A Goldcrest in Winter

It was a freezing night, and this morning the ice had formed patterns all across the ground. Memories of my smashed elbow from 2005 are still strong, and I never feel very good on the ice.

But of course, I till got a seven mile walk in today. I've been averaging 15,000 steps plus over the Christmas period, so hopefully I won't bloat out too much. Today I rocked over to Hawton through the fields, having taken a little trip through the cemetery first to see if any aconite was ready to join the earliest of the snowdrops.

There wasn't, but I saw a treecreeper low on a trunk, just beginning its spiral to the top, and on the same tree, a little goldcrest doing its best hummingbird impression among the twigs, belying its movements with the gentle twitches of the woodwork. I had no proper camera however.

The other bird to make its presence felt today was the linnet - or rather linnets. A flock of them in their winter get up scared up from the hedgerows as I walked along, always keeping about 30 metres ahead of me, apart from one chap who decided to let me have a good look at him. He had lost his red breast of course, but he was still a smart bird, proud in the sun.

Looked better than me. My old red beanie has become a very saggy number.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 28.12.17