Fieldfares and Redwings

We have definitely had more snow than in our previous years in Suffolk. And, to our delight, the snow brought a huge mixed flock of Fieldfares (a garden first for us) and Redwings (just a few). All these photos were taken through the window of our home. Sadly the light quality was very poor when I photographed the Redwing, two photos below.

 

With a profusion of catkins behind

Seeing these wonderful birds so close at hand made me wonder whether there will be an influx, or even an irruption, of Waxwings. However, the Waxwing Twitter account, @WaxwingsUK , suggests to me that this is probably unlikely. 

Snow on snow . . .

I have not ventured out beyond my patio door, but here are some of the avian visitors who came to our garden today. I gather there are Redwings and Fieldfare in the vicinity, but I have yet to see any this year. As for the snow, well, it is probably the most we have had since we moved in to our current house about nine years ago!

 

Snow . . .

We finally had more than a five-minute flurry of snow today. It looked beautiful for a while, but began to melt fairly swiftly. There is still some slush on the pavements, which will doubtless turn to ice if the temperatures freeze again, but most of the snow has vanished. The Blue tits, Long-tailed tits, Great tits, Robin and Blackbird have been very active around the coconut feeder. We also had a couple of gulls and Magpies battling it out for a tasty morsel.

I checked yesterday and at least one of the four Wasp spider eggsacs is still intact, though much of the long grass is now bent over. I couldn't see any signs of a Snowdrop, but I guess it's early yet. At least some of the bulbs have started to shoot. Will there be daffodils in flower for 1st March, I wonder?

 

Anglesey Abbey with a Dusting of Snow

'Silent, and soft, and slow
   Descends the snow.'

Longfellow 

Anglesey Abbey, near Cambridge, is in the care of the National Trust. We met up with friends last Saturday, and enjoyed a walk through the gardens and grounds, which are renowned for their collection of Snowdrops. I think it was the first time I have ever actually seen those Snowdrops against a background of (admittedly thawing) snow. The stand of Silver Birch trees looks beautiful in every season.

As we walked along the lode by the mill, we caught sight of a flash of electric blue. This could only mean one thing: a Kingfisher, my first of the season, and sure enough we were granted a second look as the bird darted into the trees along the bank. It was too fast for our cameras, so here is 'one I prepared earlier', a Kingfisher photograph from 2016...

There was very little in the way of breeze despite temperatures hovering around 0 degrees centigrade. But there must have been a ripple to make these marbled reflections.

This scene brought back my 1960s childhood ... It is always a joy to see a bank of spring flowers.

And here's a close-up of one of the Snowdrop species.

We are always drawn to this Tibetan Cherry tree with its lustrous sheen. It reminds me of the one at Dryburgh Abbey in Scotland, last resting place of Sir Walter Scott.

More Aconites...

I decided to take an off-centre photo this time in the grove of Himalayan Silver Birch...

Snowdrops under what I think is a Corkscrew Hazel or Corylus avellana contorta... It's other name seems to be Harry Lauder's walking stick.

More Snowdrops...

There is not a lot that is wild about this clump of Dogwood twigs, but the clump blazed like a bonfire in the winter sunlight.

I think this may be my first insect picture on the blog for 2019. I have seen a few flies and queen bumbles about, but it was a joy to catch this bee at work.

Witch Hazel is always one of the first shrubs we see in flower...

More Aconites...

   

...and Snowdrops. 

Sunshine on snow...

 

The Garden in Winter

In case we don't get any more snow for a while, I thought I should post a few wintry photos. They were all taken yesterday morning...  Do we think this is a Blackbird? 

Snow on the ground, frost in the air...

I wonder if there are any overwintering Ladybirds in the insect hotel...

Star of the show, heading for the coconut feeders...

I feel this view has come a month late (or eleven months early)... The car thermometer registered -6 degrees centigrade yesterday morning.

Keep warm!

Mystery pawprints left by the Beast from the East

Although we live in a suburban area, we have seen (largely Muntjac) deer on occasions making their way across the roads or down the footpaths. We have never seen a deer in our garden.

I peered outside on Saturday and saw these strange prints. Reason tells me they belong to visiting cats, but they have a distinctive hoof print feel about them with that rim around the edge. However, when I looked up deer tracks, they did not seem to match. If they are feline paw prints, I guess the snow must have melted in a particular kind of way. I wonder what you think...

Winter Wonderland for St David's Day

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!

  

When we lived in Swansea I remember wondering whether our Daffodils would be in flower for 1st March. Sometimes we saw small Daffodil buds at Aberglasney as early as November, a fact I find hard to believe these days. I suspect the milder climate in South Wales has something to do with this, but there may be other factors to consider such as global warming and the species of Daffodil bulb.

Like the Grey Squirrel photo below, the picture above was taken in our Suffolk garden yesterday: I fear today's snow will have covered up the Daffodil stem by now.