Two new garden 'ticks'

The continuation of the snowy weather has brought two more unusual visitors into the garden – Black-headed Gull and Yellowhammer. While both of these species have been seen before as 'fly overs', this is the first occasion they have been seen using the facilities (so to speak). A couple of Bramblings in the birch trees were also unusual, although there has been no return of last week's female Reed Bunting.

The gull was a reasonably heavily marked first winter bird and was photographed coming for lunchtime scraps with the Common Gulls. The buntings were in the birch trees at the same time and may have been using the feeders at the end of the garden. I left them to it, rather than risk flushing them away on their first visit.

Looking back through my records, I notice that it is two years since we have had any Waxwings in the garden. With flocks being seen on a daily basis in and around Edinburgh at the moment, I'll be keeping my eyes peeled at breakfast tomorrow...