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Carduelis cabaret Lesser redpoll
Location: Garden at edge of West Calder, West Lothian, Scotland.
Conditions: Bright midwinter sunshine, chilly, breezy. Birds returned throughout day.
Photograph quality: 1-2.
Comments: I wasn't expecting any more new species this year, as Christmas family commitments will take up most of the remaining time. However, the birds came to me yesterday, feeding in the garden of my parents' new house, which I was helping to decorate. Amongst the dozens of tits, finches, crows, pigeons, and other assorted birds that visited the feeders through the day, one caught my eye early on - a smallish, brownish bird with a splash of red on its head. I needed to confirm it was what I thought - a redpoll - as other birds looked more like linnets (with pink breasts; they turned out to be male redpolls). At least four were present on the niger seed feeder at one point, sometimes skirmishing over position.
Most of these pictures were taken through double glazed windows, so critical sharpness and contrast were lost. However, the birds showed well, especially when they perched on a small plum tree opposite the house, and in the sunshine (the feeders remained in shadow) the photographs came out quite well overall (all shot at 1000mm handheld).
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