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Saturday, December 1, 2018

                                         1 of 5 Goldeneye


                   Female Goosander
  All taken at distance in dark gloom.
                       1st winter male or adult male in eclipse
                                           4 out of 5

Not a good start to December with thick fog up on the tops and heavy drizzle from midday.
                                             1445 hrs and with Fly Flatts out of the question it was down to Mixenden reservoir in search of some clarity. The reservoir was birdable,just, in very dark conditions and light drizzle but the water was clear enough to scan over.
                                              A female Goosander was mid way out on the water as well as a single female Goldeneye whilst around 40 Black Headed gulls were out in the centre near the depth gauge.
A walk through the tree line on the west bank found another 3 female Goldeneye near the NE corner along with a male Goldeneye which given the distance and light could only be described as a first winter male or possibly an adult male in winter eclipse.
                                            Two Moorhen were sticking to the edges near the trees and were very noisy as the gulls started moving off to roost. As the gulls moved Woodpigeons started to pile into the wood to roost along with 14 Fieldfare.
                                              Not looking too good for the morning watch unless some miracle appears overnight and shifts this fog.
BS