Carduelis carduelis

One minute I was watching a great tit at the peanut feeder and thento my delight a blur of movement and the goldfinch was in the cherry tree.

Until I moved here, I hadn't seen one and I've fallen in love with its cheeriness, bright red face and yellow wing patch. But it has proved very difficult for me to photograph. It pecked a bit of blossom, had a go at the peanuts and then a quick nibble of seed. The RSPB describes its sound beautifully - "a delightful liquid twittering song and call".

I know my blip doesn't do it justice but I'm thrilled nonetheless. My camera is usually great for me but there are times (like today) when I long for a more powerful zoom lens and a bigger macro one. Perhaps when I've got completely off intelligent auto ...