A very wet and windy day with a S>5 at 6 degrees.
The rain lashed down at Redcar Tarn throughout the morning coming across horizontally keeping most of the big gulls to the far side of the crematorium field all facing the wind so their backs were to me, plus it was impossible to look in that direction into the wind and rain.
The water held a good selection of Herrings as well as the hundreds of small gulls, mainly Black Headeds but nothing that jumped out as being special but always good to get up there in the thick of the gulls.
Around 40 Tufted were on the water as well as the usual geese, Mallards, Coots and Moorhens with a good flock of Lapwing overhead.
Still raining late afternoon as I checked Ogden out but eased slightly as I was leaving.
Just a couple of adult Herrings on the water along with a low count of small gulls but otherwise quiet in the wet conditions. The Kingfisher and Dipper were down in the sluice gate area whilst 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers flew into the lodge house garden.
The winter Chaffinch roost is slowly building but with no shore on the east bank, covering their favourite feeding area, I doubt that, as last year, it will not amount to much and unlikely to attract Brambling.
Redcar Tarn, Keighley
c 30 Tufted
83 Lapwing
+ usual gulls and waterfowl.
Ogden
1 Kingfisher
1 Dipper
2 Gt Spotted Wdpecks
c 30 Chaffinch
2 Herring gull
3 Common gull
c 50 BH gull
+ usual sp.
BS