UKH

Winter Hill had a good dusting of snow. Loads redwings and a few roe deer. Great view of a female kestrel hunched up. Cold and quite dull. Saw a few snipe. Then it started snowing!  Picked a pound of damsons (still loads left: never noticed them that late).  Then we crossed over a small reclaimed landfill site.  The other week I noticed a massive amount of vole holes and actually commented ‘great place for owls and hen harriers’. Five minutes later, a barn owl flew out a hedge ten feet in front of us!! Lots goldfinch and long tailed tits.  

Anyone else?

Walked to the village market and met a ferret. On a lead, so perhaps not wildlife. First snow of the season round here and just starting to stick properly.

Time to dust off the spiky stuff!😁

All snow and cold here in Kettleshulme.....I fell over and looked an idiot trying to pass it off like it never happened....

We can often see winter hill when it's clear....long time since I've been over that way but I do like the place having lived over in West Houghton once!

Interestingly I saw a ghost up there once on a bad snowy night heading down to the Black Dog at Belmont!

This morning saw 2 otters playing in the Wear just outside the center of Durham. They were probably happy that the raised water levels had kept the rowing crews away.

Is definitely snowy out there and plenty of trees down.

As a kid I used to cycle my Raleigh Chopper through there on the way to climb Rivington Pike, Winter Hill etc

Have you been to the old cairn on Two Lads Hill - reputedly named after two lost boys? Up by the masts on Winter Hill there's Scotsman's Stump, commemorating George Henderson who was murdered there in 1838 on his way to the Black Dog.

No owls but my lunchtime walk featured the usual cast of park birds: crows, magpies, robins, great+blue+coal tits and a single nuthatch. Plus blackbirds.

There's a single jackdaw on the approach road that flies in real close to me and he gets fed while I watch over, keeping the magpies away.

A huge covey of partridges (40+) on Staddon Heights above Plymouth Sound

That’s big!  Good views fieldfare this morning. Small skein pink feet. Watched pied wags doin their thing - I’m growing more fond of them the older I get. And hard to get good photos coz they’re always moving and wagging!