Wigeon, 3 Goldeneye, Gadwall, Goosander, Fieldfares & Redwings
Another very dull overcast day, with light wind, but poor light. Was out fairly early before the rowing boats. A distant duck in the middle of the water proved to be a single Wigeon. Two Mute Swans on the water were the first for a while and raised a bit of hope briefly. A pair of Grey Wagtail were on the stones along the main road, and as I reached the big hedge, Simon appeared. We watched a good number of Fieldfares that seemed new in, along with numbers of Blackbird and Redwing and a couple of Jays. A male Kestrel perched up nicely in the big hedge but I had no tripod so had to balance the camera on the wall. Not too bad though. The statutory 5 Snipe were on the stony island and we watched a dozen or so Long-tailed Tits. Getting a view of the water, Simon noticed the drake Gadwall and then three female/immature Goldeneye. I'd seen these from the other side but thought they might have been Tufteds in the poor light.
As we walked up the track to Turnough Farm, more Fieldfares and Blackbirds were in the bushes on the left. The Blackbirds were chivvying something in the hawthorns but we couldn't see anything unfortunately. At the top we parted ways and I worked my way over to Shaw Moss, though nothing to report except more Fieldfares and another Kestrel. As I reached Peanock farm I spotted a drake Goosander, my first of the Autumn, flying over the water but lost it to view behind the trees. When I got back to the water's edge, the Goosander was out in the middle of the Lake.
Kestrel and 3 Goldeneye