Cock O' The North

A bitterly cold but bright walk at Holyfield Farm. We saw geese on the skyline, deer on the hill and a mini murmuration of starlings round the pylons.

Afterwards we went into Longlands Hide. A friendly birder told me that a  brambling had been seen. It eventually returned and I was thrilled to see it as I've never got a decent shot of one. These birds are winter migrants from Scandinavia, their favourite food is beech mast.

The peanuts that the birders had put out attracted a jay. I photographed a French partridge in the green manure haulms and a pair of Canada geese in a hailstorm. (Extras) One of the birders lent me his binoculars so that I could see a flock of barnacle geese grazing in the distance.