Close -rung Siskin that appeared, out of the blue on the feeder on 17th December 2008

Any kind of photography has been an absolute impossibility today, the overcast conditions caused by cloud trapped under a high pressure system has put pay to that. There has been nothing to report today, no sightings of the Blackcap Warblers or even Coal Tits, pretty much a none event. Tomorrow we are promised much of the same which is something we will have to endure. Sparrows were in the bottom garden bushes and the usual Collared Doves were in the tree at first light. Goldfinches have now decided it is safe to come up to the top feeders and this afternoon we had a total of 5. Apart from that nothing to report.
Here is a Siskin photo from the other day. I still keep my fingers crossed that we may have another one but in spite of daily visits from goldfinches we have only had them with us on the 17th and 18th. However I think that this bird is probably the best garden encounter of the year except for the Redpoll which was in the garden for just seconds earlier in the year and didn’t stay long enough for a photo.