Coldest yet

It was SOOOOO cold yesterday morning - maximum of -9 degrees. Ouch. The early thrushes actually had hoar frost visible on their tail feathers.

The big wildlife news was actually on the reserve today, however. Five successive bitterly cold nights at the Lapwing Hide (punctuated only by a temporary scare with a Goosander which showed some featrues of Common Merganser) finally did the business - not one but TWO Blashfrd ticks. The minor one was a redhead Red-breasted Merganser in with the very distant Goosanders on the only open bit of water in the middle of the lake. But the major one was a new species for the reserve - a superb LONG-EARED OWL flew in from the left, perched briefly on the post in front of the hide, and then vanished into the darkness! Below is the world's worst photo of any bird. Clearly, all the necessary ID features are there for you to enjoy.....