I haven’t been in Sandy in an absolute age. The last couple of times it was very busy, and a smattering of dogs and toddlers isn’t very conducive to bird photography. We had some heavy snow overnight and I thought I’d give it a go. As it was snowing horizontally while I was there it was duly deserted. A couple of new species for me, starting with this fella, which I think is a redpoll:

Redpoll?

For a British bird, it has quite striking colouring. Having grown up in Northern Ireland I am predisposed to expect all wildlife to be brown :). Next up I think is a juvenile goldfinch. Focus is a bit soft but, given the size of the subject matter, this really is on the limit of what my camera and lens can do:

Goldfinch

Siskin

Pheasant

My final offering, a great spotted woodpecker. A *sharp* picture of a woodpecker still eludes me, and this is another one to add to the ‘almost’ collection:

Great Spotted Woodpecker

I wonder if the bloke with the 500mm bazooka had better luck.