This is the first time I have noticed a siskin in the garden long enough to get a photo. I think this is a male as he has black on his head. Siskins are members of the finch family.
I must update you about the doves featured yesterday. We put them in a parrot's cage for the night and when we looked in on them this morning, they looked quite alert although they hadn't been eating. I phoned Bedfordshire Wildlife Rescue Centre and asked whether they would look after them. The centre is in Houghton Regis so I set up my satnav and set off (although I took a different route to the Satnav). She has all sorts of birds there, crows, rooks, pheasants, pigeons, etc. She was pleased with the condition of the birds and said that she would put a tube down their throats to feed them straight into their tummies. She also said that collared doves often breed too early and their young then suffer from a lack of calcium so that their feet and wings don't develop properly so they can't stand or fly. The parents then abandon them! Not very good parents are they!
Thanks for all your kind comments and Favs - it is always much appreciated.
Lovely shot, Rosie, I think these are great little birds, lovely and colourful. A few years ago, I used to have these in the garden regularly, but recently I only seem to see them maybe once or twice a year, must be just passing through.
