06/01: WATCH THE BIRDIE (NOT)

I really MUST NOT get distracted by the birdies today.  Before leaving the house yesterday I took more photos as the garden was teeming with birdlife.  They come in flurries - chaffinches in one group, then they leave and the black caps arrive, then another variety.  I guess there's safety in numbers and a bit of group security that way.  The only birds which seem to remain constant are the Great Tits and Blue Tits.

I do love the Goldfinches - quite exotic looking garden birds.   We haven't seen them in the garden for a while but they were back at the Niger Seed feeder yesterday

and Long Tailed Tits are really cute - little bundles of pinkish fluff with those very long tail feathers.    This one was wearing a silver ring on its right leg

This one was unadorned

which got me to wondering about the ring.   I've spent too long this morning reading about bird ringing in Europe (how sad am I)??    Actually its very interesting.  Birdringers receive extensive training to ensure they don't cause harm/distress to the birds and once ringed we can learn so much about the habits and longevity of our native species.    I got a bit bogged down in it all but have bookmarked a couple of sites to revisit when I have more time.  

Sadly I can't read the marks on this ring - even studying the highest resolution pictures so can't check its age or when/where it was ringed.

Now - back to the drawing board and I'll post some arty updates later