UKNatureBlog

Here are some things I've noticed recently:

• Fieldfares and Redwings finally descended on my garden in the last week, having been notable by the absence before now. The snow an ice has finally driven them from the countryside. That's a Redwing in the picture above camped out in the neighbour's holly bush. You can just see the red/orange patch peeping out from under the wing.
• I saw a wasp today crawling along the ground in London. I presume it was a queen woken from hibernation by the much milder weather today.
• Bulbs of all sorts have been pushing up over the last month or so. Snowdrops are in decent form right now.
• As ever, you get a much better idea of the activity on the ground in your garden when you can see all the tracks in the snow, of cats, foxes, wood pigeons and blackbirds.

Those TV gardening programs always tell you to leave certain plants' dead seadheads standing over winter so the birds can eat them, but I had never actually seen it happening until today. Four Goldfinches parked themselves in the remains of my Rudbeckia and feasted away for quite a while. They do seem to have a habit of staying put once they've found some food – they do the same on the bird feeders.

Their beaks are just right for prising seeds from difficult places, classically teasels. Here's what those same Rudbeckia flowers looked like a couple of seasons previously. A nice reminder of glories to come whilst we persevere through the cold.