Branches and berries

A major report was submitted yesterday afternoon, so I took advantage of a couple of free hours this morning to visit Old Sulehay. A gentle meander round the quarry and wood gave my brain a much needed break from writing and Zoom committees. 

When I arrived there was a light frost in the shady corners, but where the sun had reaches there were a myriad of shining droplets. Fieldfare and redwing were feeding on the berries, but both were very wary and kept their distance. Lovely to see and hear them, particularly the gentle contact calls of the redwings,

The forest is now looking very wintry, with dying bracken and mosses providing the main sources of colour, though I was excited to see my first hazel catkins. I stood for a while, entranced by a mixed flock of small birds, foraging in the trees around me - blue and long-tailed tits were in the majority, but I also saw and heard nuthatch, treecreeper and goldcrest. 

In the afternoon I drove up to Leicestershire for a socially distanced work meeting. It's the first time I've had a face-to-face meeting round a table (admittedly a very large table) for a long time, but it felt okay. Hopefully it'll bring some exciting opportunities for next year which will lead to long term improvement of the estate's natural capital.