Sylvia atricapilla Blackcap female in the garden.

Another great day in the garden, too good to get out and about. The bird activity is so intense there are endless photo opportunities in the garden and I haven’t been out to the Marsh for days now. Goldfinches are almost constantly feeding, there are Coal Tits and all the usual British garden birds. But no Sparrows or Starlings as yet on the bird table which is very odd to my mind. Yesterday morning was a great day for the Blackcap male with him feeding and showing really well. I am sorry if you are a little tired of this species, I am not! I just wonder what great photos of him are to come. I also saw two males on the 26th so I am not at all certain if the bird photographed today is the one that first appeared in November, Who can say? Then today from the kitchen window and through glass I saw and then photographed this smashing female, again is it the original female? Somehow I doubt it, surely I would have seen her before now because I have not seen a female for around 3 weeks.

This is a beautiful little bird, the photo is slightly “foggy” because of the window glass that I had to photograph her through. I really do enjoy seeing the females, they are pretty! I am looking forward to a chance to picture them together. That is my next challenge.

A little bit about my Flag Counter.

If you haven’t checked already then have a quick glance at the amount of hits the Blog has had from countries around the world. Apart from the UK, 23 other nations have had a glance at the blog. (Click on the link just above and then to return just hit the go back arrow on your browser). This makes me very happy and it is a pleasure and a privilege to share the wildlife and nature of these British Isles with people from far and wide. Thank you for taking the time to look at the blog and I hope you find it interesting. Using the adage “A picture is worth a thousand words” I try very hard to include at least one good quality image every day, that’s my goal anyway.

I have had comments on my PBASE galleries here (click on the link for a look yourself) about the Goldfinches we have here in the UK and Europe. My Garden Page here shows Goldfinch photos. I know from conversations with people in the US that they find them an attractive species. They are very closely related to the American Goldfinch but ours has the lovely red face. Visually the American Goldfinch is more like a European Siskin – Carduelis Prunus, than a European Goldfinch.

Here is a picture of an American Goldfinch that I took whist in New York State last year,

and below a European Goldfinch for comparison.