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Collared doves

It's been a bright sunny Winter's day, as promised in yesterday's weather forecasts. I'd wondered about going for a proper walk to give the joints a bit of a workout but in the end I really couldn't be bothered.

In case you were wondering how big the fatty pine cones are, here's a starling for scale

Guess who bit whom
House sparrow and great tit

One of the lads

• Black-headed Gull 1 overhead
• Blackbird 1
• Blue Tit 2
• Carrion Crow 1
• Collared Dove 2
• Great Tit 2
• House Sparrow 16
• Jackdaw 2
• Magpie 1
• Robin 1
• Starling 11
• Woodpigeon 2

The ground on the school playing field is evidently a bit softer than it was yesterday, all the usual black-headed gulls are back. Today's collection of large gulls included an adult lesser black-back and five herring gulls — an adult, two second-Winter birds and two first-Winters. One of the second-Winter birds got my hopes up when it walked out from behind two of the other birds as the first thing I saw of it was a pale tip to the bill; once it was out in the open it was obviously a herring gull that was a little advanced in the moulting of its bill sheaths.