A Day of Snow…

I awoke this morning to the results of 8 hours of snowfall. The slight recent thaw had been engulfed, several inches of snow covering the garden, the car and of course the roads. We were once again cut off from the outside world, roads impassable.

I looked out through the window at just after 7.30am. It was still snowing, and a magpie was perched at the rear of the garden. And then I saw the dog fox. 😀 The light was poor, I was indoors, and so there's no photo. He looked great though and was darting back and forth with the peanuts and sultanas that were on the ground and have become a favourite for the birds. And each time he stepped away, the magpie dropped down to steal a morsel. The trail cam caught a few minutes, from which this sequence is taken.

With the snow still falling (it eventually stopped some time around 10.00), it was once again a day working from home. I did get some photos though.

A squirrel was eyeing up the bird feeder

The blue tits were flitting among the snow covered branches

Even a goldfinch showed up

As did a fieldfare (identification doubts, as ever, on this one)

The blackbird looked but didn't take

The sparrow had no such qualms

A female chaffinch perched, waiting for her mate

And the seagulls circled languidly overhead.

Tonight the thaw has started. You can hear it: the sound of snow falling away from the shrubs, and great lumps sliding from the more solid structures. The roads should be fine tomorrow, even my road which has been under a couple of inches of ice for most of the past week. A return to normality beckons.
Nature Blog Network
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 40D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

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This Post Has 10 Comments

  1. cakkleberrylane

    14 Jan 2010

    Wonderful shots as always. Our birds arrived today from the north, quite a few cardinals and sparrows. It's so great to see them again!

  2. gdare

    14 Jan 2010

    So many birds :faint: Still no snow here, only fog but at least temperatures are more usual for winter :left:

  3. Words

    14 Jan 2010

    Lois, it's always heartening to see the seasonal arrivals again. For me the highlight was the fieldfare. They are notoriously shy and only come near gardens when times are tough out there.

  4. Words

    14 Jan 2010

    Darko, the weather has brought them flocking to gardens. The weather is returning to normal here as well, so it's grey and overcast outside. Not so pretty, but more practical!

  5. SittingFox

    14 Jan 2010

    That's a fieldfare – 100% sure on that. Nice photos, especially the gull :up: We had snow yesterday too, and I thought better of attempting to brave the trains. It's melting now though; it was raining this morning.

    As for the video…magpies! :rolleyes: :bandit:

  6. Flying Red Fox Blog

    14 Jan 2010

    Wow nice vid and music and lovelly photos of the Bluetit in the snow :yes: The Snow is nearly all gone now but was fun while it lasted.

  7. Words

    14 Jan 2010

    Mark, I'm really pleased to have got some daylight footage, and with the magpie. There's still snow out on the hills, but it's mostly gone on the roads. As long as we don't get a freeze it will soon be a memory.

  8. Words

    14 Jan 2010

    Adele, the fieldfares seem to be out in number here. I've seen reports of waxwings in Sussex, but have yet to catch sight of one. Wise to avoid the train yesterday… they had more or less stopped running and most people I've spoken to gave up.

    Magpies… always magpies!

  9. Words

    15 Jan 2010

    Thanks Erwin!

  10. Wulpen

    19 Oct 2012

    Beautiful photos

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