What a change, after yesterday’s teeming rain, it has turned cold finally, last night being our coldest so far at 2.8’. The north-westerly wind blowing across the National Nature Reserve seemed to be keeping the wildlife hidden this morning.
Off across the farmland meadows, which are muddy and wet with the recent rain sitting on the layer of clay which is just below the surface. The footprints of the Roe Deer easily spotted as were the five-nailed prints of the Badger in the soft mud.
From within the Blackthorn scrub came the sound of a Blackbird, first a bit of calling and then a burst of song. I was just able to find this thrush in amongst the spikes, but was distracted by the red breast of a Robin, as the bird landed on the outermost twigs.
The white heads of the Old Man’s Beard rambled across the scrub, while teasing the black seeds from it were a couple of bright yellow Great Tits.
Having checked a couple of gates on the furthest boundary for stock-proofness, I was struck by the fantastic colours, the dark grey foreboding sky as a backdrop to sun bathed hedges and fields, a superb variety of browns and greens highlighted by the golden shafts of light.
A Stonechat perched on the sheltered side of a Hawthorn bush, this still laden with dark red berries. The Stonechat flicking its wings, which had a patch of white feathers.
In the woods near the Castle, sounds of bird activity, the chitting of Long-tailed Tits allowed my to track them to the Willow, a few moments spent enjoying watching their antics.
Nearby the high-pitched calls of a Goldcrest, the sound drawing me eyes upwards to search the twigs for these tiny constantly moving birds, which I found flitting around the Sycamores, Holm Oaks and Elms. Whilst searching a Firecrest appeared for a few seconds before disappearing again round the back of the trunk.
A Wren suddenly emitted a loud burst of trills, always surprises me how something so small can be so loud!