0800 hrs at Ogden with a SW>2 at 5 degrees and full cloud with still a good percentage of the water frozen.
The reservoir was white with gulls producing a record count for me with an excess of over 800 gulls probably due to several reservoirs fully frozen over. As the morning went on several gulls started moving away >SW but still good numbers present as I left at 1000 hrs.
A good count of 26 Herring gulls, 16 being adult and 2w, 3w, along with 10 1w whilst around 200 Common gulls with 705 of these being 1st winters , most with very little grey saddle showing. Not often we see Common gulls in their brown plumage. Just 4 LBBs were present, 2 adults and 2 1st winter.
The bulk of the gulls kept well out in the middle of the water or on frozen islands which made them difficult to photograph with mist hanging low over the water like smoke.
Otherwise it was the usual 2 Kingfisher, 1 Dipper and 1 Grey Wagtail, with again, a poor show of small passerines.
I had hoped to get to Oxenhope reservoir to see what the gull roost was like but still very icy conditions on the access track so the next vantage point was the Ned Hill track.
I could see that the reservoir was frozen over and well packed with gulls stood on the ice. This would have been an ideal situation to check through them whilst they were stood out of the water.
The lower fields below the track held several small gulls as well as 15 Lapwing and at least 5 Golden Plover mixed in whilst a Green Woodpecker flew across into the plantation at the bottom of Ned Hill.
By 1500 hrs the gull roost at Oxenhope started to break up due to the frozen water and around 70% of the gulls headed off >E towards Eccup whilst the rest came through the Causeway Foot Col >SW probably heading for the Manchester gull roost at the Audenshaw reservoirs ( permit only).
Hollingworth Lake attracts good species of gull but was never famous for regular big gulls and I don,t think there is a roost there. Correct me if I,m wrong, AH or MC or anyone else from the Huddersfield/Manchester area.
BS.