Whodunnit?
I was in a bit of a dilemma at the end of the Summer as to whether to pick my crabapples or not. Well, my heart leapt this afternoon when my decision to leave them over Winter was vindicated.
I couldn't quite make out who this garden visitor was, a bit thrush like, but with more grey and more brown.. so a few clicks on google image told me it was a Fieldfare. Usually lives in fields (does exactly what is says on the tin) but when the fields are covered in snow it travels to suburban gardens where it eats berries and fallen apples.
Well that is exactly what it was doing in my garden. One in the crab apple tree, and another under the Bramley apple tree eating windfalls. Just click in the centre of each of these pictures and it will expand to give you a better view of this Winter beauty. Who needs crabapple jelly anyway!
posted by Matron @ 5:39 PM
14 Comments:
Fabulous pictures and what a lovely looking bird. Poor things struggling for food in this weather, well done you for giving them such a lovely meal! Our badgers have obviously been picking up the fruit that has fallen from our still un-identified tree (more likely a quince) as we have found them nibbled and dropped on the paths that they use.
what a stunning bird, we always leave lots of apples, we can't eat them all, I like to see the birds eating them xx froogs xx
Awesome! Let's hope they leave some fertilizer as payment. :)
Lee
Excellent captures of your Fieldfare...a beautiful little bird! I finally got my birdseed put out...and I've had a small bird (haven't seen it well enough to do a bird book check) and the usual Blue Jay! Oh yes and one of the multitude of squirrels who live in the gutters and rain spouts! I'm sure the Fieldfare is quite happy you didn't use the Crab Apples!
Great photo catch. :)
Oh yes! one of my favourite birds.
They gather in large flocks in the autumn and stuff themselves with hawthorn berries in the hedges around here - but there are very few berries left, either eaten or chopped off by the hedge-trimmers. So going into the city for a snack in your garden was a good idea.
Celia
All the apples here fell off a long time ago, even the crab apples. I noticed the other day that there were still some in the wood that I dumped there after clearing them from the lawns.
How splendid. Used to get lots of fieldfare down south, don't see them up here, so lucky you because they are a lovely bird.
Hope this encourages you to leave the crab apples in future years, well done.
Beautiful! I had a similar visitor yesterday, (well, in the tree across the road to be exact) but they turned out to be Redwings.
My sister is seeing fieldfares in her garden at the moment too. Last winter we had just one visit the unfrozen part of our pond for a drink - a redwing did the same.
By the way the verification word for this comment is prize - hope that is a good luck sign!
Awwww! Beautiful pics!
Ah ha. Birds having a super feast. Great photos you've managed to get.
What a beautiful sight! Well done, you :-)
Brilliant Matron. Well captured. You never know what will be next to visit a garden in harsh weather.
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