On Saturday we spent a very cold but enjoyable hour by the Stour estuary between Manningtree and Mistley with our binoculars and telescope watching the birdlife as the tide came in. We saw redshanks, godwits, oystercatchers, lapwings and avocets to name but a few. The lapwings have the most amazing coloured plumage which I had never appreciated before and the avocets are so elegant – their beautiful shape and markings reflected in the ice cold water.