Snowy scene

During the last few weeks, there has been an clear lack of posting on the blog due to a variety of reasons; but now that we have reached the new year, I shall briefly run through my most recent activities so that we can start a fresh and begin with 2011.
After finishing university for the christmas break, I was hopeful to earn myself some cash, working at my local farmshop for a week or so, but unfortunately this wasn't to be the case. The week or so running upto christmas day, I was extremely ill having caught the flu and a severe ear infection, shortly followd by a cough and a cold - I was house-bound for what seemed to be a long period of time. I have never been so ill in my life!

Once better, the snow began to fall with Ormskirk recieving around 8-9 inches of snow, in some places even higher where the snow had drifted.. The garden was rather inaccessible at times, with icicles all around the house - it was lucky these never fell on us...

During the christmas break, there was no way I was going out birding as the thought of getting ill again in this weather was not an option.. Although, glancing out one morning onto our small berry bush, a new species for the garden sat gorging themselves on the berries.. A total of 5 Redwings..

Other birding at the end of 2010 consisted of short trip to RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh in search of the Lapland Bunting which had been in residence for a week with a large mixed flock of finches, but to no avail. Although 40 Bramblings and 2 Ringtail Hen Harriers was well worth venturing out for.. The out marsh looked like a barren landscape, covered in snow and ice.