Birds are often hard to see in the woods.  Try spotting them with your ears instead.  Check out "Brett Westwood's Guide to Birdsong" - link shown on the right below the blog archive. 

Birds heard this week in Filnore:

Robin:  This is a musical song full of trills and twitters, usually delivered from a high perch in a tree or bush.  Robins are one of the few birds that sing through the winter.

Dunnock:  A warbling song that doesn't seem to go anywhere.  Not as vigorous as a wren and not as wistful as a robin.

Great tit:  The teacher bird beacause it sings "teechah teechah teechah" over and over again.

And the Blackbird, who is not really singing yet but shouting out its rattling alarm call if you disturb it.

The Green Woodpecker has a laughing call "plue plue plue" which gives it its country name of Yaffle.

And the shy Jay with its harsh "skaaaaak skaaaaak" sounding like a very angry Donald Duck.