Bullfinch

This was the redbreast I was after yesterday, but the Red Coated Birder stole my bird. Anyway, the RCB has been chasing dusky warblers today (and had to settle for a dunlin), so I had another go at a bullfinch shot. I staked out the cherry tree for most of my lunch break.

The male bullfinch and his plainer mate are regulars around the office feeders, but remarkably difficult to pin down for a photograph. I was anxious to get a photo while the cherry still had its autumn leaves. They are starting to fall and will soon be gone. At one point there were two male bullfinches on opposite sides of the feeder outside my window, but the dirty windows make it difficult to focus and result in a fuzzy shot.

Whenever I see the bullfinch with his beautiful plumage, it's a reminder that the tropics don't have all the brilliantly coloured birds. But then, he's not gaudy, his red breast and bull neck are of a soft and subtle hue. His big, deep bill is well designed for cracking larger seeds and hard winter buds. At home, they wreak havoc with our whitebeam tree which every year loses about half of its terminal buds to the predations of the resident pair.

The big red Volvo has an MoT now, though it has to go back next week for more works on its suspension struts (or something like that anyway).

Have a good evening and weekend everyone. Katya and Eduardo are on their way for their first visit of this year, and hopefully we will get out for some photo opportunities.