Bramblings still present, but not the bird of the day.

Brambling.
The finch flock was very mobile today,
but this bird did settle high in an Ash tree early in the afternoon.
This is the best picture I have ever managed
by pointing my camera through the telescope.

The first three birds I saw as I stepped out of the door this morning were Bramblings as they flew up from the field edge into the ash tree along with a small group of Chaffinches. And for the rest of the day I was delighted by their nasal calls every now and then.

The goldfinch flock which they were with yesterday was much more mobile and split up today. The first flock I scanned through as they fed on the bare soil contained no brambling, but instead about a dozen Meadow Pipits and good numbers of Linnet. Later in the day a small flock of finches in the field right next to me held 5 Brambling. By the time I ran to get the camera, they were gone. It would be absolutely great if they joined the finch flock for the winter.

Gerry has taken a liking to the finch flock too, especially the goldfinches, and today I came across one motionless on the kitchen floor. I picked it up to save it from his clutches and it just lay in my hand. I thought it was a goner.

Goldfinch looking rather sorry for itself.

I carried it outside and, for at least another minute, it just lay there in my hand. Just as I was trying to decide what to actually do with the thing it suddenly fluttered its wings, came back to life and flew off into nearby bushes.

But even this strange incident does not qualify for bird of the day. Nor the two Jays which headed in from the East, the Goldcrest by the pond (only about the fourth for the garden) or the gleaming Little Egret which spent the day in the fields. Not even the Redwings which have found the hawthorns and elders in the roadside hedge.

No, for today I had a FARM TICK.

Just as I was relabelling all the orchard trees I heard a familiar call and there, in the silver birches, was a small party of Lesser Redpolls. They are almost always in birches or alders and for this reason I have planted many of these trees, but it was the already established trees which held them today. They were commuting from these onto the ground in Don's orchard, where a charm of goldfinches were feeding avidly.
They stayed for a good half an hour or so before heading off and as they did so I could finally count that there were five of them in all. Otherwise, they never stayed still long enough to count, let alone to get a photo.

Lesser Redpoll is a long overdue additon to the list, but nevertheless came as a complete surprise. It's certainly the finches that are providing all the entertainment at the moment, but it's a sure sign that autumn is giving way to winter already.