Family guiding

The New Year period has seen little birding but with Mr & Mrs OB Sr Sr visiting for the New Year then I have been obliged to guide them to see the goodies that are on offer. As a Christmas present I even gave them my special family rate 😉

Yesterday’s eye candy was the GGO at sunset and today it was Piney, Waxwing and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. All today’s birds were super cooperative but I discovered the battery for the bazooka was in the charger at home and had to make do with the superzoom.

We had a flock of 9 Grosbeaks of which 5 were adult males. There was also at least one bird with a very orangey red plumage and which in the field I assumed must be a 1^st winter male. Looking at my pictures though shows the tail feathers to be rounded and therefore adult and I therefore don’t know whether it was an adult female in an unusual plumage or else was maybe a 2^nd winter male.

another shot of yesterday's GGO

4 adult male Pine Grosbeaks (the top one is hidden)

the very orangey red plumage of this bird had me convinced it was a 1st winter male but those tail feathers are very rounded and adult like 

probably the same bird

an adult male - compare the tail feather

and again the same bird. So it is either a colourful (old) adult female, 2nd winter male or maybe a older adult male that has a strange plumage? 

I don't think there is any doubt this is a female but age cannot be ascertained from this picture as far as I know

male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (dvergspett)

Waxwings (sidensvans)