20 March, 2018

There's No Business Like Snow Business


One day soon I will stop with the puns - at least the snowy ones.

There will be multiple posts [oh yes], so quake with fear and where shall we start?


Let's see..
Monday saw a white dawn, with about another 8cm having fallen overnight [that's 20cm plus - oh dear oh dear]. Getting to work wasn't going to happen - my car was snowed in and the buses weren't running! I suppose I could have taken inspiration from the snowboarders and cross-country skied [walking would have met chest-deep drifts in the way, as I've since learned]; if I had cross-country skis, and could ski. And was utterly mad.

So, what to do? Make sure the birdies coming to my little skygarden were ok, then get back to the Nose with some more Mipit-friendly rations!


Weather; "Snow? Moi?"

The day before the equinox, folks.

 
Big waves

This task was duly done - with some applied on the way for a poor Chiffchaff [hey, they might take mealworms and or suet pellets, right?] desperately rooting by IMD - and a good thing too, as 'about a half dozen' had become 'more than 14'.

Shaded Mipit
 
Sunned Mipit
 

 
 


And they weren't alone! Yes, in wonderful circumstances I have found my first Wheatear of the year - well, it flew over me after being startled by Mrs. Kestrel, but 'tis close enough!

There were also gulls. Quite a lot of gulls. And in a dramatic turn around, close in where over the weekend [oh yes, you haven't properly had this yet.. :) ] were 'orrid Herrings and other Big Nasty Things, there were hordes of Common Gulls! I counted 49 in one pass of the mass off the Sole, with more dotted about elsewhere. I suppose field gulls like them have to move to the sea when said fields are under a whole lot of snow.

One Herring Gull
 
Gulls were all along the shoreline

Not just Common Gulls

But they did photo wonderfully
[look at that wing]

Beautiful wing,
shame about the gull..!

Lots of gulls


Not just birds on photo - here are a couple of other images of interest;

Who leaves tracks like these?

And indeed who leaves these?

There is be more to come, including the inevitable LTTs looking utterly cute in snowy garden shots, so beware be prepared.


Annnd finally, this persisted despite all the sun, so I just had to;

 Those gulls are getting very big..


Be Seeing You..



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