Ice, frost and sun

This morning I went to Queen's Head with the U3A Birdwatching Group.  It was sunny but there had been a hard frost overnight, the canal and this nature reserve lake were covered in ice.  Even the muddy towpath was frozen hard and was very slippery - two of us almost hit the deck!

There weren't many birds around - we thought that perhaps they were in gardens at the feeders. We enjoyed a walk and chat though.

We were surprised at the size of the new extension to Aston Locks Nature Reserve that is being constructed to provide a refuge for the plants and wildlife from the Montgomery Canal when it's restored to navigation.  At the moment it's a construction site but will hopefully be good when it's planted and naturalised.