Last day of the month

I won't be sorry to wish January a firm farewell. Today was a good day to see it out. I woke up at 5.30am and couldn't get back to sleep so I made myself some tea and sat down at the computer to do some work. I was ridiculously tired but it did mean that I didn't miss a really very fine sunrise over Greenland Dock.

I was over at the park by 1130, and had the place to myself. Apart from the birdsong, it was quite eerily quiet until around 1230 when people started to arrive with the usual accessories - MP3 players, dogs and pushchairs.

Nothing much has changed in the last few days. More snowdrops are out, the daffodils are further along and the water continues to flow.

I saw two wrens, robins, great tits, magpies, blackbirds, pigeons and sparrows, and some vast black birds which made a deep raucous sound. On Globe Pond there were Canada Geese and on Downtown Ponds there were mallards and moorhens. The moorhnes at Globe Pond were turning over leaves in the woodland around the pond, which they have been doing on the last few of my visits. They are behaving more like giant blackbirds than waterfowl, turning leaves and searching in the soil.

I came back via the Downtown development site and the health centre, both of which looked desolate. I noticed a compass feature which I had never seen before outside the health centre. I don't know its history but I will find out. I hope that it will be moved if the Barratt Home development goes ahead.