Before the thaw

It was a beautiful, clear, frosty morning, and I should have gone out for an early walk, but somehow I couldn't quite work up the enthusiasm. Instead I had a mooch round the garden, admiring the patterns of frost crystals on mosses and leaves. Most of the crystals were rather small, and more or less cubic in form, but on this structure they were much better developed, resembling a flower.

Shortly after this the temperature rose and the sky clouded over, resulting in a rather grey, raw sort of day. I eventually went for a walk to Ferry Meadows at about 3 pm, but was unprepared for the crowds. It was good to see so many families enjoying the great outdoors, but a shame that quite a few didn't have much consideration for other walkers and cyclists. 

I'd been hoping that there would be some extra birds to add to my 2021 list - i did find a few additions (wigeon, gadwall, teal, grey heron and ring-necked parakeet) but most of the wetland birds were very sparse indeed, possibly because of the recent freeze,