Luckily today there was no damage to garden fences etc. so I decided to pop down to NDC before the forecasted rain arived. Several vehicles in the car park so I wondered if a special bird had been blown in. The Geoff Smith hide was empty so I went in.
More water in the scrape than on my last visit and the level of the Derwent was much higher. For the first time this year a bird was on the water on the scrape, a little grebe. There were not many birds to be seen. Had the wind caused them all to shelter or driven them all away. I was just about to leave the hide when a samll party and Jono Leadley arrived, which explained the number of cars, and informed me that there were more birds to be seen from the Garganey hide.
When I got there, another birder was sat in the hide and during our conversation I discovered that he was Chris Heppell, someone I follow on Twitter. I also discoverd that our sons used to work at the same school! It was a pleasure to meet him and talk to him.
A pair of mute swans were in front of the hide and one had a ring on its leg.555 was all I could read.
At least 2 male and a female stonechat were busy flying about near the bund and were joined by 2 linnets and then a male reed bunting. A marsh harrier kept flying over the water and lapwings, golden plover and dunlin would have a fly round.
I had some domestic duties to do so left about 1230. Chris decided to eat and lunch and then he thought that he too might leave as the rain had started. By the time that I got home it had turned to snow. These photos were taken on Hob Moor.
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