And The Leaves Are Stripped Bare
October was some month for birds. Apart from the superb start with Lesser Kestrel and Pallid Harriers, there has been some exceptional migration going on. The Nutcracker influx I predicted would hit Western Europe did come to pass and obviously made headlines, but less of a news grabber internationally was a huge influx of Nuthatch into Finland. This included both European and Asian sub species (some of which are appearing further south and west). And so it was a much desired addition to my garden list when this Asian beauty popped up on my feeder! 😍 The heart pump that hit, when I decided to take one last, after dinner peek at the feeder, only to see a little sapphire gem zip onto the smorgasbord! Eurasian Nuthatch - ssp asiatica. There was a time when these were split as "Siberian" Nuthatch and lordy wouldn't it be class to have it split again? The Asian variety differs from European in having cleaner, white underparts, showing little to no deep red on the lo...