Blogging, Birds and Buzzing Brains

The more I do of these blog posts and read of others while completing this challenge the more ideas spring to mind. The aim may be to get more traffic to my blog but one side effect has been to get my brain buzzing with ideas :)
I had several thoughts on today's post, but eventually decided to show you some of my photography with a message about feeding birds.

I love to see birds in my garden and always have water and food out for them. Moving to a large town recently I thought I wouldn't get as many visitors but I have been pleasantly surprised. One of my favourites is the Robin. I discovered recently that the bird we call the robin in the UK is not the same as the Robin of the USA, so do not be surprised, readers from over the pond at the photographs here :). I also find out some interesting facts. For instance, as Robins bring up their nestlings they stop grooming themselves to make time for the endless collection of food for their growing brood. As the season moves into late spring the birds look very bedraggled. It is not until the young have flown the nest that they grow a whole new set of feathers and lose the old ones ready for the oncoming winter.
The first picture here was taken early in the year just as the eggs have hatched. By the second picture, taken in late May, you can see how the plumage has become bedraggled. In the last picture, taken in July, the new plumage is evident and looking fabulous.
In the spring I used to put less food out thinking there was plenty about. Now I keep putting my Robin mix out so there is some food easily available :)