Grey and Gold

Saturday, 22nd February 2003, West Yorkshire

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At breakfastime thirty or so Canada geese fly on up the valley through grey hazy mist. As it's the weekend I wonder if these are birds from Bretton or Cannon Hall which are heading for the quieter fields of the Calder valley to escape the extra visitors in the country parks. We see a flock of them later on a rough marshy pasture between the river and the canal.

kestrel A kestrel perches at the top of a tree overlooking the meadow at the entrance to Coxley valley. A party of long-tailed tits makes its way through the tops of the birches and hawthorns by the canal bridge.

Lesser celandine is in flower again. The first flowers we've seen are on a vertical south-facing bank where the beck goes through an old millrace. The warmth of the water probably helps keep this banking frost-free.

richard@willowisland.co.uk