October, 2011

If this little chap is anything to go by, Strictly Come Dancing is clearly a hit in the squirrel world!

I'm no expert, but that hold looks pretty good to me!

You can find lots more giggle-inducing photos in our image library - guaranteed to brighten up your Monday morning!

Migrant birds are on their way to a garden near you! Will you know what they are when they arrive? Here's a handy guide to some wintry visitors and their resident cousins.

Meet the redwing:

What to look for: It's easy to tell the difference if you get a good look at the redwing's flanks (they're red, not its wings). But if you're looking at a small thrush head-on, see if it has a distinctly pale 'eyebrow'. If it does, that's a redwing, a winter visitor to the UK from Scandinavia.

If you stand outside on a clear night at the moment, you'll probably hear the high-pitched 'seeep' calls of redwings migrating through the darkness. Magic!

Say hello to the brambling:

What to look for: Bramblings might look very different in the books, but mixed in with a group of chaffinches, they're harder to spot than you think. Watch out for mostly orange wing stripes (not white) and a paler tummy than a chaffinch. They also migrate here from Scandinavia in search of food and a warmer winter.

This is a lesser redpoll:

What to look for: These are tiny finches, not much bigger than a blue tit. They often feed on tree seeds, dangling upside down to get them.

At this time of year, birds are leaving their breeding grounds (in the UK and northern Europe) and it's a good time to see them at feeders in your garden. Like goldfinches, they seem to prefer nyjer seed.

The amount of red feathering varies enormously - some have a tiny bit of red on the forehead, others are glorious raspberry-red all down their front, and others have no red at all! You could confuse a redpoll with a linnet, but they tend not to feed in trees and never use feeders.

Finally, here are the siskins, male and female:

What to look for: Siskins are just as small as redpolls and equally acrobatic. They'll eat nyjer seed from a feeder, but also peanuts or sunflower hearts. Keep an eye out for their yellow, black and green colour scheme (duller and streakier in females).

Siskins breed in coniferous woodland in many parts of the UK, but they tend to move in autumn and can be seen anywhere. UK birds are also joined by migrants from across the North Sea, so bid them a hearty Hej! or Hei! (that's Swedish and Norwegian for Hi!).

What next?

Try our interactive bird identifier or post a query on our ID forum

And don't forget Saturday is Feed the Birds Day! Find out what you can do to encourage birds into your garden here.

Let us know what you've seen in your garden lately - leave a comment! (you need to have an RSPB Community account; it's free to sign up)

We all know that feeling...

Our annual Feed the Birds Day takes place on Saturday and we've got loads of tips and advice to help you help your feathered friends.

You can see more gorgeous photos from Nigel Blake at RSPB Images. Prints or canvases make beautiful Christmas presents!

I love cooking - especially baking cakes. But while I think a lot about making food for myself, I'm ashamed to say that I don't often think about making something for the birds that visit my garden.

But as I recently discovered, it's easy to make your birds a tasty treat. And as winter draws in, this is the perfect way to help birds cope with the cold weather.

What you'll need:

• bird seed
• raisins
• grated cheese
• suet or lard
• yoghurt pots
• string
• mixing bowl
• scissors

What to do:

1. Make a hole in the bottom of your yoghurt pots. Thread some string throught the hole and tie a knot on the inside. Leave enough string so you can tie the pot to a tree/your bird table.
2. Warm the lard to room temperature, but don't melt it! Cut it into small pieces and place in the mixing bowl.
3. Add the seed/raisins/cheese a handful at a time to the lard and squidge together with your fingertips. Keep adding the ingredients until the fat holds it all together.
4. Fill your ready-prepared yoghurt pots with the mixture. Put them in the fridge to to set. This will take about an hour.
5. Once set, you're ready to hang your birdcakes up around the garden.
6. Sit back and watch the birds flock to your homemade birdcake.

If even that sounds like too much effort, birds also love kitchen scraps. From potatoes to fruit, take a look at what's good for your garden birds.

I would love to know if any of you've got your own birdcake recipes that you make. Let me know by leaving me a comment below.

As we head deeper into autumn, the natural spectacle that is migration really gets going.

We'll be visited by thousands of birds looking to take advantage of our winter weather. There will be fieldfares, redwings, knots, maybe also some waxwings, as well as plenty of geese.

I love the energy and movement that Gordon Langsbury has captured in this image of one of those visitors: white-fronted geese. These birds will have travelled to the UK from either Greenland or Siberia, and will be found happily munching on grass, grain and winter wheat until they head back to their breeding grounds after Christmas.

If you don't want to search the skies for arriving geese, take a relaxing look at  RSPB Images instead - they've got all the geese you could wish for!