Sunday 24th March

I left the house with snow falling.
The field in Kirkins held Fieldfare, Redwing, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Yellowhammer and on the little spring at the bottom of the field there was a pair of Grey Wagtails.
On Furnace pond there were the usual Great-crested Grebes, lone Coot and Moorhens.
These were joined by a Tufted drake a Kingfisher and a Mandarin drake.
There were a few gulls moving and I soon added Black-headed, Lesser Black-backed,Herring and best of all two Med Gulls, all going N/East.
In the alder wood I found Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker as well as Siskin and Goldfinch. There was a loose mixed flock which contained Blue, Great, Long-tailed and Coal tit and Treecreeper.
Back out on the Shirrenden side I found Stock Dove and Pheasant. A look across the lake produced a pair of Buzzards circling over the wood. As I was leaving a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker called from behind the boathouse.
In total 38 species were seen, not a bad total and one which still didn't contain any spring migrants.
When will this horrible cold weather end?