Herons displaying and preening. Wollaton. Much of the time these birds are like statues until a bird flies over or into the colony then there is lots of posturing accompanied by screeching and bill clattering.

Black headed Gulls and Magpies flying to roost with a passing jet plane overhead. Backgarden.

House Sparrow from kitchen window.

More of the colony.

Magpies from the lounge window.

The Corvid roost. Wollaton Park. Lovely clear evening.

Red Deer. A group of stags of varying ages sitting in the sun. The shadows quickly enveloped this scene and some tonal values had to be guessed as the paint wouldnt dry in the damp, freezing air.

Goldcrests. Budby. After missing seeing both Hawfinches and Parrot Crossbills today, a group of Goldcrests foraging low down in an Oak was some compensation. The light shone through the birds' wings and tail as they hovered, hanging to twigs and branches.

Magpie on a neighbours roof. It attracted the attention of a Black-headed Gull who eyed up the piece of bread greedily. The Magpie almost looked as if it enjoyed taunting the gulls. I watched the Magpie cache the bread between the roof tiles! Drawn from lounge window.

Magpies waiting for food. This aerial is a favourite lookout perch. Bramerton Road.

Red and Fallow Deer. Wollaton Park. 

Rooks and Jackdaws. Wollaton Park. The whole flock spooked by a passing Buzzard.
At the moment I have a brief 'window' of about an hour each evening after work to draw and paint, before it gets too dark,or, I get locked inside the park! 

Moonrise at Wollaton Park. Very difficult to paint as I was almost guessing the tones and colours in the dim light. I had to climb over the wall as the park gates had been locked! Fallow deer looked a ghostly mass beneath the full moon.

Rooks and Jackdaws flying in to roost. Wollaton

Red Deer stags. Heard clatter of antlers and saw two stags in the distance, sparring from the edge of the wood where the Corvids roost.

Rooks. Wollaton. Huge corvid roost. Rooks and Jackdaws perched in the tops of tall Beech trees. Periods  of calm that were broken when a wave of alarm sounded through the birds causing the whole flock to take off - an impressive sight and sound!

Parrot Crossbills. Budby. Large group of birdwatchers had gathered at the place so picking out the birds was relatively easy. Having said that, they were very inconspicuous when feeding and hid among the branches only occasionally sitting out in the open. They suddenly all took off but were found again in a distant tree. After a few minutes they did their vanishing act and couldnt be relocated and may have gone to roost. Great to watch as they gripped whole pine cones and tore them apart. In flight kept together calling a loud, distinctive 'pink pink'.

Hawfinch. Clumber Park. Arrived at Clumber just after first light and spent 2 hours searching but no luck. Suddenly a group of finches dropped into Yew trees behind me and gave fleeting glimpses as they fed. There was an audible 'crunching' sound as they worked their way through the Yew berries. I saw an adult male and another, duller bird.

Hawfinch. Cromford. Saw two birds briefly in the tops of trees. The unusual inner primary feather tips could be seen from below.

Pheasants sparring in the wind. Carsington. I called in at Carsington reservoir to try and see the Great Northern Divers reported. The reservoir was wind-whipped and from the shelter of the hide I couldn't locate the Divers but instead watched two cock Pheasants sparring in the strong winds on the muddy shore, tails blown sideways. It seemed 'friendly banter' as no contact was made and the birds merely postured to each other. They moved off into the rushes.