Wallington Hall and Bolam

I have just about got over my cold and sore throat and had a couple of days birding, first to Wallington Hall and then to Bolam Lake. Not much was happening at Wallington Hall as the feeders at the hide were empty but I managed to get some nice photo's of the Robins and this Great Tit. Dunnocks, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Moorhen and Bullfinches were all spotted and the snow made for some nice landscape photo's.

Yesterday despite the snow saw my hubby and I head off to Bolam Lake and we were not disappointed, birds everywhere. We took some seed and sat in the car for a while just watching and it was great. Robin, Bluetit, Nuthatch, Blackbird, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Great Tit, Chaffinch and Woodpigeon all came close to the car for a feed. Below are some snapshots that I am really happy with.

There was a small area of lake not frozen and all the birds were huddled together, I spotted Mallard, Golden Eye, Tufted Duck, Canada Goose and Mute Swans. We got caught in a snow storm and took shelter under a few trees and to my delight I saw something new in the trees hanging mostly upside down. Out came the binoculars, camera and bird book and I started to jot down some characteristics, White underbelly, yellow breast with yellow flashes on wings and black head and black bars on wings. I quicky ruled out Yellowhammer after seeing the picture in my book but quicky came to the conclusion I had spotted half a dozen Siskin. Utterly speechless and delighted one of my 'Must See Birds'. We didn't manage to get a decent photo but posted this one just to make sure it is a Siskin, the yellow isn't too clear but the stripes and black head are visible enough. The first time I visited Bolam Lake after I got interested in birds I was over the moon to identify a Golden Eye and this group of birds gave me the same thrill, just spectacular and a delight to watch even though we were covered in snow. I popped some seed under the tree and quietly left them to it. Wonderful, just wonderful