Monday 7 December 2009

My tree decorations

The leaves have gone but the branches don't look bare. They are decorated instead by lots of little, russet, chaffinch baubles.











Of course the blackbird and robin don't like to be outdone and take every opporunity to strike dramatic poses.




This little tosser has no time for such frivolity. He has more important things to do, like emptying my seed feeder.










He's a coal tit of course. I call him a tosser not to be rude but because that is what he does. He tosses all my seed on the ground and then flies away with the one sunflower seed that meets his stringent standards, only to bury it in one of my pots. This female chaffinch is pretty fed up with his routine. I can see her peeking round the trunk thinking, "There he goes playing with his food again."











She loses patience and chases him off, takes a seed and like a sensible bird flies up in to the boughs to eat it.







The minute her back is turned the tit is back tossing seed on the ground.






Others manage to share the feeders more amicably.

15 comments:

  1. I love your photographs on this blog that first picture with all your "alternative tree decorations" is amazing - what a sound they must have been making at the same time.

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  2. The very best sort of decorations Yan !

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  3. You have quite the crowd lining up for dinner.

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  4. I just love you photos of the birds that visit you. They are different then the ones we get here in Arizona.

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  5. Lovely....I love the blackbird..waay too cute! Super lovely photos..awesome post!

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  6. loved the xmas tree decorations...so much better seeing things live on a real live tree!

    noel

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  7. You have the prettiest tree decorations ;-) Great shots!

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  8. You have a lot of birds there! It looks like they love your treats!

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  9. How lovely to have so many different birds visit you, and what a cheeky little coal tit. He reminds me of my son as he's finicky with his food too.

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  10. Hi again Yan, I agree completely with other comments above… just the best of tree decorations! Funnily enough, I put baubles on a pine tree at the weekend and the birds don’t seem to mind sharing :-D

    A great read with accompanying photos. Loved the tale about the tosser coal tit… I’ve seen them do that too. They’ve planted sunflower hearts in the moss growing on rocks around my pond. Apparently they can find them!

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  11. Hi everyone, thanks so much for all your comments. It makes my day to come and read that you all like my tree decorations too, and yes, Leaves, you’re right they are musical! They are very chatty with each other, like sparrows, so when the tree’s fully decorated it sounds as if there’s a barn full of chicks next door.

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  12. These are some great pictures! So many different birds you have!

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  13. Lovely to see all these birds here.

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  14. 'Tosser' ...
    love it! Doesn't take much to emtertain me.
    But I'm wondering if Scots might be equally amused by an American euphemism/expression?
    We've some wonderful birds migrating through at present. I see them flitting by the window as I'm writing.
    But I depend upon T to identify them for me.
    Happy holidays! xo Alice

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