Can anyone help identify this pretty little visitor to our garden this January? It was a regular feeder off our seed /breadcrumb tray - about the same size as the numerous chaffinches but with distinctive orange/pink legs.
I'd be most grateful for any guidance!
Hi DD
Hello and welcome to the forum
Great find(s) in your garden area.
A nice start to the enjoyment of birding, and have many a success with it {smile}
Regards
Kathy and Dave
Hi DD Rhydowen
Welcome from me too, I have only been on this site for a few weeks and have had some really helpful advice.
I live in SW Wales about 5 miles from Tenby, where abouts are you from?
Chez
You have no control over what life & people throw at you - but you have full control over how you deal with it!
Hi DD, Welcome to the Forum from myself also.
Hello,
Welcome from me too. Super photo of your meadow pipit, a lovely bird to see in your garden. Hope you get lots more interesting visitors during the coming months.
SB
There is something new to learn everyday...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skylark58/
Nicki C said: Hi DD Hello and welcome to the forum Great find(s) in your garden area. A nice start to the enjoyment of birding, and have many a success with it {smile} Regards Kathy and Dave
Thank you so much Kathy and Dave. We absolutely LOVE the birdlife around here. We have only lived here since June 2007 and have just had a conservatory built to sit in, especially to watch the wildlife all year round, which has proved to have been our best investment ever (apart from moving to West Wales!)
We have been blessed with (up to 20) Red Kites flying overhead! Apart from the usual Blackbirds, Thrushes and Robins we also have flocks of Goldfinches, Siskins and Chaffinches - some Bramblings, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Coal Tits, 2 Nuthatches, Jays, Buzzards, a couple of Sparrowhawks and a family of Greater Spotted Woodpeckers (to name but a few) who are regular visitors to our garden. Don't know what happend to all our Greenfinches though - this year they seem to have disappeared. We also have annual visits from the Long Tailed Tits in January (strangely they have appeared on almost exactly the same date each year) and a couple of Bullfinches. So we are very lucky - especially now with the addition of the Meadow Pipit and the Reed Bunting!
I will take an interest in this Forum although I'm afraid I won't be a daily visitor .... but thank you so much for making me feel so welcome!
DD
Unknown said: Hi DD Rhydowen Welcome from me too, I have only been on this site for a few weeks and have had some really helpful advice. I live in SW Wales about 5 miles from Tenby, where abouts are you from? Chez
Thank you for your welcome Chez. We live in Ceredigion - not far from Lampeter. We are amazed at the abundance of wildlife here - from Red Deer to Red Kites! Hope you have similar.
I know now which Forum to use whenever I need some help! Everybody is so friendly and helpful. Not sure I am able to give much advice to others though- as I am still in the very early days of Birdwatching?
Can't wait for Springwatch to return as we are both avid watchers!
Unknown said: Hi DD, Welcome to the Forum from myself also.
Thank you for your welcome Brenda!
Not sure if I am using The Forum correctly - and if I should be replying to everything or not? I suppose I will learn as I go along?!
Unknown said: Hello, Welcome from me too. Super photo of your meadow pipit, a lovely bird to see in your garden. Hope you get lots more interesting visitors during the coming months. SB
Thank you too for your welcome!
When I took early retirement - we moved from Surrey to West Wales and as a Retirement Present (to myself) I bought a lovely new Canon Camera with a zoom lens and a super zoom lens so I could photograph the birds! I don't know how I ever found time to work as I always seem to be busy - but I do try to find time to sit and watch the Birds every day if I can. They absolutely fascinate me. Our neighbours say that they have never seen so many small birds in their gardens since we moved here ... but then we do tend to put lots of feeders out every day. They all love the Sunflower Seed Hearts best and we seem to get through a large sackful every fortnight!! Worth every penny!
I am now getting quite used to the birds we get here - and a new visitor seems quite easy to spot - but not so easy to identify! Hopefully this Forum will help educate me as well as answer some of my inevitable questions!!
Interesting photograph you have on your profile!
Hi DD,
My profile picture is a soprano pipistrelle bat in the gloved hand of my former bat worker trainer. I am a volunteer Bat Warden for Natural England and I recently posted a thread all about this. This is it if you would like to see it:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/forums/p/11387/81772.aspx#81772
As bats are only about at night my interest in wildlife turns to birds during the day and I enjoy photographing them too.
I am very lucky to see a wide variety of birds in my garden and the food that disappears quickest is sunflower hearts. I haven't started buying it by the sackful just yet though!
I'm sure you will enjoy the forum. There are lots of lovely people on here who are only too willing to share their knowledge, experience, stories and photographs.
Best wishes,
We actually live on Carew mountain and have loads of birds visiting. We only moved here 6 years ago and it is a lovely part of the world. We don't see deer or Red Kites here, the fields around us are full of either sheep, cows of horses! We do have badgers visiting us every night, some are are quite friendly. I think you are in the proposed badger cull area aren't you? I have signed so many petitions my arm aches. I feel very sorry for you in that area, I hope we can change the MP's minds. Do you get badgers visiting?
I too can't wait for Springwatch, my favorite program too.