The Hide , Sunday 12th February 2023

It’s Sunday morning , and an early alarm call for a bonus day here at the hide. And the weather has definitely improved , it’s always a bonus if I don’t have to scrap ice from the car windscreen first thing in the morning. However it still feels like a military operation in these colder months with a camera bag , two flasks ( one soup and another of hot chocolate ) plus seed and nuts for my feathered friends. I also have a check list of clothes , big coat , hat and gloves. Safe to say I don’t travel light !

And it’s been another good days wildlife watching , with plenty of action around the pond and in the feeders. One visitor has been hanging out at the pond a lot more than usual today , the elusive and normally shy Goldcrest , or I should say pair of Goldcrests. Both birds have made several repeat visits to the pond to drink and have a bath. They are pretty hard to photograph as the only time they land for more than a split second is when they are in the water and even then it’s only ever for a few seconds of frantic splashing. ( and they are really really small ) But still if it’s a mating pair , and we have our fingers crossed we might have a few more of these tiny birds in the future !

The Goldcrest ,  Regulus regulus is Britain’s smallest bird at just 9cm in length, and weighs in at just 5.5g 

Here are a few more images from today…….