Coal Tit

Been spending the last couple of afternoons photographing these cuties! My favourite garden birds. They don't mind me standing a few feet from the feeder so I've been able to get some quite good close shots. There's definitely a pair of them and they will come to the feeder, nick a seed and then search for an area in the garden where they can cache them. I've watched them store the seeds in the arch, along the fence, in the ground, behind my Dad's pigeon loft, between the bricks edging the border to name but five.

I also got another unexpected but delightful shock at lunchtime today when a Magpie landed on the suet feast directly outside our living room window! Now I know Magpies are quite common practically everywhere in the UK but in my little corner of eastern Scotland they're quite rare (although getting commoner) and to have one in the garden was just thrilling. Silly old me though watched it swoop in, scare the Starlings and then watched it disappear up onto the roof, so thinking to myself I'll go into the kitchen and get a photo of it on the aerial, realised when I was halfway to the doorway that it had re-landed on the suet feast (doh!), so I sneaked back to the window and got an out of focus shot before it flew up and landed on the neighbours roof. Now these things come in threes, the first was the woodpecker on Wednesday, now an unexpected Magpie! What's next? I'll have to keep my eyes wide open! :)

Thank you for all the stars and comments for yesterdays Robin blip! I seriously wasn't expecting it so I was chuffed to bits xxx