Ice crystal patterns in the frost on a car roof this morning

Birds at Cuckmere Haven yesterday: Canada geese, cormorants, little grebes, house sparrows, pied wagtail, robins, meadow pipet, egrets and herons, teal and stonechat.

It was a cold day and a fine muddy walk along the river.

Click on any picture to enlarge and scroll though.

Canada geese

Little grebes

Cormorant (European race sinensis ?)

House Sparrow

View to the coastguard cottages

Meadow Pipet on concrete post

One brave paraglider

Heron

Little Egret

Stonechat

Stonechat

Teal

Teal in flight

A gentle walk round Shabden Park, Surrey with Paraqueets and Long-tailed tits.

At http://www.ifootpath.com/wrapper?walkID=2412 is an excellent (and high tech') description of this walk, which there is no point for me to duplicate.

Today, bright, sunny and cold, the walk was accompanied by screeching parakeets high in the trees by this meadow.

They are colourful, noisy and alien.

We walked a slightly different, shorter route, south of the Star hill road with fine views to Banstead woods...

...and the meadow which boasts many native orchid in summer: Common Twayblades and Common-spotted Orchids.

At this point, this day, however, and in delightful contrast with the screeching parakeets and alarm calls of blackbirds, we heard the high-pitched, monotone piping of a flock of Long-tailed tits, high in the trees.

 Out of focus yes, but joyous to see a flock of these tiny birds after a sub-zero Celsius cold night.

Flock of twenty Ring-necked Parakeets in Surrey today.

 Ring-necked Parakeets are native to Indian jungles, farms and cities and are considered pests for the damage caused to crops.  Click on any picture to expand it.

 This one, above seemed to have a taste for bricks and mortar on this suburban Surrey house today.

 They are colourful but what is the effect of a flock of twenty birds flying around?

 Cold winters do not seem to affect them and their population continues to grow, competing with native birds for nesting sites.

Sparrowhawk at RSPB Pulborough Brooks, Wiggonholt Heath

After seeing a Peregrine falcon on the wetlands: (see http://sussexrambler.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/peregrine-falcon-at-rspb-pulborough.html

for more pictures of that),

the adjacent Wiggonholt Heath was explored.

This is a site to visit in summer for the dragonflies.  For now, I walked up the hill and behind the ancient burial mound.

Handsome Highland cattle roam freely on the Heath to keep the scrub under control.

A Kestrel flew into a clump of pines and fortunately posed for some minutes on the branch highlighted above, before it flew off.

For a public speaker on natural history and history, please see my website at  www.peterlovetttalks.co.uk   

Peregrine falcon at RSPB Pulborough Brooks this afternoon

 A long way off was a falcon.

 When a Sparrow hawk flew overhead, which I photographed later in the forest.

 From a hide nearer to the falcon.. although still a long way off,

 it took to flight.  Click on any picture to enlarge.

 Should you wish to see more pictures of natural history from an acclaimed public speaker, please see www.peterlovetttalks.co.uk by clicking the link.