Cormorant rookery

After a sunny and frosty start, the clouds gathered quite quickly. As the boys were all in bed, I went for a morning walk round Holme Fen, where the highlight was the cormorant rookery. The birds nest in birch and willow trees on a couple of islands in the mere,  painting them white with their guano. The noise of the colony reverberated round the woodland, the braying of the displaying males competing with the high pitched calls of the hungry youngsters. Although I saw some chicks, many were clearly still sitting on eggs, as this one is.

This evening the boys are cooking dinner. The main course is a surprise, but Ben's busy making a Black Forest Gateau for dessert - cherries and chocolate are two of my favourite foods!!