Well the 'snow' in the title absolutely deserves an '!' because we don't get much of it down here on the coast of East Devon... and it was complete chaos today!
Heavy rain overnight turned into sleety rain this morning and then for a good few hours snow. Devon County Council were clearly not at all prepared for it, with all the major roads coming to a complete standstill and not really recovering until the afternoon. Absolute mayhem.
I knew there wasn't enough of it, or that it was persistent enough to trigger any major bird movements, but the local birds seemed to go into panic mode. The unfrozen edges of ditches and scrapes were all very busy, mostly with Meadow Pipits, thrushes and Blackbirds.
My best sighting was of four Brent Geese that flew low south down the river mid-morning, and then seemed to turn east as they headed out over the beach. I will spare you my awful phone camera shot of the Brents, instead enjoy the scenery...
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| Looking north east towards Axmouth over the Axe Estuary |
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| Sheep's Marsh |
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| This weather's timing somewhat ironic as today was the first day of our The Polar Express tram ride! |
At about 1pm the sun came out, making it all look even more spectacular, although this soon did the trick melting most of it...
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| Relief for many stranded drivers I am sure! |
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| The narrow green strip either side of the water had loads of Meadow Pipits and Lapwings on it all afternoon |
Whenever we do get a sudden cold snap like this, I always hope it will reveal a mega that has been lurking thus far unseen in a rarely visited part of the patch, forced to relocate due to the conditions. Sadly not today though...
Stay safe all, it is going to be an icy night and presumably another dicey one tomorrow morning.
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