Frosty birch

A sharp frost this morning - I actually had to put my gloves on for the early morning dog walk. The Boardwalks was very quiet and still - I took a number of photos, but especially liked the effect of the morning light catching the yellowing birch leaves and brown catkins. The birch seeds are an important food source for siskins and redpolls later in the winter, and it looks as though there is a good crop. Other pictures from my walk can be seen here.

While out on my walk I noticed lots of wasps out feeding on the ivy blossom, even though the air temperature was only about 4 degrees celsius and there was still frost on the grass. They must be very hardy creatures. I also saw the first flock of fieldfares flying high over the garden - always exciting.