With an afternoon free apart from 1 dog and no fog it was off to Fly Flatts thinking there could be some sky movement after a few days of shut down.
Arrived at Fly with black clouds and some light mist but a stiff SW>4 soon moved them on leaving some blue sky and sunshine. Apart from a few Mallard on the water and 2 Red Grouse Fly Flatts once again failed to provide with not even anything in the sky.
No Goldies in the usual field but a Sparrowhawk drifted low across the field.
On then to Cold Edge Dams to try to save the afternoon with at least one decent sighting. A mixture of 11 Canadas, 2 Greylag and 9 Mallard were on the mill pond whilst a walk up the track to the sailing club house produced 11 Fieldfare in the field and 1 Reed Bunting but no sign again of Little Grebe, Stonechat or DJSs Kingfisher at Spring Dam.
A look over Haigh Cote Dam found nothing so it was now down to Leadbeater Dam to come up with something as I was getting desperate now.
I clambered up the banking , or rather Ollie pulled me up, and peered over onto the water and ! Geronimo ! a little flock of diving ducks across near the island.
A scan through the bins revealed 1m 3f Tufted and 3f Goldeneye all new in from my last visit on Monday, phew, a sighting at last which made all the difference between going home disappointed or pleased.
A few snaps and a bit of practice on flying gull photos then away home a happy man.
A forecast of strong gales heading our way across the Atlantic pleasingly means the end of the fog for a while.
BS