Brambling #35

I'd not been to Woolston Eyes for ages and had seen online that the black necked grebes were back. These are birds that are quite rare in the UK but they have been successfully breeding at the Eyes for quite some years apparently. Last year we saw them for the first time at RSPB St Aiden's, not knowing about these ones closer to home. I saw at least 6 today, but there are supposed to be another 8 somewhere on the site, with maybe more to come. They were quite shy and stayed over the far side of the bed, so I will go back for another look in a couple of weeks I think. 
My blip today is a female brambling. I don't think I've seen one before so this was great to see. There were a number of them scrabbling around on the ground under the feeders, but they were really difficult to photograph from the elevated hide. I spent ages watching them and hoping that one would end up in a better position - this is the best that I could manage. I also managed to catch a bit of a spat between a brambling and a greenfinch on the feeder - those greenfinches are quite the bullies (extra).
What a lovely day I've had - I hope my husband's day playing games has been equally nice.