Beaks

 With the morning frosts we have started feeding seed as well as nuts. A flock of Goldfinches arrived in minutes. Watching them eat, I always think of Charles Darwin who studied finch beaks and realised that they were all adapted to their food source.  Goldfinches have small, pointy beaks which can get into the seedheads of many plants in the garden, so it is really important to let flowers go to seed and not to tidy them too soon. 

Out walking, I saw evidence of another bird beak adaptation.  I was in an area where there used to be a dormouse study so a number of boxes were installed.  These should only be checked by someone with a Dormouse licence but some of them have rotted and a couple have been opened by woodpeckers. Inside were bird's nests: woodpeckers mainly eat insects and seeds but will also eat nestlings. Woodpeckers have a range of adaptations which allow them to drill into wood without damaging their brains: these rotten boxes would have made easy pickings for them, so if you provide bird nest boxes, you may wish to keep them in good repair (although woodpeckers have to eat too!)