Signs of winter

Now that we are into December it seems appropriate to record four auguries of the winter to come, in no particular order.

Yesterday, the first egret of the season down Longmead Road. A big bird, so possibly a great white rather than a little egret. Sitting in a small tree and very much the size and shape of one of our regular herons, but white all over.

Today, a fine frosty morning, with our flat roofs and lawns still frost bound at 0845.

This morning also saw the first radiator bleed of the season. Always the same radiator for some reason, one of those in our bedroom. Which always makes me wonder where the water in the heating system is leaking away from - which might be a worry had it not been doing it for years without visible consequences.

And lastly, the small birds are coming back into the garden, braving the many cats for something to eat. I seem to recall that small birds need to eat more than their body weight each day to keep going and given that we see hardly any through the summer, they must be managing on insects and such on the common, insects which I imagine are absent in the winter. But no redwings yet, at least no confirmed sightings.