Go to the final entry on this page .....Go to previous entry1 February - A bright, sunny start to the new month, with a temperature of 2C as we approach noon, and the ponds almost completely ice-bound, apart from a couple of spots where the birds have accessed the water.
4 February - The cold, dry spell continues. This morning it was -5C in the garden at 9am, with Farnborough airfield having recorded -9C an hour earlier. At 3pm, and under grey skies the temperature here is now a couple of degrees above freezing as we await for a promised snowfall to occur after dusk, perhaps continuing through much of the night. If the forecasters have got their prediction correct it could mean at least a few inches of snow by tomorrow morning. I see that our road has already received a sprinkling of salt and grit - that will spoil prospects of Sunday morning sledging on the hill! We had our grand-daughters with us this morning, and at lunchtime the eldest one had her first look at a Sparrowhawk when a female swooped into the garden and perched briefly on the water bath. There was a 'waw' moment for the little girl as the hawk spread its wings and flew down the garden.
For me, the bird watching highlight of the morning came when I spotted something different at the niger seed feeder. I think it's a Lesser Redpoll, although I'm happy to be corrected on that. And whichever Redpoll it is it's a first for the garden! Unfortunately, I was only able to grab a few rushed pictures before a Robin landed on the bird table, saw the Redpoll and chased it off. I shall be watching out for its return.
5 February - This morning the skies are grey, there is snow on the ground, but with the temperature above freezing that has been thawing since first light.
The snow started falling before dusk yesterday, but it was very fine - a snow version of drizzle! The top two pictures were taken at 5pm and 10pm and although the snowfall was continuous very little had fallen. I looked out again soon after 10pm and it seemed that the snow was heavier, but by this morning I don't think much more than a couple of centimetres had fallen overnight.
The snowy conditions have encouraged a slight increase in bird activity in the garden with up to ten Goldfinches here, as well as four Chaffinches (as usual these remain at the far end of the garden), six Wood Pigeons and five Starlings (we usually only get one or two these days).
and the first Blackcap of the year, which spent a few minutes tucking in to Rowan berries before disappearing once more. There was no sign of the Redpoll this morning.
The Jays returned, although they seemed reluctant to descend to the snow-covered ground (where the peanuts were hidden from sight). They are not interested in the alternative supply of peanuts in the tall feeder (foreground of photograph).
One eventually flew down to a spot out of sight from me. It must have tasted something, perhaps a rotting apple, because it soon flew up onto the caravan shelter to wipe its beak in the snow.
Within seconds of the Jay leaving that spot a Magpie arrived, presumably to see what had attracted the Jay. With only snow in sight that visit was very brief.
Showing these two birds in separate photographs makes a comparison of sizes difficult, but with them having landed at more or less the same spot I thought I'd merge the images.
Unfortunately, the Jay is at a somewhat oblique and to the camera and the Magpie is a couple of inches closer to the camera (which was something like 40ft away), so the comparison isn't quite as good as it could be.
By the early afternoon bird activity had all but ceased.
6 February - A grey, very dull day with the snow thawing as the daytime temperature hovers around 3C.
I wouldn't normally include a photograph as poor as this. However, it's here because the image of the right leg makes me think that the bird had been ringed. I can only hope that it will return so that I can confirm if this the case.
The thaw means that both ponds now have a liquid surface. However, this picture of a female Blackbird standing and bathing makes it clear that there is still an ice layer just below the surface. Normally the water depth at that spot is between 10-15cm.
The Jay saga continues (sorry about even more photographs). Conditions had improved enough for the pair to head for the ground this morning,
where they had to share the chopped peanuts with Wood Pigeons, giving me a chance to compare these two species. In my guide the pigeon is given as having a length of 38-43cm against the Jay's 32-35cm.
Finally, this picture of a Jay hopping rather than flying from one stone to another has provided an opportunity to see something of the wing markings and the white rump patch around the base of the tail feathers.
10 February - A busy few days since that last entry, and also a quiet one in the garden with just one visit by the Jays and no winter visitors, until today. The snow that fell on Saturday night (4th-5th) had mostly disappeared by Tuesday, although with temperatures during the rest of the week not rising above 1C some small white patches have remained in the garden all week. Then, last night, as the temperature headed below zero again, snow started falling again around 10pm. This time, instead of the fine snow of last weekend, there were moderately sized flakes. It soon appeared that this was going to be a heavier snowfall.
This morning as I looked out for the first time the scene was nearly worthy of a Christmas card, with branches and leaves crowned with snow, and flat surfaces out in the open had a covering rather more than an inch in depth. However, looks can be deceptive - the snow layer was 'fluffy' and light in density, compared with the snow of last weekend, and I think that had been a heavier fall.
When I opened the bedroom curtains at 8am it wasn't just the snow that caught my eye. In the Rowan was the first Fieldfare that I've seen here this Winter. It was tucking in to some berries.
The arrival of one of 'our' Robins on the Hawthorn didn't quite provide the ideal Christmas card picture, but I liked the way it managed to knock off just the two small sections of snow where its feet landed.
At the moment the male Robin seems to getting quite exercised by the courtship behaviour of the Dunnocks. Over the last four days a pair of Dunnocks have spent much of their time going round and round the lower branches of the Hawthorn, with lots of wing displaying by the male.
11 February - A bright and sunny day, but very cold. At 9am it was close to -6C in the garden, having dipped to -8C earlier (Farnborough recorded -9C). It was still -5C at 10am, but as the sun rose over the rooftops it crept up to +1C by noon. The sunshine even managed to melt some of the snow still standing on the ice covered pond, although soon after 2pm I noticed that this was already re-freezing. Tonight at 8pm the temperature outside is -3C. First jobs of the day were to make sure that there was water in the bird bath, that the feeders were topped up, and to scatter chopped peanuts and other bits. However, the day remained remarkably quiet in the garden, and apart from the usual Sparrows, Blue Tits, Starlings, Robins, Dunnocks, Collared Doves and Wood Pigeons, the only 'visitor' that I saw was a single Magpie that perched for a few seconds on the rim of the bird bath, without taking a drink. In fact, I only saw a couple of Sparrows drink from the bath during the day.
Yesterday I forgot to mention that on the 7th I finally got around to hanging up some apples at the bottom of the garden. I have yet to see any birds at them, although a couple of the apples show signs of something having been nibbling at them. And I have yet to see anything visit the peanut feeder since I filled it on Christmas Eve.
12 February - Indoors the day started off with a power cut that lasted for about three hours before dawn. Outside, the temperature was again below freezing to start with (-3C at 8am). However, soon after 9am we could see water dripping off the awning, and by the early afternoon the temperature had risen to 4C despite complete cloud cover, bringing to an end this latest cold spell. The forecast suggests no more frosts over the next week, and highs of 8C are possible. It was another quiet day in the garden. For example there were only a few visits by Goldfinches, with no more than two here at any one time.
I did see one visit by a single Jay, when it appeared under the Hawthorn to feed on chopped peanuts scattered there, and I had the chance to grab a couple of images, albeit with the bird in deep shade.
That last picture reminds me that a few days ago (the 7th) I took another picture of a Jay under the Hawthorn. On that occasion it turned its head to show more clearly how the pinkish-brown feathers at the sides of the head can stick up slightly, although I understand that it is the black and white crown feathers that can be raised when the Jay displays.
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