Firstly we would like to wish all of our followers a Happy New Year. Hopefully 2012 will be a fantastic wildlife packed year for all!

The weather so far this winter has been quite remarkable, the past week has felt more like early spring than the beginning of January. Mistle and Song Thrushes have been singing their hearts out at dawn and dusk at Nagshead and other birds like Goldcrests seem to be singing non stop at the moment. This year we may see a bumper breeding season for species that typically suffer in harsh winters if this weather continues, it will be interesting to see how it all unfolds. Crossbill numbers seem to have increased on the reserve again after a bit of a lull in December, these birds are best looked for feeding on Larch cones on the long trail, usually amongst Siskins and Lesser Redpolls.