View from my window

It has been very gloomy all day with occasional snow flurries or drizzle. I have been intently watching the birds for several weeks as they seem to be preparing for their spring season's activities. There is a lot of singing and groups of birds flocking together and then flitting in groups from tree to tree as if chasing each other.

I saw at least ten magpies all sitting in one tree just a couple of gardens along, with nearly as many crows on other branches, and the two types seemed to have become a flock together. All the birds are very hungry at the moment, so I'm stocking up the feeders with sunflower seeds and suet much more often. Sometimes there may be as many as twenty small birds thronging about the area of the feeders.

I also saw several bullfinches and a woodpecker on the tree just outside the back of the house which grows up from the neighbours yard. I've always noticed that many types of bird love to come on to this tree's branches to check for some form of food and I've wondered whether they look for bugs, or else something to do with the bud itself, maybe its sugary sap?

A charm (what a great description that is) of goldfinches flew onto these branches so I had to grab the opportunity to take some pictures. I gently opened one of the windows of my study without disturbing them, even though they were only a few yards away. Because I was on the second floor I was at the same height as the top of the tree, which made it easier to focus on them despite all the branches getting in the way.

I liked this image as it shows one of the goldfinches contemplating what it has caught in its beak.  I have added a shot to the 'Extra photos' showing it with its beak wrapped around the top bud area of one of the branches. You can just see the drops of rain falling.