I started the year with a walk around my local patch of countryside – driving somewhere would probably have been a bad idea after last night!

There’s been a change in the weather overnight – it’s still wet and windy but there’s now a bit of a chill in the air and there was a light frost this morning before the rain resumed.  It’s been a while since I walked the nearby footpaths and the rainfall over the last couple of months has left the land saturated and it took longer than usual to walk the loop due to a bit of slipping and sliding in the mud.

It might be a quiet start to my year but I’ve got lots planned with more bird surveys for Cheshire Wildlife Trust and British Trust for Ornithology, local volunteering with CNCV, hopefully some protection shifts with Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn Ospreys and a fortnight with the RSPB on Ramsey Island in June.  I’ve also put my name down for a new volunteering opportunity – I fancy a bit of a change and something new to do this year.  On top of all that, I’ve just booked a week on North Uist in April and I’ve got a trip to Sweden in July plus I might get a couple of wildlife holidays in too (possibly Finland and Poland).

Plenty to look forward to and hopefully plenty to blog about too!