Snowdrops and robins at Cammo

It snowed for much of yesterday and then froze in the evening. Today however has been cold but clear and still and we went to Cammo Estate to enjoy the snow.

We didn't expect many snowdrops to be out, but we were delighted to see the walled garden in bloom.

Many of the snowdrops were under snow

It's always wonderful to see these delicate flowers, the first sign that spring is really on its way again, even though more cold weather and snow is forecast!

There were lots of birds around today, including a small flock of fieldfares; a very large mixed flock of birds including blue tits, treecreepers, goldfinches and blackbirds. We had a brilliant view of a kestrel as it flew around us and saw a couple of buzzards. We also made friends with a couple of tame robins, so tame even I could get a photo!

Also interesting to see an oak tree with lots of oak apples (gall-like growthstriggered by the larvae of wasps that lay their eggs in the tree) in the photo below you can even see the hole where the wasp emerged from the oak apple.

As many readers of this blog may know, some of the fields around Cammo Estate are threatened with housing development. This would cause traffic chaos and would destroy the habitat for several uncommon species of birds. You can read more in my earlier blogposts here and you may want to sign this petition against this destruction of our green belt.