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| Long-tailed tits in the snow |
Despite the mild weather this winter the birds and squirrels
have been devouring the food we put out for them. Today was more like winter with
regular snow showers and temperatures barely above freezing. This brought out the
birds in even greater numbers and there were several squirrels around most of the
day - I saw three at one point and suspect there were a few more than this.
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| Red squirrel |
A great delight has been a flock of new visitors - beautiful
long-tailed tits. Although we occasionally see them in the local woods we'd
never seen them on the feeders or in the garden until last week. Now they're
appearing every day. They particularly like some fat balls that I first put out
several weeks ago. The other birds didn't seem keen on them and I'd decided not
to buy any more before the long-tailed tits appeared. I've changed my mind!
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| Blue tits, great tit & coal tit |
The other regular visitors this winter are coal, blue and
great tits, chaffinches, great-spotted woodpeckers, blackbirds, dunnocks and
pheasants. Greenfinches and siskins, common at some times of the year, are
notable by their absence. Goldfinches are rare visitors at any time and we
haven't seen any crested tits for several years.
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| Long-tailed tits, chaffinch & blue tits |
At the weekend I'll be taking part in the RSPB's
Big Garden Birdwatch. I really hope the long-tailed tits are around.
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| Great spotted woodpecker |
