While the country comes to a stand still because of the arctic weather, here the snow was just about deep enough to cover the bottom half of a blade of grass.
Mind you in this weather you don't need colour, just shades of grey and back and white.This morning was one of those mornings that demand a walk along the cliff. I walked down towards Hope Point from the Monument.
About half way down there is an small "inlet" in the cliff that allows a good view along towards Hope Point. From here the large cliff fall was evident. From this height it is difficult to appreciated the scale of the fall, but judging by the distance it had spread towards the sea and the size of some of the chunks it was a major event.
While I was looking along the rocks I noticed a black "something" on about half way up the cliff. In fact there were three "things" on small ledges on the cliff face.
Zooming in (and this photo is "stretched" to the limit) it was easy to make out that they were Cormorants.
When I was fitter it did several walks along the shore, at low tide, between St Margaret's and Kingsdown, and there are more ledges than are visible from any vantage point. I counted over 20 Cormorants on these ledges but I have never before found a place to see any from the top.
I got a little closer, but such is my fear of heights, I didn't get too near to the edge. My suspicion is that these ledges are sufficiently large to allow nesting, but they are difficult to assess from the top, and I'm not able to do the walk along the bottom any more, as it required too much scrambling. A boat trip would be good though.
There was a lot of activity on the sea, with several Cormorants among large numbers of gulls, actively feeding in tight groups. I presume that there are some good shoals of small fish not far off shore at the moment.
The place I was watching from is near a well used Fulmar nesting hole, and I've photoed them here several times before. Fulmars have a good life expectancy and it is conceivable that each year I photo the same bird sitting here. I was surprised when suddenly the breast of a second bird came into view, I had though the the mate of this bird was one of those that kept flying up to the hole.
Collared Dove abundance has increased rapidly since the species first colonised Britain in 1955. From just four birds known to be present in that year, the population was put conservatively at 15,000–25,000 pairs by 1970. Since then the population has continued to rise, despite a temporary levelling out in the 1980's. There were about 300,000 pairs in 2000 and it has certainly increased since then.
On the other hand the abundance of breeding Starlings in the UK has fallen rapidly, particularly since the early 1980s, and especially in woodland. The species' UK conservation listing has been upgraded from amber to red as the decline has become more severe. The reasons are complex but in rural areas the reduction in the area of permanent pasture, their preferred feeding habitat appears to have been a cause. The population in 2000 was about 800,000 pairs and this had probably declined by about 35% since then. There has been a decline of over 80% in 45 years.
There were very few gulls around and nothing on the old Hover port apron. One or two adult Kittiwakes were around, with this one settled on the water while two or three others patrolled along the pier. 
I saw a couple of Guillemots, one right out in the middle in a flock of Black-headed Gulls and three Great Crested Grebes, and this one much close to the pier. This one is still in its winter plumage, others that were around last week had already acquired their summer look. In the USA these have the rather unattractive name of Common Murre, I'm not sure of the derivation, but would like to hear if you do.
Eventually one of the adult Kittiwakes came along and gave some good flight views. The wing tips are often described as looking as if they'd been dipped in black ink, and this shows the solid black tip well. The legs are also black, which distinguishes it from the only other member of its genus, the Red-legged Kittiwake, endemic to the Bering Sea and Aleutians.
Often birds take advantage of mans activities, and Turnstones are well known for their readiness to interact with fishermen. This one patrols the pier hoping for scraps from the few fishermen there. (I didn't see any fish caught today).
Back in St Margaret's I joined Jack and Flossie, who were watching a Fox dozing on the Leas. I was quite alert and slid quietly into the bushes when I tried to get closer. I think Flossie had caught the scent of the fox as she seemed quite interested in the area it had been sleeping on, but in the end settled for carrying a lump of wood about four foot long!
As I drove along the Ancient Highway, across Worth Marshes, a group of Grey Partridges fed in amongst the the large number of mole hills in one of the fields. This area is one of the most reliable I know where you can watch this species in the open.
A pair of Oystercatchers was feeding close to the road. Again among the mole hills. The number of there is a pretty good indication of just how any worms there are in the fields here. I saw one Oystercatcher pull out a worm, only to b chased by a Black-headed Gull. I didn't manage to see if the Gull managed to steal the worm, nor did I manage to get a picture of it. I've often seen this kind of kleptoparasitism occurring with Black-headed Gull and Lapwings, but it's the first time I've seen it with Oystercatchers. The Oystercatcher looked quite willing to take the Gull on, and with that bill as a weapon the outcome isn't certain.
The scrape was largely frozen over and apart from a Shelduck and a Curlew asleep on one of the islands only the usual ducks and coots were on view. As I left I watched a Weasel busily running about by one of the cattle feeders, but the light was totally in the wrong direction and by the time I got in the right position the Weasel had vanished. At this point I bumped into another birder who pointed out a Short-eared Owl flying over the golf course.
When I drove away, towards Deal the Owl was perched on the fence by the first corner. Although the sun wasn't helpful it was reasonably high as it was only 1.30 p.m. I took a couple of pictures and then the Owl carried on with it hunting operation.
It flew off across the golf course, managing to avoid the various ropes fencing off areas.
I spent time following up and down as it hunted over some of the rough areas. It was probably the best light that I've been lucky enough to have a really close encounter with a Short-eared Owl. I was very active, dropping in to the rough grass several times, but while I was watching it didn't seem to manage to catch anything.
I took quite a few pictures, click on the name Short-eared Owl to see them.
Where the green keepers were maintaining the course they seem to have got it just right for gangs of Rooks to feed on.
On the other side of the road I came across a flock of about ten Corn Buntings quietly feeding in the meadow. There were a lot of birds feeding, mainly Lapwings, but with some Golden Plovers and various Thrushes, including a few Fieldfares, in the distance I could see a group of Swans on a flooded area. Unfortunately they all appeared to be Mute Swans, perhaps more cold weather that's forecast will bring in some of their wild cousins.
I always have mixed feelings about snow. When it's fresh it has a unique beauty, both visually and for the softness it adds to sounds, but it isn't so much fun if you need to work or drive. So when it started snowing quite hard this morning and with the news of the massive disruption the rest of the country was suffering I thought that we were in for a torrid time. For a while it looked as it the village would turn white.
Looking out of the attic window it was good to see that a little blizzard wouldn't stop the job of looking after the horses proceeding.
In the garden the birds were finding the food that was out for them, and in the kitchen Pam was making pans full of bird puddings to supplement the peanuts and sunflower seeds that are the normal fare.
I'm intrigued to see how year by year the various birds in the garden change their habits on the feeders. I doesn't seem long ago that Chaffinches were almost totally ground or table feeders, hardly ever getting onto the feeders. Now they don't only use the sunflower feeders but some are also getting on the peanuts.
these two Greenfinches were waiting their turn, and they were joined in the garden by several Goldfinches, Jackdaws, Magpies, Crows and a Pied Wagtail. The snow didn't bring anything exceptional in to feed. By mid afternoon the temperature, that had hovered just below freezing all morning began to rise, reaching the dizzy heights of 3 deg C but 5.00 pm. Consequently the falling snow turned to rain and the small amount on the ground quickly melted. Let's hope it doesn't freeze over night, or the roads will be very slippery.I noticed the road sign pointing to the "Vicarage" as you come into the village.
"The Vicarage" is a replacement for the Old Vicarage that stood on the site. The developers blurb says "These apartments at The Vicarage are being sympathetically built to replace the Old Vicarage that once stood in this unique location. The building sits centrally on one acre surrounded by it's own gardens and woodland, offering a peaceful". I think that they ended up with 10 apartments. The original planning application was for 12 and was turned down by Dover Council, for lots of reasons, one of which was that it was on three floors and would be intrusive. I wonder how the three floors they finally approved are different from the ones the refused?
The forecast snow arrived and within five minuted we were covered in a layer of snow that was about 1 mm thick and disappeared within minutes. But of course there could be more overnight or tomorrow.
It was cold today, this Starling looked bemused as it stood on the ice. It is used to bathing in the pond, and didn't seem to know what to do. There was fresh water available in the bird bath!
