Earlier this year our co-authors from Scotland discovered a Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) in their garden.

This bird is a handsome and easily recognised bird. The underparts of the adult male are rose-red, while those of the female (and juveniles) are pinkish-grey. So without doubt we can say that this is a male Bullfinch.



The Bullfinch is a widespread but however rarely seen visitor to gardens. When they are seen in gardens, it is usually as one of a pair or as part of a family party, feeding on seeds or flower buds.

Unfortunately, the Bullfinch is a Red List species because the breeding population has declined rapidly in recent times.

Eastern has turned out to be very very cold.
With frost in the evening and snow in the early morning the idea of Eastern just vanished into thin air. On Easter Sunday we had lots of sunny spells and a lot of birds (buzzards, skylarks, and other bird species) took that moment to find something to eat. We even spotted 6 hares running around on the fields. Already in the mood for the breeding season

When we woke up on Easter Monday our garden had turned into a winter wonderland with lots of snow and....... a lot of birds trying to find some food on our feedingstation which was completely covered with snow. We saw a lot of House Sparrows, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Blackbirds and................





huh......that is not a Chaffinch....no... it is a Brambling (male). In Dutch this bird is called a "Keep".

And not just one, but a couple: Mr. and Mrs. Brambling. Underneath the picture of Mrs. Brambling



The Brambling, Fringilla montifringilla, is a small passerine bird in the Finch family and

The Greenfinch, Carduelis chloris, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. The Greenfinch is 14-16 cm in length, is mainly green, with a bright yellow in its wings and tail. The female however has a duller color pattern.

They can be found in gardens, woodland and farmland edges and outside the breeding season they can form large flocks. They feed on seeds, as is clearly visible on this picture. This picture was taken in our small garden.

Today we spotted a few teals, male and females. Teals (in Dutch: Wintertaling) are small dabbling ducks and especially the males have a beautiful color pattern. Their heads are chestnut coloured with broad green eye-patches, a spotted chest and a black-edged yellow tail. Females are mottled brown.

The first photo shows a teal couple enjoying the few hours of sun one can get during wintertime. On the left the male and on the right the female teal.




Here you can see very clearly the chestnut coloured head and the broad green eye-patches. Also the spotted chest is clearly visible.




And this photo shows the black-edged yellow tail which really is an eye-catcher. Just lovely small ducks to watch.

Today we watched a Kestrel trying to catch some food on this rather cold and breezy Christmas Day (yep ... in the Netherlands we have 2 Christmas days). This time we had brought along our birding scope and managed to get some pictures.



Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour, which is to hover at a height of around 10–20 m over open country and swoop down on prey. Their prey consists out of small mammals (mice, voles), large insects, frogs, earthworms and sometimes small birds.



A Kestrel does not make its own nest. It merely accepts sites in church towers, old windmills or hollow trees or nest boxes set up by humans.
Even deserted nests of other birds are sometimes used.



We hope to show you some pics of a Kestrel’s nest next summer, as they are breeding in a nest box just nearby.