Camera under the coat morning.

An horrendous morning weather wise with first stop having to be Ogden due to strong winds and thick fog on the tops. Ogden at first light was dull and misty with horizontal drizzle blowing across the water pushed on by a strong SW > 6.
                                                              The rough water was empty apart from a single Black Headed gull and the usual Mallards whilst just a few Corvids were in the sky along with a single Cormorant high and >W. The highlight of the visit was a Green Woodpecker over the promenade towards the lodge house then back again into the west plantation, this bird being my 60th local species this year.
                                                            Even in these conditions the crowds started arriving by 0900 hrs so time to move on with a check of Horton Bank Top country park where the weather was even worse with a strengthening SW>7 and heavy horizontal drizzle.
                                                            A scan , as best I could looking into the weather, produced
5 Mute swans, 2 Herring gulls, several Tufted duck, Goosander, Coot and Moorhen plus the usual sp.
With around 100 small gulls and 16 LBBs its a spot to keep an eye on for winter gulls as this area always seems to produce well but is badly under watched.
                                                             Going back to April 1995 an Avocet spent 2 days here and back further still when it was a reservoir I got my first Glaucous and Med gulls here . I watched the reservoir on a regular basis as in those early days my dad was a bus driver from Bank Top bus sheds so I could use the bus garage as a hide.
The only problem with this venue now is its a morning watch area only as by late afternoon it turns into drug city where they provide you with a baseball bat on the way in.
Hope this weather clears for the afternoon session.
BS