I'm stuck on a snow-bound Isle of Wight at the moment but I gather that Charente has had some snow as well.

Stella has been keeping an eye on the Charente birds and she tells me that hundreds of cranes have passed over in the last few days, all moving ahead of the cold weather by the sound of it. Similarly, Irv reports flocks of lapwings near Cognac. Weather permitting, I should catch up with things after the weekend.

When back in the UK it's always interesting to note the differences from Charente in both the bird life and in the culture as it relates to birds. I cleared the snow off the bird table this morning and put out some bread and the remains of a cooked chicken carcase. The food was shifted in a minute by a flock of mainly black headed and herring gulls with some rooks and jackdaws. I don't seem to get any of these on my bird feeders in Charente. (though there were flocks of both jackdaws and rooks around La Poterie in mid November)

As for the culture, it's great to see lapwings, golden plover and curlews feeding in the fields unmolested by hunters and a walk to the River Yar reveals teal, wigeon and black-tailed godwits feeding within a few yards of the footpath. On the other hand, pheasants wander around everywhere simply because so many of them are bred and released for the English 'hunters' to shoot.