Country diary: Life in slow motion reveals so much more | Amanda Thomson

Abernethy, Cairngorms: Laid up and housebound, I'm watching the bird feeder closer than ever, and the chaffinches and siskins are simply stunning in detailScuppered by a bad back, I've been restricted to the couch, but I'm lucky - the bird feeder is right outside the window and it's providing a living theatre of drama. Goldfinches and greenfinches fly down from the granny pines, an occasional great spotted woodpecker, a redpoll or two too, but it's the siskins and chaffinches that dominate. There's a flock of around 50 chaffinches and they're practically all male. Their Latin name, Fringilla coelebs, speaks to this (coelebs meaning unmarried or single) and they're sometimes known as batchelor birds. It's a species that has a year-round surplus of males.They're so ubiquitous that I rarely pay them any attention, but I'm noticing their colour palette anew - the black line above the bill, their steely blue nape and crown, their rusty pink breasts and how their gorgeous olive green rumps blend into the brown of their backs. Continue reading...