Conditions were again good with blue skies clouding from the east with a NE>3, turning E>2 late afternoon, with a temp of 2 degrees causing the ponds to be frozen and a very icy untreated road from the wind farm to the top gate.
A small move of Woodpigs early doors then, other than Starlings, quiet skies until 0930 hrs when the flood gates opened with 2 Skeins of Pinkies way to the west towards Stoodley Pike then veering across to head east. Gulls were moving >NE, mainly Herring and LBBs whilst the star turn was awarded to Woodpigeons piling through to my west over the moor with one group in excess of 1000 birds making an amazing sight and not an easy count.
Late afternoon was quiet with full cloud cover and the low sun just behind the thin cloud throwing everything into silhouette. Strangely no big gulls came into the shore at last light which may be something to do with todays gull move.
I thought I,d done well with a count of 275 Pinks until I looked at one of the Manchester sites on Trek which got a count of near on 9000 geese.
Vis Mig
44 LBB gull................................>NE
38 Herring gull..........................>NE
4 Common gull.........................>NE
41 BH gull................................>NE
102 Starling..............................>NW
est 3000 Woodpigs...................> S
275 Pinkies..............................>E . 2 Skeins 148, 127.
Present
2 Raven
4 BH gull
9 Mallard
2 Kestrel
1 Peregrine.
BS