AS I MADE my way along the Devon Way from Tillicoultry to Dollar, familiar friends spiralled up into the air ahead of me.

They were redwings, exquisite little thrushes that have been arriving here over the last few weeks from their Scandinavian breeding grounds to spend the winter.

It is always nice to see their return, for their busy behaviour is engaging to watch as they bound along hawthorn bushes in search of their glistening, scarlet haws.

Holly berries are also a great favourite, especially when the weather turns colder and Christmas nears.

Once the haws and other berries have disappeared by January, redwings often frequent parks and playing fields on milder days in search of worms and other invertebrates.

If the ground is frosted hard during such times, redwings struggle to find food, and will often move further south and west to seed areas where the cold is less extreme.

Redwings are attractive birds, superficially similar to our more familiar song thrush, with the most obvious differences being their chestnut-red underwings and distinctive pale eye-stripe.

Redwings very much like the company of their own kind and usually hang around in groups. They are also rather wary compared to song thrushes and are hard to approach close.

Other birds caught my attention as I passed Tait’s Tomb and neared Dollar, including a party of long-tailed tits.

They are forever on the move, roaming far and wide by woodland edges and along hedgerows, chirruping all the while.

Whilst by some alders close to the River Devon, I caught sight of a small party of siskins, the vibrant green plumage of male birds glinting under the low autumnal sun, providing lovely contrast with the shades of ochre from the the turning leaves.