John Herbert (Mailbox, February 8) asked for someone to identify the picture he took of a bird in his garden on Sunday.

Well, Mr Herbert your visitor is a fieldfare, and your picture clearly shows that this is slightly smaller than normal.

However the reason for this is quite simple, in that it is one of this year's youngsters, which has currently been driven south due to the cold snap we are experiencing, and in all honesty will possibly be seen in many gardens during this very cold spell.

They normally move in smaller groups of 10 or 20, but with good berries in short supply they are moving in larger groups.

We have two holly bushes in our front garden, and we had the pleasure of at least 30 of them on Sunday too – what a delight they are, slightly larger than a thrush, but with a reddy brown plumage that is so distinguishable at this time of year; they really do brighten up your day.

Their chirping is very distinguishable too: a short sharp tweet in rhyme with their flight. Normally they are out in the fields feeding on berries, but with stocks now very low, many are visiting our gardens, taking advantage of the many berries in our gardens, and to be honest, they are normally very nervous, and fly off as soon as they see a human or indeed a camera lens, so you have done well to have taken a photograph of this one.

Make the most of seeing them, as it won't be long before they fly north again ready to start their breeding again in the spring.

Happy fieldfare spotting!

Stuart Coar, LFE.

Editor's footnote: We thank the many readers who wrote or phoned identifying the bird. By a large majority, the fieldfare got your vote.