Hi Alex. We had an unwanted visitor to the bird table this morning - definitely a sparrow hawk. And rather bedraggled. Your bird looks very sleek and much paler. It could be this: https://www.oiseaux.net/oiseaux/faucon.crecerellette.html
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Yes, we wondering too, as usually the sparrowhawks around here look much scruffier, often sitting out in the rain, and their eye markings more distinctive, like your picture. If it is the Lesser Kestrel, then I would have expected it to have left for Africa to overwinter, but maybe with the milder weather, it has stuck around.
Me too. But then we keep seeing flocks of goldfinches. I assumed they were heading south but now Iām wondering whether itās always the same flock, thinking of overwintering. But Iāve never seen that before, even in mild winters.
Fantastic Colin !
Heard melodious warbling, grabbed tripod, slapped on camera and took short amateurish video from top-floor window. Nikon P1000 at max zoomā¦ https://youtu.be/SkGxBpMK5Zs
Tripod-head loose, but will do better next time!
Melodious Warbler seems to have taken up residence - first sighted and heard on my TV aerial in summer 2020. Noisy little blighter but very welcome. More than one now I think.
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Golly, heās smart, @Bonzocat
Is this the first time in a birdbath for what I think is a juvenile robin? Obviously wants a bath but takes time building up the courage. So cautiousā¦ https://youtu.be/c0rnPwILJaQ
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The Warblers are a lovely group of birdsā¦ have you noticed how the head feathers seem to stick up, with the effort of singing.
@Bonzocat looks more like a dunnock (or hedge sparrow) to me.
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The twittering goldfinches have arrived and are settling in our tall fir tree. And we have a new woodpecker again this year. Here he is, being fed by his Dad.
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What beautiful pictures @Fleur !
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Thanks Angela! The goldfinch makes it easy. He just poses at the top of the tree and isnāt worried by our presence so we can get quite close. The woodpeckers are swift to fly off, but we got lucky when they landed on this plum tree. Although they were quite far away, a long lens did the trick.
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Iām clueless when it comes to distinguishing one small brown bird from another, so will persevere more with ID Alex. The brown speckled juvenile robin is a case in point - took a long time for me to see how different Junior robin is from Dad robin.
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If itās any comfort, Bruce, I bet I could beat you on the āunable to distinguish one from anotherā stakes 
This is in fact a highly technical term within the bird watching / twitcher world, I was told.
SBB (small brown bird) is a very reputable description of the bird being watched. 
Had an almost identical shot last week of two green woodpeckers doing the same thing on one our birch trees !
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Hawfinch - this one is eating on my window cill back in 2018. Never saw it again. Are they scarce in France?
I see that I have written āNot normally seen in gardens. A secretive woodlands bird.ā Maybe thatās the reason. Has anyone seen a Hawfinch recently? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srmgzJ_FcOk
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Wow Bruce. Lovely to see it that close. I didnāt even know the name!
Hello Sue, the glass in my window is sort of one-way glass, in that the birds canāt see me but I can see them. I can get real close!
Managed this with my smartphone.
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