BIRD NEWS:467

My first shot for today's blog post shows a tree of pigeons and a lake of swans. It is in fact Swanbourne Lake, where Liz and I trekked after Arundel WWT and before the River Arun. Our next excursion, on the second weekend in February, took us to Warnham Nature Reserve - you might need a close up to see the cormorants properly though - we had bins.

Most of our time spent at Warnham was spent in one specific hide - where they had 3-4 feeder bars, a tree with something stuck behind it, and piles of food on the floor. This was like the buffet bar in an elite hotel and attracted all the best species to dine. It was in this hide that I spotted 4 birds which I had not seen before - 3 clearly and 1 as a passing flash identified by another birder on site.

Firstly, here is a female pheasant tucking in to brunch, with blue tit and siskin on the feeders. Siskins are relatively common in some parts of the UK, being one of those birds you know about beyond the basics of blackbird, starling, sparrow, robin, seagull, etc, if you are going to take up an interest in birding. However, they have not yet visited my gardens, and this was my first sighting.

It was not the first sighting of a female pheasant, but I still took a couple of shots, as it was close enough to get in detail. In my next picture, we see a great tit, nuthatch, and trio of goldfinches tucking in. Liz and I agreed that it was the best hide to visit to spot and observe small birds.

My final shot for today shows the siskin again - this time sharing the cafe with a pair of goldfinches.