Out and about in the cold.

Although this is my first post for a week I have been out and about with the camera in the bitter cold which is pretty impressive for the president of the fair weather birders club but I struggled to get any shots.

On Sunday morning I went to Marsh Lane which although it was sunny it was too cold for me and I left after an hour.No pics.

I went to Marsh Lane on Tuesday morning and again it was sunny and very cold.Surprisingly the Oak hide was full of photographers but unfortunately there was nothing decent for us to point the cameras at.I then made a major mistake because when I spent the best part of an hour at the causeway screens searching the reeds on the left where the Bittern was last seen and seeing nothing I didn't know it was perched in the reeds on the right.I didn't search there and missed it.What a burk !!!!

On Thursday morning when the forecast for heavy snow was forecast for the next day I thought I'd better go out today before it all arrived.Just before I left I spotted this lone Lesser Redpoll on my feeders in the back garden.First one of the year to visit my feeders.

Got to Marsh Lane just after midday.There was no one there and it was very bleak.The car park pool was frozen up but there was a little open water on the railway pool and the marsh was not frozen but after nearly an hour the only shots I'd taken were of a BH Gull on the ice and a so so pic of a female Brambling.Oh Dear this is not good.

I then headed to the causeway screens to have a go for the Bittern.This time I searched the right hand reeds because that's where it was seen on Wednesday but didn't see it.Having learned my lesson from Tuesday I then searched the left hand reeds and what did I see immediately.This :-

Yippee !!! I'd found the Bittern.I then made another mistake because when I was on the phone to Nic Barlow telling him the Bittern was now in the left hand reeds it came out of the reeds onto the ice.By the time I'd got onto it again it had gone back into the reeds.Damn Damn !!!!!

For once I was patient and had it in view for the next hour and a half but most of the time it was in the reeds.I did get some shots when it showed a little better.