The weather has been stuck in a drab phase for the last couple of days with the mild and dull spell continuing at the expense of any sunshine. As the temperature managed 12.3°C on Thursday I thought this might be some sort of record for January but that’s still held by 13 January 2011 when the thermometer managed 13.1°C.
So the weather was another chance to practice taking some bird videos. In the firing line this time was our charm of goldfinches as they squabbled over rights to sunflower hearts from the feeder.
I have to be honest as I’m a bit responsible for some of the squabbling. There’s a clever adjustable balancing mechanism built into the feeder so if too much weight is placed on the perching ring the seed hole ports are closed. This is primarily to stop squirrels from feeding but I've adjusted it quite finely to stop half a dozen sparrows at a time sitting on the ring until the feeder is empty. The upshot is that our goldfinches have fathomed out that three goldfinches at a time is the limit, should a forth arrive somebody has to be persuaded to leave.
A couple of sparrows are able to perch for sunflowers, as can a couple of greenfinches or chaffinches. I've even seen a starling try but without any success.
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It's like a mini soap opera, isn't it? That's a clever feeder you've got, I wish I'd known about those before my mum and dad moved house, they were always plagued by squirrels.
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