What's buzzing or flying near you 2024 ?

The house finch is a North American bird in the finch family. It is native to Mexico and southwestern United States, but has since been introduced to the eastern part of North America and Hawaii.

 

Your nuthatches are much more monochrome than ours @hydrogardener, but still lovely little birds. I'm lucky that I've been getting some in the garden in recent years, and there was 2 at the same time a few days ago. They aren't very common here where I am, so it's lovely. They probably have a little established colony in the small NT garden nearby.
I like the snowbird. We get snow buntings up here on our hills, and I've been lucky to get some pix now and again. Do you get those?

I posted this elsewhere recently- house sparrows on the frosty branches near the feeders from a few days ago

 

Lovely, fairygirl.

Has anybody found an exhausted little auk yet?
Storm Darragh: Seabirds battered by high winds 'crash land'

 

I heard about those yesterday on the radio @Tidemark. They'd got sideswiped on their travels. Hope they're ok. It's a hard life being a little bird!

 

I agree @fairygirl, our nuthatches look like they are in formal attire, or about to attend a funeral.

 

@hydrogardener this one does look very 'white' taken in the Garden of the Gods, Colorado.

 

Looking like modern AI generated birds these two drake Mandarins arrived last week at Poole Park. Not everyone is a fan of non native introduced birds but these two are real stunners.

 

I love seeing everyone’s photos, they’re amazing quality! Here’s a very blurred pic (taken with max zoom on my phone) of a dipper perching briefly on a rock in the stream at Solva (Pembrokeshire) - sorry about the dreadful picture, you’ll have to take my word for it I was very excited as I’ve not seen one for ages.

 

No picture, sorry, but just been watching a male black redstart perched on a fence post at the donkey sanctuary. He has been popping down onto the grass, presumably to pick up some tasty bugs. I’ve never seen one before.

 

Lapwing.


Egyptian Geese.

 

Had a peacock butterfly in the garden room for some days. Managed to catch it today and put it outside. Worried that it wouldn't do well in the cold but kept seeing a butterfly around the plants that still are flowering so hopefully it would still get nectar before hibernating.

 

One of the little willow warblers we had earlier this year has been a daily visitor to the feeders. I still couldn't decide if it was a warbler or a chiffchaff, but the latter seem to migrate for winter, and although they're saying there are now good numbers remaining in the UK, due to the warming temps, I doubt it would be overwintering where I am! It certainly seems to have paler legs, and it doesn't wag it's tail very often, but it was the colour that was constantly throwing me.

Certainly made itself at home, but very tricky to get a decent pic of him/her.
This is the best I could manage

 

@fairygirl From your pic it doesn't look like either but it may just be the angle or light. It looks almost white underneath.
As far as I know all our Willow Warblers migrate to West Africa and a majority of Chiffchaffs migrate to the Med or Morocco. Most that you see now come here for the Winter are from Central Europe with the occasional Siberian Chiffchaff.

 

That's what was throwing me @strongylodon - but in many of the pix I looked at, they had quite pale stomachs, so I assumed it was one of those warblers I'd had earlier in the year, and it was just a change due to the time of year or it becoming more adult.
I wasn't 100% convinced, so I'm glad you're thinking the same! That pic is pretty accurate in terms of the colour - it's mainly that creamy white colour below, and browny/grey on the rest of it's body. No other apparent colours at all.
No idea what it would be though, so perhaps I'll need to look into it further. It's quite happy flitting in and out of the feeding cages and also having a nibble at the apples and fat balls etc.

 

My guess @fairygirl is a lesser whitethroat. Some photos online look similar. I have never seen one though.