Skirr Cottage Diary.

Well the snow is lying crisp and even. Actually it is not all that even as it is drifting in the wind. The garden shrubs are all covered in great pom-poms of white candyfloss and some of the branches are sagging under the weight. I am reduced to sitting in our small conservatory watching the bird table. I did earlier venture forth to stock it up with a good mix of nuts, seed and suet. It must have come as a shock to the wildlife as so far we have escaped much of the white stuff, but March can be very unpredictable in the Peak, especially over 1,000 feet up in Buxton. The reed buntings are back which is great and all the usual suspects are putting in fleeting appearances. Over in the far field at the back of the cottage there must be over thirty wood pigeons covering the upper branches of a tree like huge dark fruit. Earlier in the day I was treated to the sight of about twenty five lapwings tumbling over through the blur of snow. Yesterday, glancing through the study window I spotted a treecreeper exploring a tall cotoneaster shrub in the garden. Although I have encountered quite a few treecreepers so far this year in local woods, it is quite a coup to see one in our garden up on the edge of the moor; I think I have only two other records in over twenty years. It is still snowing and a mass of jackdaws is wheeling in the stark, ebony sky like a black shadow from another realm.