Home made feeder

I've had a quiet but productive day, gradually easing myself back into work. I managed to write a short report and have key-worded a lot of photographs. I haven't felt liking going far - I woke with a headache and sore throat - though fortunately both eased as the day wore on. The cold, grey windy weather's not very encouraging either.

Today's photograph shows one of our local blue tits foraging on the remains of our home made fat ball. In the winter we make up our own mix of melted lard, breadcrumbs, sunflower seeds, dried fruit and any bits of old cheese. Some of it gets made into traditional balls, and we pack the rest around old cones, which we tuck away in the bushes where the starlings and blackbirds can't easily get to them.

This one's hanging quite close to the living room window and has a steady stream of visitors - lots of blue tits and the occasional great and coal tits. Although it looks empty, there's actually quite a lot of fat tucked behind the scales, which the smaller tits can extract with their tiny, narrow beaks. If you have a few scraps in your fridge (and who doesn't at this time of year) have a go and see who you can attract!