Overnight fog cleared at first light but leaving the roads wet which froze at 2 degrees. Bright and clear with full blue skies and sunshine on a light SSE>2.
Not risking the icy roads I gave the tops a miss and took the easy option at Ogden. A beautiful morning to be out even though there was the usual lack of birds.
Conditions looked and felt ideal on the west bank with the sun warming up, very little breeze, and the bright sun full on the tops of the Alders and still no Siskin or Redpoll. Blue, Coal and Great Tit were the only birds present with no Treecreepers or Goldcrest.
A Great Spotted Woodpecker was at the very to of a distant Pine tree in the plantation and a Raven nearby.
Just 6 Black Headed gull on the water along with 2 Common and 4 Herring plus a slightly higher count of Mallard. Otherwise just the usual species.
An afternoon dog walk in Foxhill Park proven a bonus with a Red Kite over, very high >NW heading straight for Soil Hill. I grabbed my phone camera but, by the time I'd done faffing about trying to find it on the screen, bart glasses and with sun on the screen, the bird was probably just over the west coast.
Ironically, I missed the Dan B. Kites whilst at Ogden this morning, once again, faffing about under the trees looking for non existent birds, then got one this afternoon. Either a bit of a raptor move on or the same birds moving around the area.
Good to see from an E-Bird report that the Red Necked Grebe is still at Leeshaw, H.H.
A stronger NE wind for morning with cloud at 1 degree, Hopefully the stronger wind will clear any fog drifting in from the east.
BS