Country diary: 'Tis the season to spot the bramblings

Marshwood Vale, Dorset: These winter visitors from Scandinavia are as plump and round as knitted Christmas tree decorationsIt's the hour before sunset and the last chance to feed before the cold night ahead. There are hundreds of small birds in the field, attracted by a mix of seeding plants sown in the spring to provide winter food for finches and other seed-eaters, including yellowhammers and corn buntings.A flock of bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla) makes swirling forays, their reddish undersides rosy in the westering light. Goldfinches skip over the hedge, yellow wing stripes twinkling like handfuls of thrown gold coins. Somewhere out in the middle of the crop, a jay squawks, hidden in a tangle of stems. Continue reading...