Brambling

 

A message on Tuesday, to let me know that Redpolls had been seen at Warnham Nature Reserve, had me standing outside the reserve waiting for it to open the next morning. I do see Redpolls around where I live but they are usually at the tops of trees and hard to photograph. The feeders at Warnham had delivered me some good pictures of them in the past and I was hopeful of another opportunity.

The idea was good but as often happens the Redpolls failed to put in an appearance. However, Warnham is a good location for photography so I had a wander around the hides to see what was about.

A Brambling made a brief appearance. It did not venture out into the sunlight as I was hoping but I was pleased to see it. It seems to have been a good year for them with reports of flocks of three or four hundred just over the county border in Surrey. A spectacular site but one foraging under the feeders at Warnham is a better prospect for a picture.

Siskins were also in attendance but not in the numbers I had seen there before.

and a neat looking Song Thrush

Plenty of Chaffinches with a few showing fresh breeding plumage.

Long-tailed Tits always take a nice photograph

And a really smart looking Bullfinch. Great to see but I couldn't get a picture of it away from the feeders. He was flying in from the golf course straight onto the feeder then back out the same way. I really needed him to perch up and have a look around before landing on the feeder.

Nothing spectacular but the Brambling and Bullfinch are not easy birds to photograph so I was happy with the opportunity.