Fire and Ice

 A fiery sky this morning ignited faint hopes of a forecast defying good morning but that brief promise turned out to be more of a feint as the gathering clouds soon extinguished that rather fanciful notion. Heavy snow arrived by mid morning blanketing much the countryside to the delight of the local kids, local drivers on the other hand were probably not quite so enthusiastic! I set out early with a view to beating the snow, my plan was partially successful though my return walk was against a backdrop of the white stuff.

A day of contrasts

Deene was my intended location and I hoped to catch some weather driven movement amongst the local bird population. Unfortunately my stroll through the frosty countryside was rather unproductive. The flat and open fields at Deenethorpe airfield share something in common with the Nene Washes in that they're both a cold and wind magnet but there the similarity ends as nothing like the number of birds are found at the airfield as are found on the washes. Today there were just a few hardy Meadow Pipits and Skylarks braving the conditions and my search for Stonechats drew a blank.

Shelducks and Stonechat.

The inflow at Deene was quiet apart from the usual Teals and a couple of Redpolls while the main lake held few surprises with the Shelduck total seemingly stuck on nine for the moment. Near the dam the regular Kingfisher was feeding along his favourite channel though once again he beat a hasty retreat once he'd seen me. Other birds seen in the general area were a Grey Wagtail and the female Stonechat in much the same area as I saw her last time. By the time I'd got to the church the first few small flakes of snow had begun to fall which was the cue for me to put my camera away. As I made my way home i saw few birds and heard even less, just a few winter thrushes on the move. With the snow becoming heavier I abandoned my birding aspirations and headed for home.

Starlings.