We are not avid twitchers but we do enjoy watching them and actively encourage them to visit our garden, both by providing feeders and having planted shrubs and berry bearing bushes to help them through the winter.

We are not usually here at this time of year as we much prefer the bush fires and temperate climate of the southern antipodes.

That said we are enjoying seeing the last version of the dinosaurs going about their winter routines and find it an unexpected interesting if somewhat chilly substitute to what we have been used to at this time.

Things we have noticed:

Up to the recent really cold spell most of the berries, seedheads and the feeders have not been overused.
We feel that numbers are probably down which, combined with relatively mild weather would explain this.
We do notice that one feeder in particular tends to get emptied first - we suspect it is its position as we rotate the positions of the various feeders.

We already have the blue tits investigating the nesting boxes and have noted the usual visitors - blue tit, coal tit, great tit, robin, house and hedge sparrow, blackbirds, lots of randy pigeons, magpies, starlings, goldfinch and the occasional rook. A new visitor in recent times has been a crow and sometimes two.

We have a resident wood mouse in the garage and have caught him a couple of times in a safe trap to have a good look at him. He seems to enjoy the peanut butter we have in the trap and is slowly working his way through the grass seed he liberated from its box! We rescued some of the seed into glass jars because we would like to use it.

Better not mention the grey squirrel that likes the berries nearest the kitchen window. Going to have to arrange his demise shortly - sad but necessary.