One of Turner's gentler skies

I was out early, visiting Dogsthorpe Star Pit to see if I could catch up with the very confiding Ring Ouzel that was there over the weekend. I had a lovely walk in the in the frost, with good views of Lesser Redpoll and Bulfinch, and I heard a Cetti's Warbler, the first of the year. But I think the Ring Ouzel had moved on. I eventually met up with several other local birdwatchers, none of whom had managed to see it, but it was good to chat with them.

I spent the middle of the day working on reports, and then went out again to visit a local site where I'm drafting  management proposals for a village nature recovery plan. The site visit didn't take long, so I stopped at Etton-Maxey NR on the way home to watch the sun set. It was a rather subtle Turneresque affair - the Starlings that were murmurating last week have also clearly moved on - no great surprise as we're coming to the end of the season. I'd forgotten to take my gloves, so finally admitted defeat after about twenty minutes, when the wind chill had frozen my fingers!

We had a delicious dinner tonight - a butternut squash and black bean tortilla bake.  Real comfort food for a chilly evening.