangle of brambles and hawthorn. But during the winter new owners have had builders in to refurbish the house and they used a digger to clear the garden. 
What will the bullfinches do? It will be interested to see if they can live with the changes to their territory, or if they move elsewhere. Meanwhile though, it's great to see them back.
When the group broke up on male sat singing in the branches of "my" tree in full sun. The richness of his rose-pink plumage was really something to see; marvellous to see, though I cursed the fact that I didn't have my camera with me.

2 comments:

  1. It's surprising how exotic some small birds look when you see them close up.

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  2. Yes, some British birds seem to be almost too much for our mostly grey countryside, don't they? The bullfinch certainly, and maybe the jay and the kingfisher.

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