Yesterday the thaw came. When I ventured out of the house at lunchtime yesterday it was almost warm! There was still snow on the ground but it was getting slushy.
The garden bird count was much lower – an experience it seems of many of us. The Fieldfares had gone back to the fields; there were fewer Reed Buntings and fewer finches. The species count went down to 18 species from 23. We were back to normal. It was fun while it lasted.
So, roll on the first Chiffchaffs, Swallows and Wheatears! Or is there more winter to come?
This morning at Stanwick Lakes there were still some tiny patches of snow and some of the lakes, the more sheltered ones, were still frozen, but here too things were back to normal.
I was probably extra-sensitive to those species that I know are susceptible to cold weather – and I didn’t record any of Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest or Cetti’s Warbler which is slightly unusual, and my first Wren and Green Woodpecker were towards the end of my walk rather than cropping up well before that. But that’s just one visit – I expect that I’ll be deafened by Wrens next time i’m thee, and I will be listening out for singing Chiffchaffs on sunny days too.
It’s worth having a look at this programme on iPlayer – partly a repeat of a programme from 1963 on that massive freeze-up and partly a discussion by Chris Packham on the impacts of cold weather, especially snow on the ground for prolonged periods, on our wildlife. I was heading for my 5th birthday in 1963 and I can remember there being lots of snow, but the TV coverage was quite a reminder and eye-opener for me too. And it was a walk back into memories to see the likes of Cliff Michelmore, Kenneth Allsop and Derek Hart on the TV – those accents! those clothes! those cars!
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I’m missing my Fieldfares, Redwings and extra Blackbirds, along with the ground and tree bird politics. Most aggressive bird award goes to a female Blackcap – a pair have overwintered in my garden for a few years. House Sparrows have made a comeback locally, which is great, but I’ve noticed a drop in Goldfinch numbers locally this winter.
I am Herefordshire today (near Leominster) and at lunchtime heard and saw a skylark singing. There’s still snow on the roadside verges and in patchily over the fields but it clearly senses Spring…
Great programme on the 1963 winter. It makes three days of snow and frost, followed by a quick thaw seem very tame. Did anyone spot the name of Gladiator director Ridley Scott as Designer in the closing credits? How graphics have changed.
Allen – I did spot that! ‘unleash hell’.
Thelma and Louise too.
When the first flakes of snow fell on Boxing Day evening 1962 I was waiting for a 119 bus on Addington Road. Why? I never went in the Bromley direction at night. It’s bothering me, even now. Even after most of the snow had gone, black grit-encrusted patches marked lanes on the roads until March, and frost was deep in the ground so you could get a fork into it, delaying the preparation of Sweet Pea trenches