Finches

I have been watching the finches come to the feeders of late, mainly Goldfinch and Chaffinch. Each seem to have their own strategies for approaching the sunflower heart feeders.

The Goldfinch arrive at the Pear tree in small groups of three or four birds,throughout the day, Niger seed use to be their food of choice, they're now drawn to the sunflower hearts, they sit high in the uppermost branches surveying the scene, alert for any dangers before any approach is contemplated, waiting for some individual to swoop down to the feeder, a few seconds later, the remaining birds fly down to the feeders, sometimes squabbling amongst themselves,but eventually settling down on one of the available perches where they feed on the hearts for several minutes.

I have been trying to photograph them as they arrive at the feeders, not an easy task for amateur,

the winter sun does not quite reach the feeders at the moment so the light always seems poor, I think this is the reason I can't get high shutter speeds, hence the soft images and motion blur on most of the images, the fact that I am photographing from behind the patio doors probably doesn't help either.

The photograph below was taken  during a brief sunny spell, the shutter speed was high for a change, and the light caught the goldfinch perfectly as it flew onto the feeder.

Easily the best photograph I have managed to capture.

Heres some more images taken with a much slower shutter speed.

The Chaffinch have a slightly different approach, they like the Goldfinches sit and wait high up in the Pear Tree, the females are slightly bolder and will fly in direct and land on the feeder and grab a few sunflower hearts, the males seem unsure about the feeder, they swoop down but  hover in front of the feeder before lunging in to take a sunflower heart, and away they fly.

 And there's my next challenge to try and capture one of these as they fly in, I have managed to get a few images but none sharp enough to be pleased with, so I 'll keep on trying. and await that perfect moment, when the sun shines on that feeder,
 and a Chaffinch obliges by hovering next to it.

 A few other birds  are still attracted to this feeder, the parakeets not so subtle in their approach,

 but very colourful.

Still plenty of House Sparrows around the garden,

And one new visitor to the garden, a Wren was seen flitting about in the ivy, not been able to photograph as yet, but nice to see.