Out in the bitter cold.

I don't know whether I was very brave or I was fed up with staying in but on Saturday morning I headed over to Brandon Marsh when the weather was bitter cold and gloomy.

Had a bit of luck in the Baldwin hide when my first of the year Oystercatchers were on the island feeding away.

There were no birds on the Teal Pool at all and the birds on the East Marsh pool were a long way off.The Carlton Pool was very quiet and freezing cold but one of the Bitterns showed for a second as it hopped out reeds way over to the left on the next pool and the second one flew across the top of the reeds to the right of the hide for about 10 seconds.Everyone got shots except me as at the time I was eating a salad roll and trying to clear up some salad cream that had escaped the roll.Damn !!!!!

After some tea and thawing out in the cafe I joined a couple of friends in the Baldwin hide hoping that the two Great Crested Grebes would go into mating mode.They didn't while I was there but they are cracking looking birds to watch.Mind you one of them gave me it's opinion of my shots.

On the way home I had a look for the flock of Bramblings (200 apparently) that visit the fields near the Vulcan bomber at Bagington airport but I had no luck but I did get a couple of shots of a Kestrel which are not bad considering the gloomy conditions.

Nearer home I checked on a field next to the pub in Meer End and was pleased to see loads of Redwings which were the first I'd seen for ages and a few Mistle Thrushes.

I went out again this morning when if anything it was even colder.Why I hear you say well a Shag had been seen at Marsh Lane on Saturday which I believe might be a first for Marsh Lane and I wanted to see it.The trouble was it wasn't there but I did see the Bittern which was again in the reeds to the left of the Reed Bed pool.