Black bird ?

Regular viewers of my blog will perhaps have recognised that I am a big supporter of our common UK bird species, the Blackbird is a very good example of what I mean, we all have a pair or two in our gardens that we see on a daily  basis, we see, but perhaps do not look quite as closely as would be the case with our rarer and arguably more exotic species.

Please don't get me wrong, I enjoy those rare migrants as much as everyone ( Oh to live on the Norfolk or Suffolk coast ! ) and get a thrill on those rare occasions when I see a passage Whinchat or Redstart  but I just enjoy the locals as well. 

In good light the male Blackbird has a stunning mottled plumage that really demands closer inspection and a yellow eye ring that compliments the colour of its beak drawing our eyes to the birds head.  

I can happily spend time watching these underrated characters as they hop around my garden going about their daily business, non-paying tenants of our land and worth every penny.