HAWFINCH IN OUR GARDEN. (Perigord Vert)

The very cold weather and snow, have brought many birds to our feeder, but for us, the star was this beautiful Hawfinch. We had waited so long, this winter, to see a Hawfinch,  but the temperatures, before our big fall of snow, had been so mild, that there was no sign of either Bramblings or Hawfinch.

Thank you to the star of our show!

 For more winter birds in our garden, visit earlier reports.

WALKING IN THE SNOW. (Perigord Vert)

Tuesday morning, the theme is still white! as the snow and extreme cold continues (minus 20*) but today the sun has appeared and everything looks like a winter wonderland. We decide to walk down to a lake nearby. The sky is blue and the light is crystal, all around the snow sparkles, as great blue shadows snake across the ground.

Looking out on our garden.

Many Redwings, Lapwings, Bramblings and Thrushes have arrived all searching hard for food and near the lake, one lone and very fed up Cattle Egret (they over winter here now) we hope it survives these extreme conditions.

Dunnock. (Hedge Sparrow)

Treecreeper foraging in the Ivy.

 Just had to put in this little Robin in the snow.

 Redwing

Jenny Wren.

Chaffinch enjoying a little sun.

Thrushes on the snows edge and below perfectly posed.

 Another sort of bird in the snow.

  

Grass and wild flower heads decorate the scene.

Blue shadows on a plowed field are like a beautiful abstract painting.

Sunset and footprints in the snow.

BIRD TABLE MANIA. (Still snowed in!)

       The coming of the snow has brought a huge number of birds here to our feeder, they are all so                 desperate and we are going through 2 litres of sunflower seeds a day, plus other food.

                              Robin says to a Goldfinch "There's enough for all comers"

The Greenfinches making a takeover bid!

A Bluetit tries to get a look in!

Please can I have some?

A Goldfinch dropping in to join  Brambling, Greenfinches and other Goldfinches.

A Brambling gets seen off by a Greenfinch.

Dancing Goldfinches, no, more like a boxing match!

A beautiful Goldfinch awaits its turn on the feeder.

A Greenfinch resting between courses.

Below the feeder, Brambling and Goldfinch clear up.

SNOW HITS THE DORDOGNE. (Trapped at home!)

Sunday 5th February, and we awoke to snow, deep, deep snow, minus 10*, a great white blanket over everything, including our camping car, in which we were hoping to set off for our next trip! We should have departed in the last week, but now we are well and truly snowed in.

With our road impassable, we walk up over our land to the village, to see how the other roads are, and of course to get the bread. Seeing the centre of the village, we know we are going nowhere.

Actually, we are so glad that we are here, to see and to photograph the scenes and the birds that have now arrived, in the worst weather here since 1956. We walked home cross country, all was so quiet, and the snow was still falling, visibility was so bad that we nearly passed our neighbours by, not recognising them, but the trees looked so ghostly that we had to capture the moment.

The end of our first day, snowed in, and it's time to throw logs on the wood burner and hunker down, with a good bottle of red wine!