Return of Freddie?

Back in January 2009 we were adopted by a visiting Fieldfare. It was one of many we saw that year, but this particular one took up residence in our garden. No doubt influenced by the quantity of food, in particular some old apples we had thrown out, it proceeded to "stand guard" over the apples, and did so more or less constantly for over a month! During that time it demonstrated its stubborness in defending the apples (which we constantly put out for him/her) against all comers, be they Robins, Blackbirds or even Crows. Its typical day was to sit on the rockery outside the kitchen window, eat apples, chase off anything that approached them, and generally treat the garden as its own.

I say all this because a couple of days ago a single Fieldfare returned. Now some 500,000 or more Fieldfares migrate to the UK every Winter so the chances of the same one returning to the same place have to be regarded as slim. However this particular Fieldfare demonstrated exactly the same mannerisms, even to the point of sitting on the same rock on the rockery. I have taken numerous photo's both of the visit in January 2009 and this weeks visit, and the two birds look extremely similar. Are they the same bird? Of course we don't really know, but it would be nice to think that Freddie (thats the name we gave him last year....yes we have rashly assumed its a "him") has returned.

Photo's: Top "Freddie" in Jan 2009; Centre in Jan 2010 (is it the same bird?)