Another of those wet and windy days with heavy horizontal rain early doors at Ogden at 4 degrees on a SW>5 which increased throughout the morning. By mid watch the rain eased and for the last 30 minutes I moved the car up to the drug dealers car park for a bit of sky watching.
The water held 2 female Goldeneye sheltering under the bank in the NW corner whilst a male Goosander was out in the middle before moving off >E. Yesterdays 2 Song Thrush were still present by the lodge house as well as a single Jay and a few Chaffinch.
The water was quiet with 4 Herring gulls dropping in briefly along with just the one LBB and very few small gulls.
By late afternoon the wind had increased to WSW>7 near gale at 37 m.p.h. gusting at WSW>8 up to 42 m.p.h. gale force with torrential horizontal rain throughout.
To someone normal these conditions are horrendous but if , like me, you,re a reservoir watcher they are ideal with the chance of something special through or dropping in.
The weather really hit the spot today with action the full time I was there.
The water just held the usual Goosanders, Mallards and Canadas whilst the stubble field held around
150 Fieldfare and 300 Starling as well as the 8 Oystercatchers all facing the wind and busy feeding.
It was moving birds that stole the show with Herring gull, Lesser Black Backed, Common and Black Headed all skimming the water heading >W along with 9 separate Curlew in the same direction. Wader calls overhead made me spin round just in time to see a tight flock of 18 Golden Plover before they disappeared over the ridge.
Throughout the rest of the watch I kept getting a single Goldie call so I moved my position to the SE corner field and there they were in with the Lapwings but very distant at the top of the field and with the pouring rain and thoughts of keeping the camera dry I could only get a few iffy record shots. Luckily, with birders in mind, God invented the hatchback, so as long as you can get the car near enough to your watch point its like having a mobile hide if you park facing the wind. My problem is, the dogs like to walk, so I,ve still to settle for getting wet.
Ogden
2 f Goldeneye
1 m Goosander
4 Herring gull
2 Song Thrush
1 Jay
sev Chaffinch
Leeshaw
3 m 1 f Goosander
18 Golden Plover
9 Curlew..........................>W
2 Curlew present
8 Oyks
c 150 Fieldfare
c 300 Starling
c 40 Lapwing
10 Herring gull..................>W
17 LBB gull....................>W
sev small gulls................>W
BS