soothing goldfinches

on the bird feeders in my parents' front garden, in among the zippy blue tits and coal tits, the shy robin and the gazillion shrieking, never-still-for-a-moment sparrows, are the goldfinches. not only are they very delicate, beautiful creatures, they are much calmer: they perch, they eat (and eat, and eat and eat), they swap places when another finch wants to muscle in for a few mouthfuls, then they settle to eat again. lovely.

also lovely, tho not so willing to be snapped today, are their babies - a little fluffier than the parents, and yet to get their bright red flashes. and not entirely sure what they should do when they get on that feeder perch, which is hysterical to watch - tho they do get the hang of it by the end of a few tentative sessions. my mother freely admits to getting a lot of pleasure out of watching the birds (and my father does too, tho he's less likely to say so) - even if it does cost a fortune to feed the buggers!

and even then they aren't satisfied - the blackbirds have taken to hopping into the hall and the kitchen to poke around for crumbs and dropped seed...

more wildlife and gardening begins here