Bird of the Month December: Fieldfare

My very last bird of the month! And a stunning final entry, I think. Our gorgeous winter visitor, the fieldfare.

The reason I chose the fieldfare for December is very simple – at the beginning of the month, I was driving home in the golden early afternoon winter sunshine and I saw a fieldfare going gung-ho picking some red berries. The sun lit the bird making her look like a golden statue. The red of the berries and the gold and the frost were all so delicious. I wanted to get straight home to draw what I saw.

We’re in the strange, formless days between Christmas and New Year. I think it is Wednesday today, but I thought it was Wednesday yesterday, too, and the day before. We’ve passed the winter solstice, the midpoint of the year. From now on, the days will incrementally lengthen. There’s hope for lighter days ahead, but for now, we feast like the field fare on her red berries.

I’ve completed a whole year of Bird of the Month blog posts. I’ve celebrated the Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Jay, Oystercatcher, Siskin, Carrion Crow, Dipper, Turnstone, Woodpigeon, Barn Owl and Fieldfare. Is your favourite bird on that list?