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A FLOCK of twenty little brown birds visits the garden. They're smaller than sparrows and streaky, otherwise there's very little that you could find that is distinctive about them. But, unlike most of the mystery birds we see, they settle in the top of the willow with the midday day sun showing every detail. They give us time to go inside for our binoculars and bird book.They take a relaxed lap of honour around the garden in undulating flight, calling softly, before returning to the tree. There is one Goldfinch amongst them. They remind me of Linnets but the book shows that linnets aren't as streaky. We decide, with some confidence, that they are Redpolls. The red on the forehead isn't visible, but the book tells us that the immature birds don't carry this marking.
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Sunset at 7.15. We've been out on our regular walk almost every evening this summer but from now on its going to difficult, and soon impossible, to fit it in. Although there isn't as much time to stop and watch the wildlife it's worth coming out for the colourful sunset, reflected in the calm water of the canal. As the sun sets, the thin crescent of the new moon shines brighter, low in the southern sky.