Sunday 29th. January 2012

This morning was grey , misty , dank and any other adjective that could be thrown at it , but it is nearly February , so I suppose we must accept the conditions . We decided to get the monthly shop out of the way whilst conditions were bad , but even before we left , the Fieldfares we around for their breakfast .

Fourteen in the frame this time , but once again the total was nearer 25 . This shot has been lightened to be able to see the birds and that also made the sky lighter . It was nearly lunchtime before we got

back , and about the same number were still around . Again I tried to get out into the garden to get closer , and again I was thwarted , and left with nothing in the viewfinder . After lunch , I concealed myself half way down the garden in the hope that the flock would turn up . They didn't , and as it got very close to things dropping off with the cold , I went on a tour of the berried trees on the estate . To my surprise , I didn't see a single Winter Thrush , and the berries on the trees seem untouched compared to the Cotoneaster next door . On getting back home , I was putting the camera away ,

when a pair of Rose-ringed Parakeets landed in the Laburnum tree next door and started feeding on the seeds . After a good feed on the seeds , the pair flew down to the Cotoneaster , presumably for desert . The pair got stuck into the berries , so I tried again to get closer , and this time managed to

get behind a conifer without being seen . The game plan was obviously to rip off a bunch of berries with the bill , then transfer the bunch to the feet , and then wok through the bunch at leisure . Once

that bunch was finished it was just a matter of ripping off another bunch . The other one of the pair

was more dainty ,  just taking one berry at a time . And the Fieldfares , I never did get another sighting all afternoon .