Woodland morning

I've had a few mornings in the Forest recently. I did have a particular bird species in mind, I'd heard them whilst exploring one day, but didn't know if they would come down to feed. It became clear that there was a pattern to follow each day. I'd set up the hide and scatter some seed. First down invariably were the squirrels - at least five on most mornings.

At first they were a bit twitchy, but after a while they relaxed and then started chasing each other. Then they stopped chasing each other and started chasing away any birds that came down. Just look at the aggressive intent in that face!

Finally I discovered that speaking seemed to scare them far more than the birds and we finally got some avian action. First birds invariably nuthatches ...............

then jays (five at a time one day) ..............

great tits .................

an occasional woodpigeon .............

chaffinch and their brambling friends ................

and, just sometimes, the piece de resistance the regal hawfinches.

Now how cool are they? For some really good shots have a look at

Chris Grady http://www.wildlife-imaging.co.uk/gallery/birds/Hawfinch/index.html
and Lewis Thomson's http://www.ltimages.co.uk/section159693_133830.html sites