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

is similar in size and shape to a Chaffinch. But the plumage of Brambling is definitely different: the breast is orange and constrating with their white bellies. Their rumps are white. The head of a male Brambling is more dark blackish coloured.

Bramblings feed almost exclusively on seeds in winter, preferring beechmast. So as our feeding station which was full with lots of seeds this was the ideal spot for them to have their Easter lunch.