Cold and misty early, hot and sunny later.
Plenty of birds singing now. Our resident cock Blackbird is certainly letting everyone know that he is about. There is a Robin singing almost all day long, I guess he must stop to feed at times. There are several pairs of Hedge Sparrows in the garden and you can usually hear one singing. I'm sure that one pair are nest building near the house, although I haven't found a nest yet. Wrens have nested in the Ivy covering a fence in past years, so may do so again. There are definitely Jackdaws busy in one of our chimneys.
I watched some Jays this morning, searching under oak trees,no doubt looking for acorns that had been hidden during the autumn. Magpies have been busy nest building, or at least adding to last years remaiders. Some of them are becoming quite enormous, nests that is, not the birds.
Blue and Great Tits seem to abound, so much so that they appear to be the only birds about at times. Starlings seemed to be much in evidence today after going some days without seeing any. Greenfinch numbers seem to have picked up here and Goldfinches are very numerous.
Plenty of squirrels around today and rabbits, including youngsters. A Peacock butterfly was also sighted this morning just sunning itself on the ground.

Showery with cold northerly wind.
Dog walking this morning showed plenty of birdlife but nothing unusual. The chimney Jackdaws seem to be busy bringing sticks so are obviously intent on nest building there again. Magpies and Jays always let you know when they are about as do the Crows and Ravens which are always to be seen in the fields to the rear of home.
There do seem to be many more Song Thrushes about at the moment but they are much shyer than the Blackbirds which abound. Two Mistle Thrushes seen again on the local football pitch. If I keep walking they usually stay on the ground but if I stop to have a better look they take off and head for tall trees somewhere close at hand. Long Tailed Tits seem to have paired off because I no longer see these in large groups, only pairs. Blue and Great Tits are still plentiful especially on the feeders which abound round the village. Wood Pigeons, I believe are already nesting but Collared Doves will be following shortly.
Robins, Wrens and Hedge Sparrows all seem to be plentiful, especially in the garden. They all can be heard singing almost all day long. The local Buzzards can also be heard calling away during most of the day. If you step outside the door you can mostly hear a Buzzard calling. House Sparrows are also plentiful but mostly at the other end of the road.
The highlight of the day came this afternoon when a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker flew into the Whitebeam tree at the roadside in our Garden. What a delight, the first I have seen for some years.

Cold, wet and windy.
Some weeks since I added to this blog. I have made a visit to the RSPB site at Newport Wetlands and called in at the New Fancy feeders on a few occasions.
Not much in the way of unusual birds around the village. A pair of Mistle Thrushes are frequently seen at various sites, either feeding on the football pitch or or one of the small paddocks about here.They often give their alarm call and fly off into cover. Even today there were two Redwings feeding in one paddock with two Song Thrushes and three Blackbirds. A pair of Buzzards were very vocal flying over towards the Forest this morning. Wrens, Robins and Hedge Sparrows were all singing in the garden today. The hedge at the end of the garden showed some Greenfinches, Goldfinches and a pair of Woodpigeons which seem to be nesting in some Ivy. A Long Tailed Tit was seen with a beakful of nesting material. Great Tits and Blue Tits seem to be in evidence everywhere.
At the New Fancy feeders there are always a good mix of the tit family.There usually seem to be about 50 Chaffinches with a few Bramblings amongst them. The lone Hawfinch is often seen but not on every visit. Four Siskins were on the feeders on my last visit.
On a recent visit to the Newport Wetland Centre there was a large flock of Goldfinches on the feeders near the visitor centre accompanied by a pair of Reed Buntings and a few Greenfinches. The water outside this centre was patrolled by a Little Egret which was not at all put out by the frequent human visitors.
Further away from the Centre we saw Tufted Duck, Pochard, with Curlews out on the mudflats.

Mild but cloudy day. Some sun later.
A fair day for birdlife with a good variety on show today.
Three Buzzards were circling over the house this morning making a lot of noise as they did so. On my walk around the village today Crow, Magpie, Jay and Jackdaws all put in an appearance. Great Tits, Long tailed and Blue Tits were all busy in the shrubs and small trees that I passed. Only one Fieldfare in the orchard with a couple of Blackbirds and a Chaffinch keeping it company. Woodpigeons and Collared Doves seem to be everywhere making a lot of noise as they went about their business.
A single Nuthatch was seen in a neighbouring garden. Robin, Wren and Hedgesparrow all put in an appearance in the garden together with Greenfinches and Siskins. A Song Thrush was singing well in the bottom hedge this morning competing well with the resident Blackbird. Highlight of the day was a Goldcrest flitting about the hedge at the end of the garden. A Pied Wagtail put in several visits to the house roof whilst I was gardening.

Frosty overnight, followed by a grey day.
The lamb pictured is the first to be born to one of the street sheep that frequent the village. You do have to slow down when you are driving about as they are very inclined to stroll out into the road just as traffic is approaching.
Very quiet on the bird watching front today. Several Song Thrushes were seen along with one Fieldfare and two Chaffinches feeding in the orchard that I pass when dog walking. The oak wood revealed about dozen Blackbirds, two Jays and a large number of Woodpigeons. A Buzzard soared over the tree tops in the Forest and two Greenfinches sang from the top of a large Leylandii hedge. Robins trilled their mournful winter song from numerous trees and bushes as I passed. House sparrows seemed to be very busy and Great and Blue Tits were also much in evidence.

Snow overnight. Thawed well all day.
Quiet morning around the village today. Robins, Wrens and Hedgesparrows all singing well in the garden this morning along with the resident cock Blackbird. Plenty of Woodpigeons and Collared doves flying about from Forest to fields and back again. A good mix of Blue and Great Tits with a few Longtailed keeping them company. Jays always seem to have a lot to say for themselves and they were having their say this morning. Some of the local Jackdaws are very interested in one of our chimneys, I expect they will nest there, as usual.
A visit to Cannop this afternoon revealed a lot of different species. A Buzzard flew across No. 2 pond while there was an abundance of waterfowl in attendance. Two Mute swans came to see us first, followed by a multitude of Mallards. Two drake Mandarins were accompanied by one duck. There were four Tufted duck drakes and two females out on the water and one Greylag goose. At the feeders there were generous numbers of tits, Blue, Great, Longtailed and Coal. A few Chaffinches and Blackbirds were feeding on the floor accompanied by a cock Reed Bunting. On the walk back to the car one Grey Wagtail came to the edge of the pond and was feeding very close to me. There was plenty of water flowing out towards the other pond, due no doubt to all the melting snow.

Snowy, cold but bright.
Very quiet on the bird front here over the last few days but quite a bit of snow making it treacherous underfoot on the side roads. All the usual birds have been in evidence but mostly in small quantities.
Several Greater Spotted Woodpeckers and Nuthatches were seen in the woods, with two Fieldfares feeding on windfall apples.
A journey further afield was called for as the village was only yielding sightings of all the normal suspects. New Fancy was first call, no Hawfinch but a large quantity of Chaffinches were under the feeders as were about six Robins flitting from place to place. The feeders were occupied by loads of tits. Great, Blue, Coal and Longtailed were all to be seen.
A visit to Cannop followed with the following being seen on the water, Mute Swan, Mallard, Mandarin, Coot and Moorhen. Nothing unexpected there then. The feeders were swarming with birds. Great, Blue, Coal and Longtailed Tits were all feeding well in good quantities as were a large flock of Chaffinches, both sexes, about equal in number. Two Reed Bunting cocks and one hen were feeding for a long spell as were Robins and a single Nuthatch. Other visitors were one Song Thrush, several Blackbirds, a Treecreeper which confined itself to the small tree trunks and a Grey Wagtail. An interesting hour or so in the snowy Forest.
During an evening walk with the dog, one Rabbit ran across in front of us, the first seen for some time. Normally they are about all day long, here. Tracks in the snow showed Rabbits all over the place, with both a Fox and Deer having visited the oak wood that I pass through.