Went the Rain Well

Four days ago my blog celebrated the fact that we'd had that rare element, rain. Unfortunately, after the continuation of the non-stop and drying, cold NE winds, there is nothing to show that rain ever happened here. Those cold winds and grey skies seem to have been a daily feature for weeks now and other blogs from up the eastern side of England make it clear that many of us are sharing the same torment. Here we are just five weeks or so from the Longest Day and mid-summer and we have barely moved out of winter yet, this morning on the reserve I was wearing pretty much the same clothes as I wore in January. The photo below was taken on the reserve at 8.00 this morning, three hours after dawn but shows how poor the light levels are most days at the moment under the grey and wintery skies. (I'm afraid that all the photos below suffer from poor light). It also shows part of the reserve's Flood Field, so named because it normally retains water the best and longest each year. It shows what is normally a large area of shallow water with a couple of islands in it on which Avocets normally nest - today it is simply dry mud with no Avocets! However, all is not lost, allegedly, the wind is going to go round to the south this week and warm sun is forecast for us, now that would be nice.

On a lighter note a few pairs of birds are now starting to appear with young, such as these Greylag Geese goslings.

I came across this single, early flower on a dog rose bush......

.......in the ditches throughout the reserve, Celery-leaved Buttercup is now flowering......

......and the young livestock still retain their attractiveness.