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Winter is Coming

I had to replace my seed feeder last week. I had just started putting out sunflower seeds when an over eager squirrel ripped one of the feeder ports right off.

I included a replacement with a protective cage with my winter feed order which did attract the very occasional blue or great tit. I thought that the finches wouldn't appreciate the cage so added a second feeder to the set, replacing a flutterbutter feeder. I had become unhappy about using that product, despite its popularity with the starlings later in the season, due to the use of plastics. I looked out of an upstairs window just as the light was starting to fade this afternoon and saw that the new feeder was getting well used although the squirrel proof one was being ignored. 

The old man's beard growing through my neighbours leylandii hedge seems to be popular as a source of cover and a wren was investigating the seed heads. For a time a robin became very proprietorial about the feeders, keeping the other birds off, but went in pursuit of a rather persistant great tit. When the coast was clear a steady stream of blue and great tits came out of the hedge with their usual "grab and run" style of feeding. We also also had a pair of coal tits in the garden together at one point which was unusual, they do turn up erratically but normally as singletons. 

 I had been planning to cut back the overhanging old man's beard but seeing how well used it is I will leave that for the moment.

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