Leeshaw a.m. was bright with 50% cloud and sunshine on a light SW>2 inc SW>4 as the morning wore on. A temperature of 8 degrees with cloud increasing.
Much quieter than yesterday with the Wigeons and Goldeneye moved on leaving just geese and gulls on the water. A good count of small gulls and several LBBs but only 2 Herring.
A reasonable count of Woodpigs early doors but this soon petered out whilst squadrons of Starlings were moving throughout . Otherwise it was just down to odds and sods moving and still no sign of Fieldfare arriving as yet.
BV arrived at the reservoir so we had a good moan about the lack of birds on vis mig compared to the vast numbers we used to count back in the 1990s.
A very windy afternoon with light drizzle so I headed for Cold Edge Dams to check for returning Goldeneye but nothing as yet. A group of 4 female Goosander were on the Leadbeater Dam before leaving for the Oxenhope roost.
Just a few gulls on Haigh Cote dam whilst 2 Little Grebe were on Spring dam.
The goose field held 17 Greylag and 61 Canadas as well as more small gulls. A few Mipits still present which may over winter or move on.
Good to meet Nick Small up there doing his daily run who had just been watching a Peregrine being mobbed.
Leeshaw
527 Woodpigs..............>SE
218 Starling.................>NW
4 Grey Wagtail............>S
3 Mipits
c 200 Small gulls
2 ad Herring gull
c 50 LBB gull
+ usual sp
Cold Edge Dams
sev Small gulls
4 f Goosander
1 Buzzard
5 Mipits
2 Little Grebe
17 Greylag geese
61 Canada geese
+ usuals sp.
BS