Hi and welcome to my Blog, my name is Paul Riddle and I live in south Leicestershire, UK. Back in August 2007 my quest began to locate as many local Little Owl territories as possible. The driving force was a reported decline in the uk numbers so I thought I would do my bit and conduct a study in my area. After 7 years and countless hours out in the field I have detected over 200 different sites. With a thirst for a greater understanding of the owls a more comprehensive monitoring and nest box programme then commenced. This also now includes monitoring the local and very sparse population of Barn Owls, please pop back occasionally and catch up with the life and times of my owls and any other wildlife that I come across. I hope you enjoy your visit!!!

Saturday 24 December 2011

Bully for me!

In the garden to the front of my house I am very fortunate to have a Rowan tree and at this time of the year it is laden with berries, thousands of them. The berries act as a magnet to the local bird population and at almost anytime during the day one species or another can be seen gorging on the fruit. 

Starlings, Blackbirds and winter Thrushes are the most common visitors but they have to keep a watchful eye out for the resident Mistle Thrush. He thinks he is the king and owner of the tree and doesn't take kindly to any other bird taking his berries. He has a constant battle guarding and chasing off the other birds and recently whilst I was watching him do his macho thing I noticed a new visitor to the tree........a pair of Bullfinches!

Although Bullfinches are not rare they are still a cracking bird and very welcome visitor to my garden. They only seem to make a couple of visits per year so  I wasted no time and rushed into the house to grab the camera. I went upstairs and viewed out of the front window, luckily the Mistle Thrush was so pre-occupied chasing off the Starlings it left the Bullfinches alone to feed and pose nicely for me. 

What a result, my best ever Bullfinch images!


4 comments:

  1. Lovely images Paul. Hope you are feeling better, and have a great Christmas.

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  2. They are brilliant images Paul - very impressive. My word, they're messy eaters though!

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  3. Impressive images, Paul, some of the best I've seen. Merry Xmas.

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