Darters Delight, Hawfinches Don't.

It was cold enough to make a brass monkey more than a little anxious about its future family credit prospects this morning with rather a heavy frost whitening the grass. Plenty of sunshine though even if most of the puddles and a few of the ponds had a coating of ice.

A sunny start.

The Yew in Weldon churchyard did not prove attractive to Hawfinches though a few Redwings seemed to like it. Bears Lane's flock of Chaffinches still had at least one Brambling tagging along as well as Yellowhammers. In fact it was good for finches in general with a Redpoll joining the more usual species. Close by a couple of Golden Plovers flew westwards while there seemed to be plenty of Buzzard activity to enjoy.

Not quite the finch I was hoping for.

Fieldfares really have arrived in force now and a large flock flew over as I walked towards Deenethorpe. The airfield had only man made diversions while the village itself had nothing to report. Deene Lake inflow showed that the WBT had regained its Snipe charming powers with a total of seventeen feeding and also a Green Sandpiper. The main lake had just the usual selection of wild and not so wild fowl with an Egyptian Goose once again appearing. Hawfinches did not find the Yews in Deene Churchyard to their liking any more than Weldon so I remain an unwilling member of the HDS.

Lovely day for a flight and the WBT strikes back.

I popped into Priors Hall for the first time in a while and was rewarded with a brief glimpse of a female Common Darter. Although it was too quick to photograph it was still nice to see a species that I had written off for the year. Luckily a second female was happy to pose and so too a further thirteen active and not so active around the site. Common Darters were not the only insect to show Lazarus qualities as a Red Admiral took the chance to indulge in a spot of sunbathing as well.

They thought it was all over, it's not yet!

Not too much in the way of birds with Siskins perhaps the pick of the bunch though there was a double figure count of Great Black-backed Gulls on the lake.