Unexpected rays of sunshine

On the most grim of January days when cold rain lashed down and the light levels at midday were not dissimilar to those at midnight, what a pleasure it was to welcome these brightest of lights into the garden.

The arrival of a handful of Siskins heralded a much larger flock which could be found sporadically feeding around the alder tree tops for a couple of weeks or so. The female who came to feed on the niger seed was a one off, and despite the swelling numbers, none came to feed on anything I had to offer. Maybe next year.