The cold spell that saw out the last year continued into the 2nd week of this month, with the mercury struggling to stay above zero most days.
As more inland waters became iced up, we saw an increase in the number of whooper and mute swans on the estuary as they returned to free moving tidal waters.
Amongst these were some ringed swans that had wintered with us last year, and it was good to get the odd swan with a new ring that had come into our area with them.
As work in progress continues at the top end of the estuary, some time is also being spent on the old bothy as it undergoes a makeover.
There has been plenty activity on the water- side this month with large numbers of oystercatcher, redshank, and teal being seen, the jack snipe are about and there was a rare sighting of the barn owl.The waxwings were sighted back in our area again.
Seal numbers in the upper estuary are on the increase again, they move into the area to feed, taking advantage of the exhausted kelts that are dropping back down the system.
There was a short spell of gales and a bit of spate mid-month before we were back to cooler weather again. It always feels like you are getting through the winter when the snowdrops and daffodils start to appear along the riverside.
A rare wet day meant some inside work, which entailed making some more bird nest boxes out of recycled wood.
These will be used at various locations along the riverside adding to the hundreds that have been put up over the years.
The last day of the month saw a cold, calm day with the river running a bit above summer level.
