Happy New Year !!

Happy new year to everyone. We have been out and about despite the bitterly cold weather, lots of thermals and layers were needed, but so good to get out as the evenings are so long with it being dark at 4pm. We have even put our heating on for the first time this winter ! We do have a stove that we keep stoked up and our downstairs is toasty !

A few pics from last week for you.

Lots of goosanders on our local river at the moment

Hares boxing in the crops

Lapwing and golden plover

Pink-footed Geese on one of our walks. Thousands and thousands of them feeding in the fields. Couldn't get them all in one photo so captured them in groups, the line of them filled the field there were that many. Had a good look and couldn't see a white-front amongst them. 

Tens of thousands of pink-footed geese, an absolute spectacle 

A few redshanks on the local river this morning

Reed Bunting

Robin

Song Thrush with a snail lunch !

Starlings - bit like an Alfred Hitchcock film !

Stonechats enjoying a bit of sun

and a few whooper swans in the fields

A few from last week

 

5 common terns this morning

This sign is very welcome at Owlet Plantation. Been asking for one for years now as the pickers now take literally everything, they pick the forest floor clean and whatever is inedible is usually dumped in the car park when their pickings are sorted. We even see them identifying the fungus on their phones when not too sure.....wouldn't fancy eating their harvest ! 

Shouldn't think this sign will make any difference or deter the pickers but we have to try and now there is a sign I will certainly challenge any pickers I see

A distant green woodpecker giving it big licks on a telegraph post

Seen raven three days running and all at different places

Redshank feeding at the edges

juvenile robin

Stonechat

Yellow Wagtail and a Swallow

the fence line was covered in yellow wagtails but getting near them was a near impossibility