We seem to have them most of the year round nowadays, 4 or 5 years ago we only got them at certain times of the year, now it’s most of the year.
Swallows and Swift’s are the same, it now seems to be about 9 or 10 months of the year, they really like our big barn though having the moat behind it gives them a lot of feeding throughout the year.
Two goldfinches were dive bombing our dog the other day because she was underneath their feeding area.
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That’s really good. We too ensure that there are lots of small protected feeding areas. Where we are we find that the birds regulate their feeding. Right now, with very deep snow and everything frozen they use our food and water, but will revert to the natural sources as soon as it is possible for them.
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We’ve had a kestrel coming to try and drink from the pond since Christmas, which is a huge win as far as I’m concerned 
Unfortunately for the kestrel, the pond is currently frozen solid !
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Luckily we don’t really have the snow or frozen pond problem here, the moat and ponds have only frozen twice this winter but only for a day or two at a time.
Not many birds have come to our feeders this year either. Although our weather is not very cold and maybe they are still able to get food on their own.
Like you I’ve always had a good selection of wild birds visit my table. Following refurbishment of it I’ve hardly had any birds return. Haven’t seen a greenfinch in months. It’s really quite disturbing
Blue jay is a corvid native to Eastern North America. The jay native to Europe is a different species ( but which has blue feathers on its wings).
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The rest of them will probably chuck themselves from the tower when Charles takes over!!
He’s a regular visitor again. The bluetits chase off the great tits but wait patiently for the woodpecker to finish…
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He’s beautiful, Fleur!
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I agree Angela! His colouring is fabulous - and because he has a small red patch on the back of his head, I think you have correctly identified him as male. There is also a female with a black head - not seen for a while - and in spring we had this youngster too.
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Oh my goodness! How smart he is!
We hear them in the trees behind the house but rarely catch sight of any. 
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We have one, which we sort of love, but drives us crazy as he can drill through a fat ball in under a minute!
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We see them in the trees around the house, and hear them drilling in the spring and summer, but they are too timid to come to the fat balls and fight it out with the tits.
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That hawk photo is excellent. It looks to be a merlin and they are difficult enough to see let alone photograph.
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Spectacular!
. Beautiful.
Oh that is a stunning set of pictures, beautiful!