Quick look at the Sands Lake this morning - 115 Tufties, 9 Shoveler, no rats - then off onto the mosses.
Raging hooley force 300 from the south west, deluging rain sluicing off the car and at least 20 4x4s stuffed with be-tweeded and be-Barboured hunters stalking the fields - perfect conditions to do two Timed Tetrad Visits to my squares between Plex and Carr Moss.
It was like the Somme on a particularly wet and muddy day.
Still, plenty of Fieldfares (78), Redwings (er, 3) and Skylarks (47) - or at least there were until a fine male Merlin tazzed through and spooked them all just as I was finishing counting 'em.
Not surprisingly, there weren't many gamebirds about (keeping their heads down), but a few hundred Pink Feet rose over Carr Moss occasionally.
Bloody hard trying to get any pix of the Skylarks (I know, I should have been counting assiduously) - they were feeding constantly, never keeping still.
Two Buzzards about, but not much else.
Zipped over to Martin Mere to price up a new tripod at In Focus.
My old Slik D3 now has severe squeaky gate syndrome, which isn't ideal when I want to sneak about like a greased panther.
Loads of Whooper Swans there, and a particularly ugly hybrid ShelduckxRuddy Shelduck on the main mere.
Yuk.
Here's hoping this hooley blasts something nice onto a Marine Lake near you...
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
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Si Glinn wrote...
30/12: Slav Grebe, 2 Great Crested Grebe, 400+ Common Scoter and 10 Sanderling, Formby Point today.
Plus female Crossbill, Fisherman's Path.
Posted by: Si Glinn | December 30, 2007 4:25 PM