Year's end

I had my final walk of the year on the common this morning. Now that the bitterly cold weather has eased there were more birds to be seen than has been the case recently, and apart from the last few vestiges of ice grimly clinging on in parts of the boardwalk, the conditions were fairly good. Both Scouts' Pond and the Pit were still largely covered in ice, but the thaw is clearly well advanced, for now at least.

It was still quite misty however; so much so that when some Pink Footed Geese flew overhead, they were invisiblet. Their calls, for all the world like an aerial pack of puppies, was the only evidence of their fleeting presence. Apart from them, I was also pleased to have a good view of a goldcrest at Scouts' Pond, and a solitary coal tit on School Common. A male kestrel on the telephone wires near Warren Road kept the smaller birds agitated, and I was pleased to find my first fieldfares of the year near Pit Common.

Thanks to everyone who has told me of their bird sightings on the common, and I hope you'll keep it up next year. Each year we seem to get at least one uncommon visitor, and the highlight for 2010 was the pair of bearded reedlings. Sadly they did not decide to stay for the winter, but now they know about our reedbed, perhaps they'll return.

The bad weather in November and December means that we are slightly behind schedule for the reed cutting programme, but if we can get a good run at it now we should soon catch up. On top of that there is a significant programme of work to keep the commons in good order, so if you're not already a volunteer we've got plenty of activities to keep you occupied.

All the best for 2011!