Landing gear down

How nice of the weather to give us a little respite from the rain so that I/we could enjoy my/our first U3A Birdwatching outing of the year.  Only 3 of the expected 11 turned out, probably because of the dodgy weather forecast, but we 3 had a great morning walking round the Mere at Ellesmere where we spotted:

2 Swans
Lots of Mallard
Black Headed Gulls
Geese:  Greylags, Canadas, Pinkfoot
5 pairs of Goosander Ducks
Lots of Tufted Ducks 
Coot and Moorhen
A  Grebe fishing*
1 Mandarin*
A flock of those beautiful little Long Tailed Tits
2 Tree Creepers
Wrens
1 Robin and
Several Squirrels
and lots of dogs: a Whippet/poodle cross puppy  especially gorgeous.

To end A's first Birdwatching Group we had a welcome coffee in the Visitor Centre and watched the first sight of Herons nest building on the live webcam.

I also had my first sighting of Snowdrops.