This cold snap has seen the garden getting a bit more active this week. Today we’ve had 4 Reed Buntings and 3 Chaffinches enjoying the seed I put on the ground for them, a party of 10 Long-tailed Tits popped in while a Coat Tit has dashed in a number of times to pick up a seed and dash back to the bushes. A male Blackcap has visited a few times this morning and it’s worth keeping an eye out for this species as they tend to visit gardens more in the second half of winter. Still a bit quiet on the Goldfinch and Greenfinch front but we’ve been down to Rye Farm a few times recently and there’s been a big ‘charm’ of 50+ Goldfinches around which is not far from us so perhaps they are getting enough natural food down there and don’t feel the need yet to visit us.

Mike Russell, 9th January 2025