There's no doubt about which creatures have been the star attraction lately.
On Wednesday morning, a female firecrest was caught and ringed. If you came along to our Feed the Birds Day event you'll have seen the bird ringing demonstration; the firecrest was caught in a mist net - made from very delicate mesh - in the gardens.
Goldcrests are very common at The Lodge, but a firecrest is something special indeed. Though they're the same size as goldcrests - less than four inches long, and weighing about the same as five or six Smarties! - firecrests are quite a bit brighter, with a bold, white 'eyebrow', small black face markings and a bronzy collar. The 'crest' is also more orangey.
Goldcrest: spot the difference...
For there to be one firecrest at The Lodge was pretty good, but people looking for the female also found another, a male! They've been seen in the rhodendrons fairly regularly over the past few days, but can be hard to spot. Patience is needed... let us know how you get on!
Some eagle-eyed and -eared folk have heard bullfinches around The Lodge recently. Though they're still reasonably common in scrubby, bushy habitats, bullfinches aren't found here very often. Listen out for their sad-sounding 'pew' call. They love chomping through berries like guelder rose to get to the seeds inside, so watch out for those.
Even rarer than bullfinches here are collared doves, believe it or not! But three flew over on Tuesday. Maybe they were moving around, looking for new satellite dishes on which to nest...? Woodpigeons have also been seen migrating over The Lodge and also in other parts of Bedfordshire. You might not think of woodpigeons as birds that migrate, but they do!
Flocks of up to 30 siskins (also migrants) have been seen this week, with a handful of lesser redpolls around, too. Are we in for a good finch winter? Only time will tell...
On the insect front, there are still a handful of common darters and also a migrant hawker around. How much longer can they hang on, now that it's getting really cold? Even more surprising was the sight of a clouded yellow butterfly - another migrant from the Med - feeding on Sandy Ridge last week.