Bertie the Blackbird

Today, in common with most of Britain, we have had a heavy snowfall! It started last night and we awoke this morning to find the whole of Durham beautifully blanketed. I do love snow, although I recognise how tiresome it can be when so many parts of the country grind to a halt. I've had word from my brother, who lives in London (and can't get to work due to the lack of public transport today), that he is going to fish a bathtub out of a nearby skip and go bobsleighing, which sounds like great fun!

Since I received my lovely bird table from my parents at Christmas, I have been putting out all our leftover scraps of bread and toast for the local birds to feast upon, and recently discovered that birds will also eat mince pies and dried fruit. My little friend Bertie, pictured above, is a regular visitor to our garden and eats whatever I put out on the ground, but since I started throwing a more varied selection of fayre out onto the bird table and lawn he has been joined by many friends - I looked out of the window a moment ago to see a collection of magpies and seagulls gathered in the garden, joyfully collecting sultanas and bits of hot cross bun! I know very little about wild birds and would love to learn more, so am now going to go through my back issues of Country Living over a cup of tea to see what I can glean in the way of information on this subject!