Wind

Yesterday saw Malcolm and I doing a bit of shopping and taking our good friend Winnie out to do some shopping too.  After which, Malcolm had an appointment with the nurse for his asthma review.  So no walk in the country yesterday.  We made up for it today however and had a nice walk around the lakes of Straw's Bridge and back through Peewit Carr nature reserve.  Despite the temperature reaching nearly 6 degrees, the wind was very strong and kept us both shivering as it searched through our clothing for any way in it could find.  And it did find a few too!
The wind also made for some choppy conditions on the lakes too.  The Coots didn't seem to mind as they squabbled among themselves and engaged in all sorts of fighting and kicking.  There was a calmer presence on the water too, in the shape of a Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) resplendent in it's winter plumage.

It often crosses my mind, when watching the birds on the water, how they manage to cope with the icy chill.  As we stand freezing on the shore wondering how much colder it would be if we spent our lives standing in the water.  Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!  Still, the Coots were keeping warm with their battles and constantly falling out with each other.

As we turned homeward, we were once again delighted to see a flock of Waxwings twittering in the treetops. These gorgeous birds have been about for weeks now despite having stripped the bushes clean of berries.

It was so dull this morning and the Waxwings remained stubbornly high in the trees, that it was impossible to get a good picture, but these are the 'best of a bad lot' today.  The flock has dwindled from it's peak of over 100 birds, to about 30 now.

What little stunners they are!