evolved a second pair of wings.
1430 hrs and up to Ringby Top on a bright clear afternoon with the aim of a check around for Snow Bunting and then settle down for some serious sky watching. The wind was a cool E>4 so apart from the setting sun causing hazy visibility there was a good 360 deg to scan.
The wagtail field held 10 Meadow Pipits which were carefully checked through for strangers but nothing else found and the only other small passerine was a Wren frustratingly close but playing dodge the camera which was a shame as it had an amazingly bright supercillium in the sun.
Back in the Snow Bunt/Shorelark field I started scanning the skies which held all the usual gulls and corvids , the Jackdaw flock held well over 100 birds all in the air as a Sparrowhawk made a brief appearance and again as a Fox darted across their feeding field.
Two Great Black Backed gulls flew over very high and >W along with several Herring gulls in the same direction.
As I was ready to pack up a final scan of the far western ridge revealed a very large slow flying bird going from north to south well beyond Fly Flatts. My first thought were goose species until it got in line with me and closer, closer meaning over Stoodley Pike umpteen miles away, where I could see it was a pure white very large bird as it kept dropping below the horizon. Unfortunately I had left the scope in the car as you can only carry so much and Big Bertha and the tripod had accompanied me instead.
With Bertha tripodded up I could just make out the very long neck which pushed me towards Whooper Swan until I got the long slow wing beats. This had to be a second Great Egret but I couldnt make out the trailing legs as it flew through the hazy sky passed the setting sun. This was clinched when I got home and Bertha had done her job against tremendous odds, there were the trailing legs plain as day.
The bird followed the ridge ,sometimes above the horizon and sometimes below until it passed to the front of Emley Moor mast veering east towards Ferrybridge power station and Fairburn Ings where a Great White Egret has been present over the last few days. Could be their bird or another, but who cares, with Pinkies this morning and another Great White this afternoon thats enough to see me through Sunday.
BS