The early hint of sunshine this morning dissipated far too quickly, leaving a grey (and somewhat misty) day. These are a few shots of some of the birds seen in and around the garden.
The first is a little dunnock, which might be described as a somewhat unpretentious bird. Few species are plainer in look and colour, but these birds have hidden qualities.
Magpies are at the other extreme and visually, with their elongated tail feathers, are among our more extravagant garden birds. Noisy too! 
We get plenty of pigeons (woodpigeons and ferals). This is a white feral pigeon, one of several that made a number of passes over the garden. I'm not sure what that strange pink mark is on its wing.
And gulls… lots of gulls, including a couple of black-headed gulls. This photo is a herring gull, by far the more numerous locally.
Most of the time all the birds behave in a fairly sedate manner, quietly or noisily going about their own business. Once in a while though they get spooked, and when that happens I scour the skies for the cause. It happened a couple of times today with the local starlings. This group were a little way off but their behaviour was distinctive. If you look in the lower section of the photo you can see why.
It was too far off for a decent shot, but it was a sparrowhawk.
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.
derWandersmann
7 Jan 2013Good shots, Words, despite the weather.
serola
7 Jan 2013Just nice 😀
gdare
7 Jan 2013I've found them evil, too :insane:
SittingFox
9 Jan 2013I wonder if that's a homing pigeon – it's got a ring on its leg. Of course, it might be part of a research project.
SittingFox
9 Jan 2013😆
derWandersmann
9 Jan 2013Originally posted by Words:
Well, as Adele has pointed out, it has a ring on its leg … the conclusion is inescapable: It is a male pigeon, and is married … that is a wedding ring. The pink mark is obviously a bit of sloppiness with his wife's beak paint when she kissed him a good day upon leaving the nest in the morning.
Words
9 Jan 2013Adele, well spotted. I'd missed the ring. I doubt it's a 'homer' as it was flying back and forth all afternoon, and there are several whites in the local flocks. I'll see if I have any better shots of the ring (just checked… no shots that allow me to read it).
Words
9 Jan 2013Darko, you are not alone in thinking that, but they are beautiful and highly intelligent birds. True, they can be a touch aggressive as well.
Words
9 Jan 2013dW, your theory is as good as any I've heard. 😆
Words
9 Jan 2013dW, your theory is as good as any I've heard. 😆
Words
9 Jan 2013dW, thanks! The weather is getting boring!
Words
9 Jan 2013Sami, :cheers: