The southen half was still largely frozen and aside from the bread-crazed Mallards, Coots and Mute Swans loitering at the causeway, the only things out on the reservoir was gulls and corvids standing on it. And a couple of Goldeneye.
If fucking Heather Mills can do it ...
It all gets to much for this Mute Swan, which promptly attempts to disappear up its own cloaca
A superb Jay was rooting around beside a hedgerow on the way down Kinchley Lane. I also spotted some flowering plants on top of the stone walls. Anyone got any educated ideas what these are likely to be - Oxford Ragwort perhaps?
The northern half was much more free, and due to the lack of bread-crazed addicts it was also much emptier of birds. Whilst I pondered on exactly where all the fecking ducks had gone to, the Thornton Mothman pitched up. We concurred that the reservoir was empty. We had a good natter and waited in vain for the nailed-on Peregrine to show itself before I called time and headed back into what proved to be a very gloomy and dull factory.
2 comments:
It's a ragwort of some sort, most likely Oxford. Not sure what it's doing flowering in January though, especially one as cold as this one has been!
You're right about Cropston Res - I used to do the wildfowl count there and it was mind-numbingly dull. 15 Great Crested Grebes and a couple of Cormorants would be a count count at Cropston...
On the upside Andy... you could claim lots of kudos doing a WeBS count without having to waste too much time. Dave's Watermead North/Birstall patch is fucking huge and probably very hard work/a right ball ache!
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