Fog

 It seems to have gotten a little quiet on the local birding scene and when this morning dawned foggy rather than bright and sunny as the weather forecast had suggested Shozzer and I were at a bit of a loss as to what to do. With four Smew and up to nine Scaup at Eyebrook and an amazing nine Great Northern Divers at Grafham Water there were definitely targets to go for but we for our sins decided to begin our watching at Wakerley Wood instead.

Young male Sparrowhawk and Wigeon

Unfortunately Wakerley was poor and during a stroll of about two hours we saw or heard very little and certainly there was no sign of the hoped for Crossbills. Only a singing Mistle Thrush was vaguely memorable and we returned to the car feeling a little deflated. Next port of call was the dam at Rutland Water where we hoped the fog might lift and give us the chance to find something interesting.

Great Northern Diver.

The stubborn mist seemed to cling on for dear life and it was only during the afternoon that visibility improved enough to give hope. Goldeneyes and Dabchicks were the most obvious birds on view through the shifting veils of fog and at one point near Normanton Church we heard a Redpoll. Eventually conditions did improve and Alan decided to pause for lunch but before he had taken so much as a bite out of his cold pizza he found a Great Northern Diver. I left him to munch and set off to get closer views, my plan worked well and I was treated to lengthy views of the bird. Many pics and even a film were taken before Shozz joined me for continued views. Eventually the bird moved on and we followed suit though I suspect the bird did not end up in the Samuel Lloyd for a festive pint as we did!

More GND pics.