Today there was a most beautiful bright yellow bird, slim and larger and longer than a sparrow. It was plain bright yellow on the underside with no other markings, but on top, including the back of the head it was brown striped like the markings on a sparrow. I have searched on Google and the RSPB identifier but cannot match it. It was definitely not a wagtail - too small and it had a short tail. It was not a siskin. Can anyone help please?
Also, there is a blackbird nest in my gutter with the female incubating eggs. I am hoping against hope that it does not rain because the gutter slopes down towards the nest. With the sorry state of my dry garden, I cant believe I am praying it does not rain.
Frogs, followed by toads have successfully laid spawn in my pond. The frog tadpoles have hatched and are a teeming mass. In spite of the fact that I am on a water meter, I am keeping the pond level topped up since the strong winds are evaporating the water!!
Maybe a male Yellowhammer? Good luck with the Blackbird nest :)
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Yes, that looks like it, it was superb, digging for insects on the lawn. Thanks for the id
Yes, that looks close, but the yellow was ultra bright, possibly its mating feathers?
I think a very mature YELLOWHAMMER as they get older their plumage gets brighter ready for the breeding season.
There is a cagebird that fits the description, the Sudan Golden Sparrow aka Golden Song Sparrow - some photos on the wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudan_Golden_Sparrow. Escapees turn up in gardens on occasion. I'm just throwing this out there because unmarked plain yellow on the whole of the underside doesn't match male Yellowhammer... if you can get a photo we can confirm either way.