Merry Christmas!!

A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my followers. I hope you all have a very restful and peaceful time. Thank you for all your comments and the time you take to view my images. It's nice to know that others enjoy them as much as I enjoy taking them.

I look forward to bringing you more blogs and ramblings in the new year. 

Is it Spring yet?

More good sunlight at Redesmere meant I could get some good views of the Goosander flock that had been around for a week or two. I do like watching these birds as they move along the waters edge often with their heads under the surface. The males have a lovely green head, while the females have a reddish head. They're one of the highlights of the Autumn/Winter months on the local rivers and lakes.

Female Goosander

Male on the right

A nice comparison of the male and female together.

A smart looking male.

In a wooded area, I hid myself away hoping to get some good views of the Jays and Nuthatches, but I was joined by this very good looking Great Spotted Woodpecker. It came down quite low and was doing some foraging on the bark of this branch.

Fun in the Sun

Last weekend was particularly cold, with three nights of frost that did not thaw out during the daytime. We were then blessed with some really good sunshine. A cold sunny day always has me excited to get outside and see what's about. 

It was a hat, snood, and gloves type of day, but that also means that the birds and wildlife are all actively seeking out food, which can make it easier to see some of the more shy species. 

It was a lovely morning, which seems to have been followed by a week of rain, with more to come this weekend. Oh well, not much I can do about it, but look back at what's out there with these pictures.

Coal Tit

Jay. Not a bird that is easily brought down from the safety of the trees.

Mallards in flight.

This pair were braving the ice on Redesmere. It was about 60% covered, which did push some of the birds like Goldeneye, Goosander and Pochard a bit closer to me than normal.

Pochard

Cormorant over two Tufted ducks.

Pied Flycatcher

The local Pied Flycatchers have done very well this year. In previous years I've struggled to find pairs, but I had no such issues this year. There were good numbers around the various sites and this bodes well for some good numbers fledging. It could have been the good warm dry weather that we had for around six weeks at just the right time in Spring. Fingers crossed that the first brood managed to get good amounts of food and left the nest healthy.