It has been a wonderful cold, bright Friday with the nearly full moon visible in the sky. Alison stayed overnight from Bournemouth and we went out for a walk down the hill, through whippance farm and up along the eroding coast path towards Cowes. Alison is recovering from a cold but still enjoyed the walk. We saw a lady with a telescope who had counted 240 Brent Geese that had literally just flown in as we returned from the walk. There were also a couple of redshank, several oystercatchers and higher up the cliff, a kestrel hunting. Last week Thursday I counted 175 Brent Geese so I think that more have flown in. I also saw what looked like a redstart which was cool.

What I have discovered about living with a garden that backs onto woodland is the wide variety of birdlife to surprise you. Today Alison pointed out a Great Spotted Woodpecker feeding off my peanut feeder as we were tucking into soup for lunch. Two days ago (Wednesday) I saw a Green Woodpecker grubbing about at the bottom of the garden nearly all day.