Always a main Winter target! I got a message off Phil yesterday informing me he'd be in Hessle this morning and was thinking of trying for the "White Nun" at Tophill. I decided to join him. I arrived at 11.45 (not an easy place to get too) and joined him for the short walk to the hide at D reservoir. A Birder just leaving gave us negative news but we decided to take a look for ourselves. No joy, so we headed for the Watton Hide on the West of the Reserve,
After a decent walk we settled in the hide which gave great views over the pools. A Great White Egret was present but distant and partially obscured. Other birds included Goldeneye and Pochard...but no Smew. We gave it till 2 before starting our return.
As we reached the car park Tony Collinson appeared to inform us "it was back". We thanked him and headed back up the ramp to the hide. After some scanning we picked it up; unfortunately it was right at the far end of the reservoir! Still, at least we'd seen it. There were hundreds if not thousands of ducks out there. A decent number of Great-crested Grebes were on show. It was now gone three and the light was becoming diffuse.
The bird gave us some hope of a better view as it worked its way steadily around the reservoir. Eventually it made it to "our end", enabling us to get some decent pics, much to our delight...
No comments:
Post a Comment