The sun is shining as we approach the end of the month - but gosh that wind is cold! I thought I would share these photos with you. I am afraid the photography isn't up to much - but I hope you will enjoy nevertheless.

The linnet (Linaria cannabina) is a small finch that can be found in most parts of Great Britain and Ireland. Linnets are known for their melodious song - listen here - and used to be very popular as cage birds.

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Good quality fat balls are an excellent source of nutrients for wild birds. They are a high-energy source of healthy fats and calories, making them a particularly valuable bird feed option for wild birds in the winter months.

Fat balls are also great for the breeding and migration seasons when wild birds will need as much energy as they can get. However, there are a few things you may need to know when it comes to feeding fat balls to wild birds.

Sunflower seeds are a highly nutritious snack loved by all manner of wild birds! Sunflower seeds are packed with a wide variety of valuable nutrients including iron, magnesium, and vitamins A, B, C, and D.

Sunflower seeds are also a great source of healthy oils and fats which are great for helping wild birds maintain a healthy weight, especially during the difficult winter months.

As well as being very nutritious, sunflower seeds are also super yummy! Wild birds can’t get enough of their delicious taste! If you put sunflower seeds out in your garden, these are just a few of the wild birds you might expect to pay you a visit:

Dunnocks are sweet little hedgerow birds, often called “hedge sparrows' but of course they are not a sparrow!

They have a different colouration and a much thinner beak than the sparrow. The males and females are almost identical in colouration. They have sharp pointed little bills; well developed for finding insects in nooks and crannies. Whilst they are designed to eat insects, spiders and worms, they will also eat seeds, particularly in the winter time when natural food is scarce. They hunt for food on the ground, often hopping around in dead leaves under hedges, bushes and woodland. They will perch on low branches and can fly only small distances. When they sing they have a high-pitched whistling ‘tseep’.

While there is a lot of emphasis on feeding wild birds in the winter, it’s actually beneficial to feed garden birds all year round! There’s a common misconception that birds don’t need to be fed in the summer months, and even that feeding birds in the summer will make them fat and lazy, but that’s not the case!

While it’s true that winter can be a particularly difficult time for wild birds with natural food (and occasionally drinkable water)  being in short supply, wild birds will benefit from feeding all year round. Feeding wild birds through all seasons is an effective way to support their populations; improving chick numbers born and the survival of youngsters, and helping adults to stay in good body condition.