Goldfinch feeding time

I took a break from pictures, spreadsheets and powerpoint displays to have a cup of delicious miso soup, a boiled egg and some cheese on toast. I hadn't realised it was already mid afternoon. Whilst waiting for the egg to cook I looked out on the garden and saw one of the woodpeckers flying in to the tree where the bird feeders are. It hopped about the branches before alighting on the feeder to enjoy the newly replenished nuts and suet I'd put out this morning, after cleaning the actual feeders which were filthy.

After I'd eaten I took my camera out to the cabin and opened the wi dow hoping that the woodpecker might return. the light was getting gloomy as the sun set beyond the far side of the Golden Valley above Butterow. I was delighted when a flock or charm of goldfinches suddenly swooped onto the rhus tree and proceeded to guzzle away. 

We have eight goldfinches in this charm although they don't all appear together everyday. Six of them vied for space on the four perches which led to a bit of bickering for best pecking rights. I got some of other aerobatic displays by them with wonderful shots of their yellow patterned wings as two of them pecked at each other an=midst some serious squawking. Unfortunately the light was so bad that the sensor went into the 'horrid' zone of ISO 6400. Sometimes it works, but with the last shots they looked too patchy and blotchy, although I preferred the action they recorded.