Still plenty snow up here on the tops and fog throughout the day.
A visit to Mixenden Reservoir mid afternoon in terrible conditions with low cloud, a light north wind and heavy rain showers and still plenty standing snow.
Very little of note with the only new arrival being a single Cormorant on the water in with the 100 ish small gulls, 75% Black Headeds, along with one adult LBB.
A full week of easterly winds now means plenty fog and more snow to come.
Just out of interest I,ve complied a list of my top 10 bird id books that are taken off my bookshelf the most. Admittedly, books are becoming a thing of the past with on line sites where any bird can be looked up and studied and read up on with more information available than a birder will ever need.
One example, that I use regular, is gull i.d. ,which is linked from my blog, showing images of every gull in every plumage possible from 1st year to adult. Far too much information to be published in a book. Having said that, I still think you can,t beat taking a book off the shelf to browse through the pages looking for an i.d. that you require or just information about a birds location etc. Apart from that a book turns the pages at the speed you want without going into 'go slow mode' and eventually freezing. :-
variants etc.
An excellent explicit book but 1 of 3 rare bird books that I own in as new condition
with lack of use. How many rare birds do we get in this area!!
Photos are not cracking for i.d. purposes but packed with information on each species.
A deep in book for splitting those awkward species.
Another reservoir watchers must with excellent drawings including flight.
A recent purchase so not studied it yet but first impressions are good.
A book I,ve had many years and will take some beating.
1 of my 2 gull bibles but tends to just show birds in good plumage and not in part
moult and between plumages as we usually see them.
In my view, the number 1 gull bible. My copy jumps off the shelf on its own and I
know all the page numbers for my area gulls.
The above books are a far cry from this, my first bird book, bought in 1960 but at that time
it was the bees knees with very limited books on offer. Things were so much
easier then with no rarities and no sub species, just nice common straight forward birds.
BS.