The month began with very wintery weather all over the UK. At Leighton Moss bitterns and water rail, two of our most shy reedbed birds were showing well out on the ice. During one guided walk no less than four bitterns were seen at once from public hide.
Excitement showed itself on the sporting front when Preston North End were drawn to play at home against Liverpool in the third round of the FA Cup. While queueing for my ticket I took the above photo of the "Splash" statue of Sir Tom Finney outside Deepdale.
At home I was in the middle of ironing when I saw this sparrowhawk in a bush in the garden next door. I managed to get the photo before it flew off. Several minutes later I saw it again only this time it was mantling over a small bird it had caught in our garden. While I was in Calder Vale taking part in the winter survey for the BTO atlas my wife noticed a small bird in a flower pot by the garden window. How thrilled she was when she identified it as a Goldcrest, Britain's smallest bird. This was only the third time in 36 years that one had appeared in our garden. We await its return hopefully soon.
The month ended with sadness at the news of deaths within the family and, at the age of 90, of Mr Fred Coulthurst my old form master at Preston Grammar School .
