I only had an hour to spare and so I wandered across to Stoke Park. The cold wind had ceased and it was good to feel some warmth in the day even though it was still quite grey.

At first I only saw a few crows (one with a tasty meal) and some wood pigeon.

Then a kestrel flew by the trees surrounding Duchess Pond and it stayed long enough for me to make my way round and get close to it next to the pond.

A male stonechat made a brief appearance.

There weren’t many ducks on the pond just a pair of mallard and 4 moorhen.

On the way back there were lots of robins staking their territories noisily and a dunnock.