A gloomy wet and foggy day was brightened up during my lunch hour today as I walked back to work.
It started just as Id finished my dinner and was getting the dogs ready to take out when a message from M ST through DSJs grapevine of 120 Pink Footed Geese >NW over EGP. Ideal timing for me and the direction was right but the fog over Foxhill was thick and low so unless the geese were walking I,d no chance but at least I may hear them.
Nothing doing so back to work dismissing the idea of a second days sighting.
As I got half way down Chapel Lane the fog was not just as dense, and then, music to my ears, very noisy Pinkies could be heard heading towards me and sounding fairly low down.
Camera out of the pocket I stood waiting and then from out of the gloom PINKIES nearly overhead and flying just below the cloud base. I estimated around 80 but there could well have been more as some could have been hidden by rooftops.
If these were the EGP birds 40 minutes had passed from the DJS message received to mine going out and as the skein was moving slow and somewhat disorientated its possible.
The skein yesterday took 9 minutes just from Northowram to Lee Mount with the head wind and the wind direction and strength was about the same today.
When the birds had gone I looked round to find an audience and was left to answer, what were they, where are they going, where had they come from, and why was I stood in the middle of the road taking photos with a beam from ear to ear. So far I like 2013.
BS