Last Year and This Year

 Welcome to 2023 everyone. 

Hopefully it will be better than last year, and given it hasn't much to beat, it will be.

Last year I managed to walk over 2,500 miles for the first time - 2,512 to be exact. At just under 7 miles a day I'm very happy with that. I am currently unsure whether this year will be an ongoing quest to improve on that total, or if it could be a goal too far for my advanced years.

I remember last January thinking I couldn't improve on the previous year's total of 2,212 miles but as March arrived I was feeling OK so I just cracked on.    As usual....we'll see.

The year has started slowly with no dramas so the photos I've taken have been local and commonplace, but none the less interesting from my perspective. 

I was intrigued as to why a few crows were so busy feeding that they almost ignored me wandering among them. I couldn't see anything particularly tasty in the grass, but then again I'm not a crow.

Carrion Crow in first field

On the sea front the wintering Sanderlings always provide good photo fodder and this morning was no exception. A bit of early morning (rising sun) light does wonders for a bog standard portrait of a common, but still lovely, bird.

Sanderling on the beach

Over in the planted set aside there were 4 Yellowhammers and 2 Greenfinches in among the Chaffinches and Linnets. We have too few Greenfinches so I'm always glad to see them.

Greenfinch

The Linnet flock looked to be a good size yesterday and they had settled in the trees on the south side so I took a couple of photos to count them at my leisure when I got home. I probably missed a few as I scanned from right to left to get the pics but 172 was a reasonable reflection of their numbers. (The red dots on each bird are just me marking them off on the photo as I count them to ensure I don't duplicate any).

Linnet flock in trees (1)

Linnet flock in trees (2)

The new camera is shaping up well and has a few facilities I'm still getting to grips with, not least focussing and ISO settings. It's a work in progress but I'm happy with it.

A very happy new year to everyone.