Dank dismal December

I hate this time of year when the hours of daylight are so short, the ground is permanently wet and muddy and if it isn't raining then it has just finished or is about to start. Taking photographs just now isn't easy, there is either insufficent light to get a good shutter speed or the camera is going to get wet from the rain. More often than not both these scenarious occur simultaneously.

There has been nothing of note in the garden and I am still waiting hopefully for visits from Waxwings or Bramblings. Meanwhile we continue to feed the Chaffinches, Blue Tits, Blackbirds, Starlings, the odd Goldfinch or Siskin the latter of which have not yet arrived in large numbers, and Great Tit. I have had a glimpse of the Sparrowhawk but she has not caught anything else in our garden since the previous catch in late summer. There seems to be plenty Blue Tits around just now and we can have several in different parts of the garden at one time. We also have two Robins which seem quite tolerant of each others company so they may be a pair although the females are reputed to leave the breeding territory or even the country during the winter.

The rivers are fairly high now and I have seen less of the Kingfishers and Grey Wagtails though they are still around. On the contrary I have seen many more Dippers recently and a Swan has also taken up residence. The annual Salmon run is still in full swing though the fishing season is now over and there are many dead Salmon littering the banks of the Tweed by the park. One crow struck lucky finding he had Salmon on the menu for Sunday lunch.