A warm mild day bringing signs of spring....

A male Reed Bunting singing from the top of the bullrushes....

and buds unfolding....

Some quiet fishing was going on at one end of the pool today....

and some mud trawling at the other end.....

while a pair of mallards were exploring a ditch...

Well, it was a bit of a surprise seeing this flying low over the pool today...

but we didn't let it spoil our lunch!!...

These stonechats keep popping up everywhere!!  This one has bolder colours....

Round the edge a Reed Bunting is very interested in the reed heads... eating seeds or collecting nest lining maybe?

And on the pool, one of the juvenile swans came home for a bath...

while Mr Heron watches from the mudflats....

Well there is plenty of activity down on the pool today, despite it being so cold....

There seem to be two stonechat territories,  - one at the back of the pool and the south meadow....

and one between the pool and the river and across onto the north meadow ....

blue tits are inspecting a nesting box ...

a song thrush is looking for grubs...

and a goldfinch pauses a moment on his endless search for food...

but it is oh so cold on the pool for the little blackheads gulls and moorhen ...

The heron is back.... with lovely new slender legs....

and the moorhens are enjoying the mud flats....

And hanging out together in the hedgerow by the pool today....

Mr Bullfinch (very flash) .....

and Mrs Bullfinch (not so flash) ....

Teal on the pool (little duck relatives with 'go faster' eye stripes) ...

and a simple but beautiful Meadow Pipit .....

Today I spotted my elusive friend, the Snipe, (usually only seen flying off erratically) ...

And there is snow on Bredon ... Brrr

Wow, a lot of reed cutting has gone on ....

but change brings opportunity ...

Wren wars rage on the reed stack ....

A Pied Wagtail enjoys the marshlands ...

But the Common Reed still stands tall and beautiful ...

Who pulled the plug out?!  The water has gone out of my pool!!...

But it doesn't bother this bluetit enjoying the bullrushes....

or this Kingfisher, checking out the pool edge....

Oh, so cold today, with much of the pool frozen over...

Mallards in the sunlight....

some black headed gulls and a couple of coots stepping out... cautiously...

but the frost on the canary grass and bullrushes was magical....

Jenny wren exploring the base of a tree ....

The Abbey across the meadow ....

One of the Redwings that we see in the hedges and on the meadow at this time of year...

A robin enjoying the bright sunshine today...

Though it's bright, it feels wintery on the pool...

but eating is always an urgent task and here a young heron and swan are enjoying some company while searching for food...

while an adult heron plays peek-a-boo out in the field.......

Hey, they are building a new walkway so all my fans can come and see me on the pool!!

A small bunch of Teal keep popping in to see me too...

And a big flock of geese fly over every day making a lot of honking!

But then I spotted a little flock of Linnets sunning themselves in the tree - they are a lot quieter!

The winter visitors have been arriving.... a Fieldfare...

a Redwing...

and lots of Starlings come from Russia & Scandinavia to swell our numbers... 

and every evening we have "Starlingfest" before they settle to sleep in the reeds!

But there is still room for our residents.... a Chaffinch enjoying berries...

and a song thrush ...

a Buzzard watching from his perch...

and Mrs and Mrs Stonechat playing 'Upstairs Downstairs'...