Birds do Brighten a Winter's Day

The recent cold snap, with overnight temperatures dropping below freezing for a couple of days, seemed to bring the garden to life. With the drab grey-green tones and bare branches the birds certainly provided some much needed colour.
The highlight was a female ring -necked parakeet that paid a visit to my peanut feeder. Watching this bright green parrot with a 'soft' red bill and long tail clinging and moving around the feeder I was surprised at its agility.
Soon, I wasn't the only one watching. A male great spotted woodpecker, black and white with splashes of red to add to the palette, alighted on a nearby branch and must have been equally surprised to see this exotic new-comer.
Then to complete the picture, three goldfinches, flashing yellow, flew down to the nyger seed feeder.
It is scenes such as this that make me look forward to winter when more birds, including the unusual, come to take advantage of the food that we provide in our gardens.