Leeshaw Reservoir
Icy tracks
Another bright and icy day with temperatures not rising above 2 degrees with no signs of a thaw.
Fly Flatts remains inaccessible due to the icy entrance track and Leeshaw is accessible with caution.
Clear bright skies at Leeshaw this morning at -1 degree on a cold W>3 with some sunshine.
With frozen fields gulls were near non existent with just a handful of Black Headeds on the water along with 2 pair of Goosander and 2 Cormorant.
The big field held a good count of Greylags plus a few Canadas whilst a single Mistle Thrush and 2 Lapwing were moving around the area.
With the water level now down in the brook 2 Dippers were present moving up and down stream but never settling.
Mid afternoon at Ringby Top was bright with a light westerly but again only a few passing gulls with none in the frozen fields. It was interesting to see how the Rooks and Crows dealt with the frozen field by firstly brushing the snow away with their heads and then laying on the cleared patch with their wings half open to thaw a small area where they then could peck at the softened soil.
A few Mipits and a single female Stonechat was the height of small passerines whilst the highlight in the sky was a male Kestrel getting mobbed with Jackdaws.
Good to meet Ian and Gail up there checking out their local patch and who are trying to beat me to a Snow Bunting. Ian reported a Peregrine up there a couple of days back, an uncommon visitor for that site.
Leeshaw
137 Greylag
12 Canada
2 pr Goosander
2 Cormorant
2 Dipper
1 Mistle Thrush
2 Lapwing
+ usual sp.
Ringby Top
1 Kestrel
10 Mipits
1 f Stonechat
3 LBB gull
2 Common gull
8 BH gull
+ usual corvids
BS