Winter is proving long and cold, yet the familiar animals are still moving around. The short days and long very cold nights must be especially difficult for the day-active ones, like these young swans. They are also in the middle of a remarkable metamorphosis when the grey-brown plumage of their youth slowly gives way through the winter to the pure white of adult mute swans; meanwhile they are rather beautifully mottled.
The badgers do not come around every night but nor do they hibernate. One or two only seem to be active in the garden now.
The one in the little snippet of film below is enjoying some snacks when he finally gets fed up with the sleety rain and runs off to the set and back underground. (He comes back later with a friend - who I think is our local big female Lardyarse.)
Another little close-up snippet of the same animal two nights later -
Down in the City - the pied wagtails have again made a communal roost in a tree the middle of the new Southgate shopping centre. In the run-up to Christmas this same tree was decorated with fake snow and shiny baubles. The birds did not use it then. Now they are back - a far more precious decoration! It was suggested that there were up to 500 of them last year.
Most of the shopper passing by below do not see them. Maybe that's a good thing.
And not forgetting spectacular little flocks of long-tailed tits on the bird feeders.
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