That's what I'm calling a combination of Snow and Ice. Sounds great doesn't it, but it's already becoming a bit of a chore. For one the temperatures have been so cold the battery in our generator seems to be really struggling, which means we've had problems getting the Visitor Centre power on. I feel a bit sorry for the wildlife too, walking around this morning I saw two groups of whooper swans fly over and carry on going. Presumably they were hoping Frampton would have a nice combination of open water and grass for them to feed upon. Sorry guys! There really is a marked difference between a week ago and now. Then we had up to 5,000 birds on the wetland habitats, now you'd be lucky to see 50. It's interesting to note which species are trying to brave it out and which have upped and left. Moorhens for example have gone up in my estimation, they're clearly hard as nails and have been feeding in the snow, what on I'm not sure, but hats off to them. Fieldfares have also been in evidence in the hedgerows, but are more approachable than usual, presumably reluctant to leave the dwindling number of berry bearing bushes that remain.
We've had to close the visitor centre today for a couple or reasons, firstly there very little to see and very few visitors and secondly because of the power problems I described earlier. I'm sure this will be temporary, but it would be worth checking if you are planning a visit on Sunday (20th) or Monday (21st) as the weather forecast is for even more snow. The guided walk scheduled for Sunday is also cancelled I'm afraid.
Stay warm!
John
Unfortunately the Visitor Centre will remain closed on Sunday (20th) as well.