Pintail

surely one of the smartest of ducks -- we have so few locally but would love to do them justice somewhere --

Pink-footed Geese

there are literally tons of waste potatoes in this field but as the farmer has already sown in with wheat the birds get the usual attention -- why not just leave one field for the birds????

Golden Plovers on the Humber

large flocks at the moment with an estimate of 35,000+ in the upper estuary -- a very impressive Golden  carpet around Read's Island on a sunny day -- photos tend not to do the flocks justice

Grey Heron

the only bird close enough to escape the mist and murk -- never seen one surfing before

murky, murky day on the patch

you have to be a patcher and be there to appreciate the terrible blotches that follow -- started out this morning at a new slurry field but not a single gull -- to the Humber by the bridge, misty, murky, dull light SE wind just right for a diver -- 2 Pomarine Skuas sat on the Humber, flew a few times but getting drifted in with the tide -- they get up and another 2 drop in form high up; all 4 fly off east and get up again as a 5th birds joins the flock -- in the mean time a Little Auk flies east twice then it drifts back west looking distinctly less than fit possibly had a bad encounter with something in between times; a juvenile Dark-bellied Brent flies back and forth; the 5 Poms eventually get up and climb over the centre of the bridge before heading off west up the Humber -- after a well earned Cappuccino and cake another bout of watching brown muddy water and 2 hours later 74 Common Scoters fly up -- another 20 minutes and 18 Common and 3 Velvet Scoters arrive followed by 3 more juvenile Poms, a drake Goosander and a Siskin -- the Common Scoters increase to 120+ and there are 35 Goldeneye --
Truly awful light and visibility -- the Velvets look like a 1cy drake and 2 1cy females