Harry's birds and some Mice

Yesterday was my parents wedding anniversary and also my Mum's birthday, very convenient for Dad to get  married on his Wife's birthday, stops him from forgetting! I spent the afternoon at my parents house, along with my Brother and Sister-in-law and my Niece and Nephew where I was treated to my Nephew showing his burgeoning interest in the natural world, especially birds. Harry is getting to be quite the birder, only 7 and already knowing quite a lot of birds, some common and some uncommon and even correcting his Dad on how to pronounce a Ferruginous Duck (more of which another time)!

My parents have some feeders in their garden which attract the normal fare, but just lately some Lesser Redpoll have been turning up and feeding on the niger seed. On Sunday I was hoping to get some photos of these little birds, but as it was the Big Garden Birdwatch, there was of course no sign. Very disappointing. Instead of this, myself and my Nephew Harry settled down to watch the Blue Tits and Great Tits and even a House Sparrow come to the feeders, which gave Harry a chance to see these birds 'up close' and try his hand at taking some photos. The results below speak for themselves.

These photos are brilliant, in my humble opinion, especially for a seven year old who hadn't even held my camera before yesterday. What will his future hold?

Another common visitor to Mum and Dad's garden is below, feeding on spilled and sometimes placed bird feed. I think that they are House Mice, but am no expert!

All in all, an enjoyable day with Harry going home with several copies of my old Bird Watching magazines to read. I am going to test him next time.