Smew-tiful!

A great day's winter birding in Cambridgeshire, of all places. Headed for Paxton Pits, near St Neots, stopping off in Cambourne en route. Got out of the car there and immediately heard that fantastic tinkling sound of waxwings! Sure enough, perched in the top of a tree next to the car were 22 of them, busy preening and showing off their crests, red waxtips and that showstopping yellow band at the end of their tail...

pic by R Nason/www.sogonline.org.uk

While I was watching, almost the entire flock suddenly flew down to within six feet of me to feed on the last few berries on a garden shrub. They are remarkably acrobatic birds, thinking nothing of hanging upside down or even dangling by one leg to reach a particularly tempting berry. Then, suddenly, they were off again, back up into the top of their tree. Typically for waxwings, they were within a stone's throw of a supermarket - in this case a Morrison's. Shame really, as these definitely are a blue riband Waitrose-type of bird!

From Cambourne to Paxton Pits, thick with snow and with much of the open water frozen over. Plenty of passerines hanging about the visitor centre feeding station and flocks of fieldfares chacking away and feeding on rose hips. Wildfowl busy in the open water between the ice - plenty of gadwall and wigeon, a few teal and at least ten goldeneye, including several stunning males. A buzzard (one of three I saw today, how times have changed!) flew in low over the ice. But the best bird of the day (sorry, waxwings) came at the end of our walk, when we snuck a look at the Sailing Lake. There, looking totally resplendent, was a drake smew - the legendary "White Nun", and surely the best of all ducks? I don't think I've seen a male smew since the mid 1970s, when they used to overwinter regularly at Stoke Newington Reservoirs. This one gave great views as it preened and then began to feed, diving with great aplomb and travelling impressive distances underwater before resurfacing. Typically, no camera with me, but it looked like this!

pic from pewit.blogspot.com

Classical Cluj

First trip of the year and off last week to Cluj in Transylvania, for a magazine travel feature. It was suitably cold and snowy and full of bling Baroque, an extravaganza of curls, twirls and frills. Prague or Krakow it is not, but there's enough there for a couple of days and plenty of bars and cafes to loll about in. University city = prodigious alcohol opportunities and lots of youf skittling about. Some good old crones too (selling crafts, perfect!) and excellent winter hatwear, often fashioned from the pelts of endangered species... Astrakhan Ceaucescu-style hats for the fashionable man over 60 were my fave.

A Cold Blast from the Urals

Fantastic winter weather this week, temperature fell to minus 13 at RAF Marham (just down the road from us) on Tuesday night, and the next day the thermometer didn't rise above minus 5 all day! Eek. But bright blue skies and incredible hoar frosts... All pics below were taken on the fields next to our house. The small bear-like creature is actually Roger, in full fur mode.