Feels like Autumn

There's a real feel of Autumn in the air, trees in the garden are starting to colour up and it's getting colder, and even more birds are coming to my feeders
I've been working on my posing perches for  bird photography and setting up a water feature, a sort of avian infinity pool is what I'm aiming for.
I  haven't got that quite right yet and I need to work out a way of stopping the Blue Tits from wrecking the moss edge in their search for spiders.
Birds also eat a lot more than they drink so I inevitably get distracted by something like a Chiff Chaff in the conifer just as a Dunnock decides to bathe.
After a foggy start it rained, that doesn't put me off sitting in my hide, I just put my plastic mac on the camera lens, up the ISO and carry on.
Here are some of the photogtraphs I took today, and a couple of sunshine ones from yesterday.

 Blue Tit on the water feature

Chaffinch reflected

Great Tit in the rain

Chiffchaff looks for spiders, dark legs help the ID (thanks Alison)

Dunnock, perhaps not as exciting as some but one of my favourite birds

Greenfinch, they always seem to have a messy beak.

Great Spotted Woodpecker, this is a young male still showing some of his red cap but getting the red patch on the back of the neck. Doesn't seem bothered at all by the pouring rain.

Garden set up, the red nut holder on the fence has to go and in the winter months the fence gets covered with a camo tarpaulin.

The pole has a nut holder out of sight and it's on a matal stake so the rat can't climb it.

The log on top of a log has a groove for Meal worms.

As the winter season progresses the number of feeders and posing sticks will increase, I also have feeders away from this hub for the shy birds who don't want to be film stars :)

Wild Birds

Not ideal conditions for photograhy and certainly not landscapes so it was back into the garden to record some of the birds coming to the feeders.
I get my bird seed from Martin at Poltross Wild Bird Food,  they get the seed mixes specially made up so you're not buying a load of wheat with a few sunflower seeds, like alot of other suppliers.
Most of the Bramblings have left for their summer breeding grounds now but we have a couple of stragglers in with the Chaffinches.

Brambling

Male Chaffinch

Still plenty of Chaffinches about but it's a bit worrying that the male birds are far more plentiful than females by something like 30 to 1. It would be interesting to know if that's a trend repeated in other gardens.

Female Chaffinch

Goldfinches are plentiful and Siskin numbers continue to rise, these small bright birds make more noise than any other birds in the garden.

Goldfinch

Female Siskin

Male Siskin

The Robin continues to be camera shy, in fact shy in general making short, sharp visits to the seed tray. I've tried mealworms in a pretty setting but the Robin is not for bribing.

The Bluetits and Great Tits have been checking out the various nest boxes so it's starting to feel as if Spring might be just around the corner.

Please double click the photograph for a larger size.

all photographs on this blog are copyright of Joan Thirlaway and cannot be used without written permission.