First icy day of winter yesterday, so I celebrated by getting cold while taking pictures of birds that looked pretty chilly themselves. I was surprised to find that the morning light gave everything a sepia hue. Here's a Greenfinch looking like he was photographed in the 1920s.

Winter photography lesson number one. Wear gloves.

For us volunteers weekends on the reserve are a civilised affair. Along with plenty of pootling around the reserve there'll generally be a trip to Peterhead or Fraserburgh, a tipple at the local pub and a nice roast dinner of a Sunday. Being an English literature graduate I'm more than happy spending a lazy afternoon reading a book or two. In a word, idyllic.