Two old birds playing in the snow!

Quite sensibly any self respecting feathered friend has departed the moorland tops and flown to sunnier climes. So we left bins at home and headed for the hill tops around Gunnerside to play in the snow. Our Sat route (10 miles) took up near Lady Mary Hut (top end Gunnerside Gill)and on Sun we went Keld way via Swinnergill (12 miles). If I get time later I will add maps for both walks. Both days were quite fantastic walks in snow at least a foot deep and in many places drifts 8 to 10 feet deep, which made the going really hard but the beer at the end all the more deserved! Over the two days of walking we met only 6 people and had the hills essentially to ourselves. In 5 years we have certainly never seen so much snow and locals are hard pressed to recollect snow like this in the last 25 years. I suspect we will be finding patches remaining in sheltered northern gullies well in April and even May. In the garden the bird table has been chaotic with up to 8 blue tits, perhaps as many as 12 blackbirds, loads of chaffinch, goldfinch and sparrows, 3/4 robins, dunnock, greenfinch, GS woodpecker, collared doves, jackdaws, coal tit, great tit and pheasant all paying regular visits. For some reason we are still missing the siskin and redpolls from last year. On the Sunday walk the only bird highlight was the first Swale kingfisher of the year about 1/2 mile up from Ivelet bridge.
PS First drummimg GS Woodpecker heard in village today.