Nuthatch feeding by the back door

While I waited for my bath to fill I looked out of my study window and saw a range of small birds lining up on the trees and shrubs near the back door ready to zoom in to the bird feeder.  I eased the window open which of course meant they all flew away, but my cunning plan was to wait for them to return after a short while.

First the tits returned and then a couple of blackbirds looked on enviously from the roof of the cabin as they aren't able to perch on the hanging feeder.  Two bullfinches approached as did male and female blackcaps, a goldfinch and a robin. 

By now I had my lens pointing nearly vertically down at the hanging feeder attached to an old sycamore branch I screwed onto the wooden post beside the higher patio next the back door.  I have plans to renew this branch with anew one from the rhus tree, as the birds really like having a perch which they can land on before actually alighting on the feeders.  With luck I will be able to then hang at least two feeders close to the house which will mean we get really good close up views of the birds.

One of the bullfinches landed on the feeder but was hidden from the lens on the far side of the post.  Luckily this  nuthatch then came and forced the bullfinch away, as they seem to rule the roost of small birds with their very sharp pointed beaks.  It grabbed a sunflower seed and then still in a vertical position upside down which they prefer it looked up at me , looked away and then flew off.  I just managed to get this shot, but as it was so dark, I had set the camera to auto-ISO and it is rather high and thus it is very noisy.