I wouldn't ever say that I like the winter, it gets dark far too quickly for starters, but it does have it's pluses and they far outweigh the minus points. When it's cold our gardens are a haven for a bevy of beautiful birds! They don't come in all shapes and sizes but they are lovely when the sun shines. Today was a delight because we have had Coal Tits feeding in the garden for the first time in ages, they were here the other day but didn't stop to feed which was a disappointment for me.  I have a garden hide which is permanent if not a little bit "Heath Robinson". In front, as well as a nice feeder full of Sunflower Kernels is a collection of suitable photogenic perches and the birds settle on them while waiting their turn to feed. This gives good photo opportunities as you can see by this absolutely stunning Goldfinch. He, because I am sure he is a male, is in perfect feather after moulting in to a spanking new set after the rigours of his breeding season. By spring next year they will have started to wear just a little bit so this is pretty much the best he is going to look.

 This Robin is just about as stunning and if it was an avian beauty contest, I wonder who would win. This is a real Robin!   If you are reading this and you are a resident of the USA or Canada, your Robin is in actual fact a Thrush from the family "Turdus" . The early settlers saw your Robin with a redish breast and in their naivety named after the red breasted robins that they remembered from home.

I mentioned the Coal Tits earlier and I did manage a couple of half decent shots. I have an interesting trick to get close to one of my feeding stations. I have a camouflage cover from my old chair hide that has had so much use , it needs a new chair. So I removed the cover and I have found that if you stand stock still and drape the cover from head to toe, it still does the trick. Then with the camera protruding through the intended holes, well, as you can see by the image below, most birds are OK with it. In this way I can get really close and use my Pentax 200SDM lens which is a far superior piece of optical equipment than my Sigma 150-500.

As you can see, this Coal Tit – Parus ater, is wearing a close ring. I have nothing to do with this but would very much like to know where and when it was ringed. At least I am able to distinguish this bird from another that it was with because it was not wearing a ring, but for that I would have assumed it was the same bird. The image below was taken with my Sigma 50-500 from my "Bathroom" hide, that is, my bathroom window. I have to say that I do like the shot as it is quite artistic. It also shows very clearly one of the main diagnostic features of this species, the white patch on the back of the head.

finally here is a nice photo of the "heroine" Blackbird showing her badly mauled back feathers, she has been flirting around with a couple of male Blackbirds all day, as soon as the sun comes out blackbirds start to court each other, getting ready for spring even though there are weeks and weeks to go yet.