Dropped in to the lake on the way home to see if anything had appeared. The lake held two pairs of Great-crested Grebes and three Tufted Ducks. Not much else to be seen so departed.
In the parking area I bumped into Dick, the bailiff, who told me that two anglers had flushed a Bittern at the weekend, so I decided to go home and get my scope.
On my return I went to the southern end of the lake to scan the reed beds but was unable to find anything so thought I'd stay until it got dark. As the light began to fade two pairs of Mandarins came in to roost and just when I had given up a noise to my right had me turning round to see the Bittern(77) fly from a small patch of reeds and drop into the reeds in the south east corner.Brilliant!!!I've seen a few at Furnace in previous years but these days they don't turn up as regularly as they used to.

This week had been a complete write-off due to the fact that I have been suffering with the flu since Monday and although I haven't been to work I hadn't really had the energy to get myself out of the house.
I've spent my time looking at the feeders in the garden and found that about ten Siskins have been coming in to fed with the many Goldfinches, up to six Greenfinches, five Chaffinches, twenty odd House Sparrows and a single Redpoll. Interestingly one of the male Siskins was carrying a pink colour ring on it's right leg(see photo)I hope to find out where this was ringed.

Today I did finally manage a walk around the patch and it started on a high note when I stepped out of the back door at 08.05 and saw five gulls coming straight over the house which comprised four black headeds and an adult Mediterranean Gull(75),a great garden tick!!the walk down Furnace Lane then produced a Peregrine going south. As I got to the lake a pair of Grey Wagtails dropped down the waterfall and a scan from the dam end found a pair of Mandarins sitting in the trees at the southern end.
The orchard produced Fieldfare, Redwing, Chaffinch and a Mistle thrush.
A walk into the Alder wood found a good flock of Siskin and singing Coal Tit and Treecreeper and a Nuthatch.Then came the call I had been hoping for, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker(76)and before long I was watching a female going about her business. As I was watching her a second bird called a bit further away but I couldn't locate it.Fantastic!! Theses are such exquisite little birds!
As I came back into the open ten Canada Geese then two more and a single flew overhead.
A last look to count the Great-crested Grebes(five) and a coot plus a Kingfisher and I decided to make my way  home. As I did a Buzzard circled low over the Alderwood.

This week has seen a few ducks appear on the lake. A short visit on Tuesday produced the first Tufted Duck (74) of the year. Yesterday I popped in on my way home from work and found five Teal (2 Drakes and three ducks), as well as three Coots, a pair of Mandarins, five Great-crested Grebes and two Kingfishers.
On this mornings walk it was noticeable that a lot of gulls were moving N/east, with counts of                   260 Black-headed, 14 Common, 10 Herring and 3 Lesser-black backed.
The lake held 16 Moorhens, 1 Coot, 5 Great-crested Grebes and 6 Goosanders(all redheads).There were very few winter thrushes about with just 5 Fieldfares and 2 Redwings seen plus a Mistle thrush.
The stream below the lake held a Grey Wagtail.

The weekend hasn't produced much of note although yesterday I had a hybrid Canada x Greylag on the lake. Five Mandarins flew over and a Grey Wagtail was on the waterfall.
The Alders held a flock of thirty Siskins and nine Lesser Redpolls. The Great-crested Grebe count was three and there was a single Kingfisher.In the early afternoon I had to drop my daughter in Tonbridge and on the way back found fifteen Waxwings eating rose hips in Vale Road.
Today's walk was abandoned when I reached the dam end as the fog was so thick I couldn't see anything although I could hear a Treecreeper singing.
Later on I had a quick walk down to the lake but found not a lot. I decided to watch the sky for a bit over Kirkin's farm. This produced six Buzzards circling together, which was great as I've only seen odd birds recently.

Despite the appalling weather on Sunday I went for a walk around Furnace Pond. This turned out to be a bit disappointing, not unsurprisingly. However  there was a flock of seventy plus Siskins in the alders with a mixed flock of Goldfinches and Chaffinches feeding beneath them.
The lake held a few Mallard and Moorhens as well as a Coot and a pair of Great-crested Grebes.
In the new orchard I had some great close views of a Buzzard feeding on earthworms on the ground.
The local kingfisher had been joined by another and they were chasing each other up and down the lake.
After a while I decided to give it best and go home to get dried out.
I sat watching the feeders in the garden and was treated to a pair of Siskins coming to the sunflower hearts.

In the afternoon I went for a walk around Share Farm,on the other side of the village, in the hope of adding Snipe. Which didn't happen. I did see a flock of twenty five Yellowhammers and four Skylarks as well as another Buzzard feeding on earthworms. Presumably these are easy pickings when the ground is so wet.
On to today, with the highlight being a redhead Goosander(73) on Furnace Pond.

A rather distant Goosander which I couldn't get close to.

With the change in the weather there seemed to be fewer birds around the patch on Saturday. The sun shone for a change and down at the lake a lot of the ice had at last melted.
On the water there was a single Great crested Grebe and  dozen Mallard. Twenty six Siskin were feeding in the alders with three Lesser Redpolls.
In the ditch running down the orchard there were three Linnet(70) feeding amongst the weeds. A pair of Sparrow hawks were circling over the orchard, which held forty Fieldfares and a kestrel was sitting on a post in the new orchard.
In the s/west corner a Water Rail called but remained unseen.
There were a few gulls going over with five species being seen(Common, Black-headed, Herring , Lesser black-backed and a single Great black-backed).
One of the Little Owl pair was sunning itself on the edge of the conifer plantation in Shirrenden. As I left the lake nine Mandarins(71) flew in and disappeared into the alder wood.
It was good to see that the local Kingfisher had made it through the cold snap.
I had a quick look on the lake on my way home from work this afternoon and was pleasantly surprised to find a smart drake Teal(72) in the south west corner.

I managed a short walk on the patch this morning. Once again it was cold and grey.My walk down to the lake didn't produce much of interest and a look from the dam end showed a distinct lack of bird-life.
I steeled myself to walk around the orchard which produced about 20 Fieldfares and a Mistle thrush.
At the bottom end of the lake I disturbed a pair of ducks which turned out to be Shovelers(69). They were decidedly flighty so I took a a couple of pictures from distance so as to not disturb them.

                                               Shoveler drake on Furnace Pond

                                              Pair of Shoveler
On a flowery note, the first Snow Drops have started to show themselves near Lake Cottage.

First Snow Drops

And in the garden this morning I have taken a leaf out of Warrens book and put some apples out for the birds which has paid dividends straight away with my first record of Fieldfare in the garden.