My first job was to buy some gloves as I have an excellent existing collection of right hand ones only. I headed off to the reed bed screen where I am always lucky...... I pondered life the universe and everything , plus who might be living in the hole just in front of the perch on the right hand side. A pigeon flew over. Maybe I should stray away from my usual haunt? So I made my way back towards the centre and had a game of 'pee-bo' with a kingfisher on one of the ponds. My past visits have not included the bird garden so I dropped in there and after a battle with the seat that was just that bit to low for me, I enjoyed some super views of collard dove, blue tits, chaffinches, a pheasant, robin, goldfinch, wren and a kingfisher briefly on the perch. Then pandemonium as what I assume was a sparrow hawk shot by. Eventually I could not resist going into the Bittern Hide and just missed a lovely photo of a stone chat - I must get faster at wielding my unruly lump of a camera. I began to wonder if the Old Moor magic was wearing off but true to form it had something lovely up its sleeve. Three mute swans flew in and the light was fabulous. They even came to say hello right in front of the hide. But I was looking forward to the main attraction and as the starlings started their pre-murmour I did a light check and all was well. It looked like it was going to be a belter with so many arranging themselves on the pylon which now resembled some strange old church its spire covered with crocketing. The light was right and I was ready. Sadly so was a sparrow hawk whose rude entrance was heralded by the alarm call of the kingfisher. And with that the starlings broke away in groups and dropped into the reeds. But I was not really disappointed. It had been yet another excellent day at Old Moor . But it was cold, very cold......