Winter at last

We have waited, and at last winter has arrived. The last two days have seen frosts, frozen puddles, bits of sleet and a few avian arrivals. This morning there were six Shelducks in the area, a very shy Little Grebe, a Kingfisher, 10 Redshanks and a female Pintail on Bow Creek. Which puts us about where we should be at this time of year. The weather has not been severe enough to induce any major bird movements and there wasn't anything unusual in the area. Teal numbers were down, but that maybe down to the state of tide, as the birds were spread out all over the place. A high tide brings them together, and makes them easier to count.
Passerines were represented by a few Finches, mainly Chaffinch and three Reed Buntings feeding on Phragmites seed heads in the Dock. The Thames was quiet with just a few Gulls present though wader numbers are building up further downstream. If this weather continues then I do expect to be reporting some good sightings from the this area.