I spotted this bird in our garden from the ground floor study - this is somewhat rarer than the brown-all-over common-or-garden thrush. The grey head and speckled belly struck me as unusual.
Thanks to reader Mis for identifying the bird as a
kwiczoł -
fieldfare - which according to Wikipedia is a migratory bird that normally winters in the south.
And
a propos of our garden, two molehills appeared overnight, great brown heaps of soil on the virgin snow. This being midwinter, I'm not going to be reeling out the hose to flush the vermin out. I hope there'll not be too much more mole activity before the spring (!).
Winter itself is turning miserable, with temperatures rising above zero. It's still a long, long, long time until spring arrives in this part of Europe. I hope for another freeze (never mind the gas bill!)
UPDATE: 16 January and there are now five molehills on the back lawn.
This time last year:
Kraków beckons once moreMelting snow, disappearing winter
Above: My train (the one on the left) arrives from W-wa Jeziorki at Powiśle less than ten minutes late. Better than the train home, which was running 45 minutes late. The EN57 stock is well past its sell-by date and prone to breakdowns in the cold weather.
Large numbers of people hanging around bus stops suggest that it will be quicker walking the three stops to work than waiting - it was. And visually more rewarding. Above: ul. Kruczkowskiego, edge of the Śmigły-Rydz park.
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