Last week's garden birds

One evening last week, I noticed an odd-looking finch sat on the top wire of a fence. The day's light was fading fast but the bird appeared to have an orangey-red rump, and I had no idea what species it was. Hastily fetching my binoculars, but remaining indoors so as not to spook the bird, I realised that it was a Twite which had had a very close call with a predator, losing the feathers from its rump in the process. After a while, it flew off, so it mustn't have been too badly injured in the attack.

Another evening, a couple of birds fluttering about on the lawn turned out to be a fledgling Meadow Pipit being fed by one of its parents.

Several days later, an early morning visitor to the Willow hedge was this male Redpoll, resplendent in his red blusher.