I keep thinking that spring is nearly here, but then winter makes a late comeback. Surely it can't be long?
Here at The Lodge we've been watching a smörgåsbord of finches - siskins, redpolls and chaffinches, with a sprinkling of bramblings - around the bird feeders at the Gatehouse. Chances are that most of these birds are passing through on their way back to their northern breeding grounds, perhaps in Scotland but maybe as far afield as Norway, Sweden or even the Baltic.
The siskins look pretty smart - all yellow, black, green and streaky - but I'm particularly fond of the lesser redpolls, as pictured above.
On the feeders, they try their hardest to look fierce, but the effect is somewhat limited when they're not much bigger than a blue tit and weigh in at a hefty 11g - the same as 11 paperclips!
This fab picture was taken by Guy Rogers and can be found with thousands of others at RSPB Images.