After abandoning the earlier walk around my local patch, drying out my stuff and making some tea, I briefly checked the feeders I'd only just put out the day before. As we hadn't had any feeders before, I hadn't expected anything for a week at least, but I was wrong. One of the local Magpie flew into the tree right in front of me to have a go at some of the fat mixes I'd made up. Altogether, I'd put out:

• A 6-port feeder with high energy feed (think it's just crushed sunflower hearts);
• An upside-down half coconut shell with whole sunflower hearts in a fat mix;
• An upside-down half coconut shell with crushed sunflower hearts in a fat mix;
• A sideways plastic tub with crushed sunflower hearts in a fat mix.

The Magpie had a go at the coconut with whole hearts and the plastic tub, then he was off. However, we was back again for more from the coconut with a minute. I grabbed the camera for some shots, and by that time the tree was full of Starling too. A little while later with between 2 and 8 Starling really having a go at everything but preferring the plastic tub, along comes a Blue Tit for the feeder and then a Greenfinch. I couldn't believe my luck, but just then the neighbour's cat arrived and everything flew off, except the Magpie.

Magpie

One cup of water through the open window later and the cat was gone. It wasn't long before the Starling were back, but took a good half-hour before the Blue Tit came back, and even then it wasn't feeding. Now I'm just leaving them to it. Also seen from the back were House Sparrow, with 3 males and 1 female together in nearby conifers.

Starlings

At lunchtime, two Blue Tit were in the bushes and on the fence, and one Great Tit was in the nearby trees, which was a notable first sighting from the garden.

Blue Tits