Youngster

It's been one of those damp, blustery, frustrating days when it's no good for getting out in the garden or going for a walk. I did walk back from Jen and Pete's, having fed animals, straight in to wind and fretty rain so cold, wet trousers resulted!  

Back home neighbour Rachel dropped by with 40 foot of home-sewn bunting for next weekend's 'Great Get Together', what a star!!  Neighbour Jenny's mum has also made a very, very long length of bunting, another star!  The street will look fabulous.

Since then I've been working on my photography books and scaring the squirrel up the elder tree when I filled up the feeders.  Tony has been out helping at a Junior Squad Orienteering training today and, just as I've put the water on for him a hot bath, he has rung to say he has fallen and gashed his hand so is sitting in Huddersfield Infirmary waiting for it to be dressed!  Girls, he's fine!

Once I'd filled the feeders a gang of youngsters arrived:  a chaffinch, a blue tit, a great tit and a sparrow.  I'm sure it was coincidental that they all arrived around the same time.  They were struggling with the wind, swinging feeders and inexperience, and I worried that the great tit was going to try to swallow whole a peanut it had pinched from the squirrel feeder, but thankfully it decided to put it between its feet and peck at it.  We have three squirrels visiting the feeder:  one is totally confused by being able to see the peanuts and not get at them; one has learned to lift up the lid and today's pushes up the plastic to get at them which means they are then available to the birds!!

Blipornithologists, can you tell me what is going on with this chaffinch's leg which appears to have a fungal growth on it?

Out of the brat pack blips I've decided to upload this rather cute chaffinch.