Another frosty bright day

This morning seemed slightly less cold than yesterday but nevertheless was very icy and again bright and sunny. The usual crossing into the riverside meadow is harder to get across at the moment because of the flood water that has turned to ice and the field looks like a small nature reserve - with a large flock of canada and grey geese. I scanned the flock but could not see anything else, though there were herons - I think 4 - standing as though on guard, completely still whilst the geese were moving around busily grazing.

One of the kestrels was out hunting again and on the way back home I disturbed a snipe. I've seen snipe in the field a few times, usually in the field by the river - this time it was in the wet hollow in the first field, and I only had a glimpse of the zig zag flight as it took off.

We were also out this afternoon for around an hour and a half and had a good sighting of a kingfisher that flew along the river near the Newport end, and perched on several branches as it flew down the river.

Snow still hanging on

Although we have not had a significant fall of snow for nearly a week, there are still patches of snow (or rather ice) on our footpaths and redways - in places still extensive enough to make it pretty slippery. I decided to drive to Willen Lake this morning to walk the dog there and check out the paths - to see whether it looks cyclable for going to work tomorrow. It wasn't and isn't - and I was surprised to find that much of the lake was still frozen. I spent a bit of time in the hide - but not a lot to see apart from a largish flock of lapwings, standing on the frozen lake - and coots. I do think lapwings are very striking as they wheel around in the sky when they are disturbed. I still think of them as birds that I am used to seeing in fields by the see and on moorland though. But given that they are declining I hope the Willen/Milton Keynes flocks are doing well. And there are certainly a lot of coots around.

And herons. There were between 6 and 8 - difficult to say - in the trees on the island in the lake, presumably they nest there? I haven't really noticed them before as unless you are specifically looking at the island and in the right place, they would be hard to see, especially as some of the trees they are in are conifers.